"Specialized programs are available to law school applicants who are the first in their families to pursue graduate studies.
Lawyers help shape the rules that govern our society. Given the enormous responsibility lawyers play in upholding the principles of justice and equality, diverse perspectives are crucial to building an incoming law school class.
To that end, many law schools actively encourage prospective J.D.s from underrepresented or marginalized communities to apply. Applicants who are the first in their families to earn a high school diploma and go to college may be particularly daunted by the prospect of graduate study without a legacy of academia behind them." …
https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/law-admissions-lowdown/articles/2018-02-19/find-law-schools-that-support-first-generation-applicants
Wonderful article. One thing I wish law schools would do, though, is to provide that support even after admission… particularly in the critical 1L year.
I’ve helped several first generation students get INTO law schools – sometimes with large scholarships, or into law schools with far higher stats than they possess. Unfortunately, several of these students fail or drop out after just one semester. The problem is not that they aren’t as intelligent as the other students, but a lot of them show up with shaky study habits, without an understanding of what it takes to succeed in law school (and law schools tend not to hold their hands in terms of explaining how to brief, etc.), or struggle so much financially that they decide it’s better to drop out and work a full-time job instead. Until we fix that problem, I don’t think simply admitting first generation students is going to diversify the profession or the law schools.