You may have seen fliers on campus and a table at Fall Frolic and wondered “what?” and “why?” Fortunately enough, I am the founder and co-president of Bryn Mawr College’s brand new Pre-Law Society!
I started the club, innocently enough, by asking a question on our unofficial class facebook group over the summer to see if anyone had knowledge of an existing one on campus. There wasn’t one on the activities page while there were for pre-health and engineering. It seemed there had been unsuccessful attempts by students to form a pre-law society. As a result, I decided to make my own.
Some are confused as to what benefits could arise from the presence of and membership in such an organization. I had wanted to become a member so I could access the same valuable resources members of other academic societies on campus and other pre-law societies at other schools had. Societies like mine provide the evident benefit of a support system for individuals with similar goals for essay editing and study sessions. Less obvious, though, are the benefits related to career opportunities, advising, networking, and exploration.
When I and my co-president met with LILAC Pre-Law advisor, Jen Beale, to discuss our goals, we were shocked that a field that appeared as cut and dry as Pre-Law was anything but. Some misconceptions we held were busted and we later discovered that even upper class students were also confused because of an inaccurate, popular image of what pre-law students and curricula look like.
Because of our presentation as a society rather than individual students, we have already received communications from prospective employers looking to hire our members during gap years and test prep companies willing to provide free resources and guest speakers. In addition, we are receiving funding in order to travel to networking and advising events. This simply demonstrates that there is strength in numbers when a community is formed. We have already attracted about 50 members ranging in class years, intended majors, and ages which shows that our campus is excited and ready for a Pre-Law Society to grow and help students in any way possible. If you have the slightest interest in exploring, feel free to join!