Admissions

From the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

September 21, 2009 Volume: 155 Issue: 184

Law schools here to give Lake Forest students an early start

By Jerry Crimmins
Law Bulletin staff writer

Chicago-Kent College of Law and Loyola University Chicago School of Law have announced accelerated degree programs with Lake Forest College that will allow some students to finish college and law school in six years instead of seven.

The accelerated degree programs are in part "a response to the economy, looking at ways that students can get tuition savings,'' said Bill Motzer Jr., vice president of admissions at Lake Forest College.

The programs also are expected to be "beneficial for the enrollments'' of the schools involved, he added.

In this program, "a limited number of exceptionally well-qualified students,'' according to Lake Forest College, could be admitted to Chicago-Kent's or Loyola Chicago's law school after only three years of college.

Successful completion of their first year of law school would simultaneously count as those students' senior year of college, and the students could get their bachelor's degrees at that point, Motzer said.

"Essentially, they would be eliminating one full year of undergraduate curriculum,'' he said.

A student who had no scholarship aid thus could save $34,206 in tuition and fees by eliminating a year of school, based on current Lake Forest tuition.

Motzer noted that high quality students are eligible for up to $20,000 per year in merit scholarships at Lake Forest.

The first Lake Forest students that could enter Chicago-Kent under this program would do so in 2012.

Chicago-Kent Dean Harold J. Krent said such accelerated degree arrangements that link undergraduate colleges with specific law schools are "not widespread, but this is not unique, either.''

He said Chicago-Kent has had such an arrangement with the University of Illinois at Chicago for about five years. Chicago-Kent also has an arrangement with its parent institution, the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Despite the economic downturn and its effect on the legal profession, including lawyer layoffs at top law firms, Krent said he is convinced that "the law is a capacious profession that encourages individuals with many different types of talents to find work that is both personally and professionally rewarding,'' even if the pay may not be as generous as it had been in recent years.

Janet McCracken, provost and dean of the faculty at Lake Forest College, said students would have to apply for the accelerated degree program after their sophomore year.

"The student will likely have to complete her or his major or majors by the end of the junior year," McCracken said.

Different law schools have different entrance requirements.

According to Lake Forest College, the accelerated degree arrangement with Chicago-Kent requires students to take the Law School Admission Test by February of their junior year.

Students interested in moving to Chicago-Kent after three years also must maintain an undergraduate grade point average of 3.25 and obtain an LSAT score that is equivalent to or higher than the median score for the Chicago-Kent entering class. Alternatively, such students must obtain an LSAT score of at least 154 and maintain an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.60.

Krent called those requirements "the semi-automatic track in terms of entry'' to Chicago-Kent.

Lake Forest is also announcing a similar accelerated degree program with Vermont Law School.

jcrimmins@lbpc.com