Preparing for Law School

McDaniel College is committed to helping you pursue a legal career in three key ways: deciding if law school is the right choice for you, getting into law school, and gaining the skills to succeed in law school.

Academic & Real-World Exposure to Legal Fields

McDaniel is uniquely located near seats of local, state, and national government. You will have the opportunity not only to study lawmaking and litigation in the classroom, but also to observe the law in action at Maryland’s 5th Circuit Court in Westminster, the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis, the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., and more.

McDaniel’s 150-year history has built a large network of alumni and associates, including sitting judges and civil rights lawyers, who frequently offer lectures, events, and classes at the college. In 2016, the campus hosted talks by then NAACP President and Civil Rights Attorney Cornell William Brooks on the Black Lives Matter movement and by Maryland Appeals Court Judge Lynne Battaglia on gender, sexuality, and the law. In 2017, lectures were presented by celebrated civil rights attorneys Victor McTeer (McDaniel class of ’69) and James Bell, as well as Judge Mary Ellen Barbera, the first female Chief Judge of Maryland’s highest court.

Crafting a Competitive Application

We support you in building your academic record, preparing for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and assembling your application materials to get you accepted to law school. Law school admissions are primarily concerned with applicants’ LSAT scores, GPA, and letters of recommendation. At McDaniel, pre-law students do not take a fixed curriculum and can pursue their academic interests and strengths, allowing them to maximize their GPA. To aid LSAT preparation, McDaniel provides advising, workshops, and practice testing to help students maximize their LSAT scores. McDaniel’s small liberal arts environment prioritizes close relationships between faculty and students, meaning our professors are able to write highly effective, personalized letters. Finally, our pre-law advisors provide individual counseling and group workshops on the application process, and are happy to assist students in selecting prospective law schools and to provide feedback on personal statements and other application essays.

Graduate Ready to Succeed

We ensure that you leave McDaniel with the academic skills needed to succeed in law school. Law schools consistently report that the best preparation for law school is a broad liberal arts education that focuses on developing skills in critical thinking, logical reasoning, verbal and oral communication, as well as exposure to the politics, history, and values that underlie American legal institutions. The McDaniel Plan ensures students this exposure, and the Pre-Law program provides an additional list of recommended courses that will expose students to legal writing and research, debating, court opinions, international law, and other legal topics.