The most common type of appointment is the Pre-Law Advising Appointment. This is a 30-minute appointment to discuss everything from a new interest in pursuing a legal career to application specifics.

Pre-Law Advising appointments are for individuals at any stage in the pre-law journey from freshman year to post-graduation and beyond.

Typical appointment topics may include:

• Exploring legal careers
• Building a pre-law resume
• Selecting a course of study or major
• Academic challenges
• Internships and gap year opportunities
• Planning for law school
• LSAT, GRE, and other entrance exams
• The application process
  • Application strategies/Where and when to apply
  • Utilizing the Credential Assembly Service
  • Understanding each step of the process
  • Questions about the applications themselves, including essays
  • Advice about selecting a law school
  • How and when to get letters of recommendation
  • Guidance on scholarships

Note: Students in the first three semesters of academic study are asked to complete the Pre-Law 101 workshop prior to scheduling an individual advising appointment. This helps us better personalize and tailor your initial appointment to your individualized questions and goals.

Document Review appointments are designed to provide feedback and insights on Personal Statements, Resumes, and Addendums/Supplemental Essays. If you’d like us to review your personal statement or other law school addendums (supplemental essays) you will be asked to upload a draft of your document(s) at the time you schedule your appointment. If you have general questions or would like to generally discuss any document, please schedule a Pre-Law Advising Appointment.

Prepare for a Document Review Appointment:

• Our advisors can review up to 2 documents during one appointment. For example: A personal statement and a diversity essay OR a law school resume and a personal statement can be reviewed during one appointment. (Just upload it all as one file, preferably in Word format.) 
• Advisors will provide feedback on: Content, theme, structure, transitions, flow, and overall quality of writing. We’ll give our impressions and offer suggestions on these topics. We’ll also help to troubleshoot problem spots and brainstorm potential alternatives.
• Advisors won’t: edit, proofread, correct grammar or spelling errors, rewrite, or restructure your statement. It’s very important for applicants to express themselves in their own words, especially because the personal statement is intended as a writing sample reflecting your ability. Ours is not a proofreading service but one intended to help students clarify and convey ideas effectively for purposes of a law school application.
• For specific feedback, the personal statement review is most effective when your essay is fairly complete–meaning, you are at the point where you have a fairly complete draft, yet you are still open to feedback. 
• Peak Times: Our busiest times are late September through December. During this period, our advisors will frequently be booked. Please reserve your appointment in advance and cancel in a timely way if necessary so that we can maximize our appointment availability. 
• There is currently no cap on the number of times an Advisor will review your statement, however, please be mindful that the most effective reviews will occur when your drafts are fairly complete, a final draft is not required.

If you have not yet created a meaningful draft but would like to discuss a personal statement strategy more generally, we recommend scheduling a Pre-Law Advising appointment to discuss or reviewing the personal statement resources we’ve posted on our Canvas page for some guidance.

Format: Document Review appointments are available on a remote basis only.  The recommended format for these appointments is Zoom to facilitate the document review process, however, phone appointments are also available upon request. If you need an in-person appointment for ADA purposes, please email us at prelaw@illinois.edu.

We work with students at any point in their academic journey, from freshman year to post-graduation. It is never too early to start -we encourage you to begin connecting with our office as soon as you begin considering law school. If you are uncertain, send us an email at prelaw@illinois.edu, and we will be happy to help direct you on what the best first step might be! Remember, there are no silly or “wrong” questions, we want to hear from you!

Due to our high advising demand during peak advising times (September – December), Freshman (students in their first academic year) may schedule an advising appointment beginning January 1. If you are a freshman or in your first semesters of undergraduate study, we highly encourage engaging with our office through our student engagement events in the fall semester or through the Pre-Law 101 program series offered each semester (fall and spring). This helps us maximize our advising appointments, and tailor your individual appointment to your unique goals and questions.

For students in their fourth semester to last semester, and alumni, there is no time like the present. Set up a meeting NOW to discuss your goals and questions.

Yes! PLAS advisors are available to meet with students and alumni virtually over the summer. In-person appointments are available during the fall and spring semesters.

Reach out even if you are uncertain.  We are here to help you explore your interest in legal education and careers, even if you are uncertain if this is the right path for you. It is very common to be exploring multiple career paths at the same time – we encourage this.  Sometimes individuals ultimately decide that a path in law is not right for them.  Don’t wait to start engaging and asking these questions now – whether you ultimately decide to attend law school, we can assist you in academic, extracurricular, and professional planning to ensure that you are as prepared as possible to apply if you decide law school is the right choice for you!

Remember – a great place to start is the Pre-Law 101 Workshop series!

Just Stay Connected. We share considerable insights and information through our listserv communications, blog, and social media. All pre-law-designated students are automatically added to our listserv. You may also request to join the listserv or to be designated pre-law at any time by filling out the pre-law designation form.

Make a habit of checking these resources regularly, either daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on how close you are to the application process. 

In addition, our many programs and events are an excellent way to get a lot of information about a variety of topics. Be sure to check our event calendar for details regularly.

Due to our high advising demand during peak advising times (September – December), Freshmen (students in their first academic year) may schedule an advising appointment beginning January 1.

If you are a freshman or in your first semesters of undergraduate study, we highly encourage engaging with our office through the following methods:

• Become a Designated Pre-Law Student
• Complete Pre-Law 101: Part-I Webinar Series (on-demand), Part-II Capstone Event (live) – offered each semester
• Review the Freshman Pre-Law Checklist in Canvas
• Attend the Annual Pre-Law RSO Nite (September)
• Follow Us on Instagram
• Check Out our Calendar of Upcoming Events!
• Join the Pre-Law Advisory Council (applications due early September for Freshman representatives)

These steps will help support your first semesters on campus and will better tailor your eventual individual appointment to your unique goals and questions.

This policy is not meant to be punitive, but to be fair to all students.  You will be considered a no-show appointment if:

1. You do not show up for your scheduled appointment; or
2. You do not cancel/reschedule your appointment within 24 hours of your scheduled appointment time.   

After two no-show appointments in a semester, all future appointments will be cancelled, and appointment access will be suspended for the next 30 days.  You will receive an email notification of this policy violation and the date you may resume appointment access. Access to all other PLAS resources including programming, workshops, and online resources will be uninterrupted.

We understand that unexpected academic obligations, work commitments, or illnesses can affect your schedule.  With proper notice, your cancellation or reschedule will allow us to offer your time slot to another individual. Cancellations/reschedules should be made as far in advance as possible (at least 24 hours) so we can make the best effort to offer that appointment time to another student.

To cancel or reschedule an appointment, please utilize the link provided in your appointment confirmation email, or by contacting our office at prelaw@illinois.edu, or (217) 333 – 4710.  Cancellations made within 24 hours of the scheduled appointment time will be considered a no-show.

If you experience a same-day emergency, please contact us at prelaw@illinois.edu or (217) 333 – 4710.

Advising appointments are 30 minutes in length.  Any individual arriving more than 10 minutes after their scheduled appointment time will be considered a no-show.