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William Paterson University is a New Jersey public institution of higher learning, located approximately 20 miles from the George Washington Bridge into New York City. Situated on 300 acres of woods with a sweeping panorama of the city, William Paterson University offers a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate programs to its 10,000 students. One of the newest, and yet most successful, programs the university offers is its program for students interested in attending law school. Begun in 1997 under the direction of the Provost of the university, Dr. Chernoh Sesay, and Professor Stephen Shalom of the Political Science Department, the Pre-Law Program achieved positive results almost immediately. In 1998, Professor Michael Luis Principe was hired to become the permanent Director of the program. Professor Principe earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Washington School of Law and his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Before coming to WPU, Professor Principe taught constitutional law, international law and criminal procedure in a number of law schools, including being named Professor of the Year by the 1996 graduating class at the Salmon P. Chase College of Law. Goals of the WPU Pre-Law Program
From its inception, the goals of the WPU Pre-Law Program have been: (1) to help students get accepted to law school, and more importantly, (2) to prepare them for success once they are there. As for goal number one, getting students accepted to law school, the WPU Pre-Law Program has succeeded in helping to improve the LSAT scores of WPU students in a very short period of time. For example, between 1992 and 1998, 73% of those WPU students who took the LSAT, scored below the 50th percentile nationally. Yet, between 1998 and 2000, only 43% of those students in the WPU Pre-Law Program who took the LSAT, scored below the 50% percentile nationally. In addition, students completing the WPU Pre-Law Program have been accepted into a number of law schools, including Rutgers, Arizona State, Brooklyn, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Louisiana State, Pace, Widener, Quinnipiac, Roger Williams, Franklin Pierce, New England, Thomas Jefferson, and New York Law School. As for goal number two, preparing students for success once they are attending law school, Professor Principe has drawn on his years of experience as a law professor to develop a program that improves analytical, communication, and critical thinking skills, while at the same time exposing students to the type of coursework and classes found in law school. As a result of these efforts, during the past four years, every student who has completed the WPU Pre-Law Program and has applied to the ABA-approved law schools recommended by Professor Principe, has been accepted into law school. In addition, during that same period, every student who has completed the WPU Pre-Law Program and has entered law school, has earned grades putting them in the top half of their law school class. The success of the Pre-Law Program in achieving its goals can be seen in the following examples.
Despite facing a variety of adversities, all four of these individuals have earned grades point averages putting them in the top quarter or third of their law school classes. In 2002, recent graduates of the Pre-Law Program began the study of law at Arizona State University, Rutgers University-Newark, Widener University, and Roger Williams University, among others. Location of the Program
The WPU Pre-Law program is housed in the Political Science Department but is open to students majoring in any discipline. Although the most common major in the Pre-Law Program (as well as among law school applicants nationally), is Political Science, a diverse range of majors have participated in the WPU Program. Examples of some of the other majors involved in the Program since 1998 include Biology, Music, Criminal Justice, Psychology, Philosophy, Sociology, English, History, Business, and African-African American-Caribbean Studies. In order to participate in the WPU Pre-Law Program, a student simply has to register for one of the Pre-Law courses and notify Dr. Principe of their interest in attending law school. After completing a number of the courses and regularly attending the Pre-Law Workshops, a student will receive a certificate showing participation in the Program. Many of the non-Political Science majors in the Program end up earning minors in the discipline which are then inscribed on their WPU degrees and are helpful in gaining acceptance into law school.
Requirements of the Program
Besides offering extensive one-on-one mentoring by an experienced law professor, the William Paterson University Pre-Law Program features the following components:
Courses include: [*Strongly Recommended]
Students participating in the Pre-Law Program are given guidance as to preparation for the LSAT (the law school admissions test) as well as support in getting accepted into law school (including recommendations and follow-up phone calls to law schools). Overview
If you have an interest in attending law school, it is important that you become as competitive a prospect as possible. Since an applicant's LSAT score is the most important factor in getting accepted to law school and, since excellent analytical, communication, and critical thinking skills are essential for success in law school, it is imperative students take challenging courses that improve these skills. Law schools take a dim view of students who choose to pad their grade point averages by registering for the least challenging courses and majors. The William Paterson University Pre-Law Program was established to provide students with the requisite skills to not only get accepted to law school but, more importantly, to succeed in law school. For more information on the William Paterson University Pre-Law program, please feel free to contact Prof. Michael Principe, the Pre-Law adviser. His office is located in Raubinger Hall, Room 408, his phone number is 973-720-3619, and his email address is: principem@wpunj.edu.
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