Pre-law prerequisites vary by institution, but can usually be grouped into two main types according to the type of pre-law program at issue: first, those associated with a pre-law undergraduate major or certificate program, and second, those required by a law school that offers a jump start or pre-law admission program for qualified students. Formal prerequisites are usually much looser in the first category than in the second. Most of the time, undergraduate programs require only a certain minimum grade-point average to enter. Law schools that admit students into pre-law semester or year programs usually have much more rigorous entry requirements, often including the completion of certain course credits and some demonstrated aptitude for legal study.
At the undergraduate level, pre-law prerequisites are usually scant. Most of the time, the pre-law program operates as would any other academic major. Students must usually declare their intent to study and commit to all mandated coursework and must follow certain protocol when declaring pre-law as their academic area of choice. This sort of declaration often happens relatively early in a student’s academic career, which means that there has not often been time for a lot of prerequisite planning.
Faculty may set certain grade point average prerequisites to admission to the major. Completion of certain courses, particularly those in political science or rhetoric, may also be required before declaring an intention to pursue the pre-law track. It is common for students to commit to participate in certain extracurricular activities, particularly debate and mock trial, but these are more correctly course requirements than actual prerequisites for entry.
Most of the requirements for a pre-law undergraduate degree are graduation pre-requisites, not specifically pre-law prerequisites. Getting into the program is usually simple. Completing it is where things get more challenging.
Pre-law prerequisites are usually much more defined at law schools that offer special year or semester programs for hopeful law students. These programs are most common in English and Australian universities. Under these systems, law school is usually combined with undergraduate work, such that students enter into legal studies directly from high school. A pre-law program here is not as much a degree program as it is an early start to more formal law-oriented education.
Universities with this sort of system usually use the pre-law program as a way to court high-achieving students. They will offer students a “taste” of life in the law school under a specialized pre-law track. Others will offer disadvantaged students pre-law years in order to ready them for the rigors of the studies ahead. Most of the time, at least some of the credits earned in the pre-law year can be applied to a regular law degree, if the student goes on to pursue one. Pre-law prerequisites here usually include exceptional high school grades, top exam scores, and a desire to pursue a legal career.
Admissions requirements are often steep, as space in these sorts of pre-law programs is generally very limited. In addition to solid academic credentials, students must also usually procure recommendation letters, essays, and personal statements explaining why a student would be a good fit for the program. Schools usually look for students who would be assets to the student body, and who have something extraordinary or unusually diverse to add to the classroom.