Plus Program Goals and Objectives

The PLUS Program has five main objectives:

1. Introduce participants to the legal profession, including numerous opportunities to meet and work with prominent and varied members in the legal profession. This objective will be accomplished through various visits to courthouses, including sitting in on cases, attorney visits to campus, and, schedule permitting, attorney shadow days where students can work with and shadow an attorney for a day.

 

2. Provide participants with a curriculum that is focused on developing and strengthening comprehensive reading, writing, logic and reasoning skills. This objective will be accomplished through enrollment in two academic courses, Legal Research Writing and Analysis, and Criminal Law, taught by tenured law faculty at Santa Clara University. Students will be expected to read and analyze legal materials in various formats, write several assignments, work on a major project, and actively participate in group and class discussions.

 

3. Introduce participants to the law school admissions process and LSAT exam. This objective will be accomplished through a series of workshops that break down and cover all aspects of the admissions process, including financial aid, personal statements, and letters of recommendation. Students will also be enrolled in an LSAT Prep course where they will learn about the components of the LSAT exam, learn strategies to tackle the various problems, and take numerous practice exams to establish progress.

 

4. Provide participants with a glimpse of law school student life, organizations and activities. This objective will be accomplished through a series of activities and social events in conjunction with the Student Bar Association. Students will have numerous opportunities to meet with law students, faculty and staff by virtue of being on campus. Law students will also stay in the dorms and attend class with the students, acting as both mentors and tutors.

 

5. Allow students the opportunity to visit area law schools and go on other social trips. This objective will be accomplished through an all day visit to numerous law schools in the Bay Area, such as Stanford, UC Hastings and Boalt Hall. We may also plan another all day trip to UC Hastings, as we have during the last two summers, in which students learn about other programs of study and get a chance to visit the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. We also plan on doing one or two weekend trips to an area tourist destination or theme park to allow participants a chance to bond with their fellow students and balance out the major academic components.