Harvard Should Do More for Pre-Law Students

“What do you want to do with your life?”

As winter recess gives way to internship application season, Harvard students are rapidly assembling cover letters and interview answers designed to demonstrate that we already know the answer to this question.

But the truth is, most of us don’t. And rather than letting us rush into choosing our careers, Harvard needs more programs to support students in making informed decisions about our futures. These supports are particularly crucial for students curious about graduate school.

Even during our first year at the College, we feel the urge to prove that we already know who we are going to be and to assign ourselves, early and definitively, to a pre-graduate school track. “I’m pre-med,” a fellow freshman introduced herself to me at Annenberg Hall. Then: “and you’re pre-law, right?”

It was a good question. I had just told her I was a writer for the Harvard Undergraduate Law Review, and indeed, law school has been on my radar for a long time. Still, the forced classification caught me a little off guard.

At face value, it shouldn’t have. Though Harvard doesn’t formally offer a pre-law concentration, there is institutional support for students considering careers in a variety of fields.

For prospective lawyers, there are pre-law advising programs at each upperclassman House, which provide counseling for students considering law school and support those currently going through the law school application process. Likewise, the Mignone Center for Career Success offers undergraduates a panel discussion with representatives from top law schools at its Law School Night.

Still, though practical and undoubtedly valuable, this emphasis on getting into law school leaves blind spots in areas equally as formative for anyone thinking about the legal profession. Harvard’s existing programs do little to facilitate experiences that would help law-curious undergraduates figure out whether their interest is genuine or merely aspirational. In an ideal world, the law school applicant is motivated by something besides imagining themselves as the next Harvey Specter.

To be sure, Harvard has proven itself capable of guiding undergraduates as they mull over committing the time and money to a graduate degree — albeit in different fields of study.

Take, for instance, the corresponding House pre-med and pre-health advising programs, some of which offer broader connections not just to current medical students, but also practicing physicians in Boston and Cambridge.

These robust offerings go far beyond simply supporting students with their medical school applications, offering a closer look into the field they’re considering and thus helping them make more informed decisions about their educational and professional futures.

That’s not to mention the hands-on opportunities MCS lists for pre-med and pre-health students, which range from physician shadowing programs to clinical volunteer opportunities in the greater Boston area.

So why not extend that support to pre-law students? Admittedly, many of the comparable opportunities at law firms and judicial offices are mainly targeted at graduate students. But that doesn’t mean there’s a dearth of law-related internships open to undergraduates, nor that district attorney offices and non-governmental organizations aren’t looking for student help. At the very least, Harvard could connect students to a larger network of practicing attorneys — giving them invaluable experience and knowledge.

Indeed, it is true that medical schools have more particular and restrictive requirements, and accordingly, institutional support for prospective law students is less granular than for pre-meds. But there is plenty of middle ground between highly structured pre-graduate study and a lack of practical opportunities or engagement in a potential field of work.

One thing is certain: University support for students considering the legal profession shouldn’t merely, in the big white words at the top of Harvard Law School’s “Pre-Law Programs” webpage, “demystify the law school admission process.”

The MCS and House advising programs have shown that more is possible. By offering expanded pre-law support systems throughout the undergraduate experience, Harvard could ensure law school applicants have a practical sense for the field they’re applying for — and, by extension, a more concrete and genuine reason for being there.

Or, at the very least, perhaps a “Suits” movie night would be a good place to start.

Michael Isayan ’29, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Apley Court.