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Summer Institute

SLU LAW seeks to admit students who will enrich our institution in ways that their undergraduate
grades and standardized test scores alone sometimes fail to reveal. Our Summer Institute is a
conditional acceptance program designed to identify students with the high degree of personal
motivation necessary to succeed at SLU LAW and give those students a chance to demonstrate the
ability to be competitive in a law school class.

The Admissions Committee will look for evidence of a student’s proven ability to overcome significant obstacles to educational achievement when evaluating Summer Institute applicants. Students who speak English as a second language, students who were educated in either a rural or an urban setting, and students who have overcome learning or physical disabilities are examples of candidates for the Summer Institute. 

Students who are accepted into the Summer Institute are not guaranteed admission into the fall class. Students will virtually take both a substantive legal course and a legal skills course over 7 weeks in the summer (late May – early July). These courses will be taught virtually by two SLU LAW faculty. Students who successfully complete this program (at the discretion of the professors teaching the courses) will be admitted into SLU LAW for the fall semester. Enrollment in the Summer Institute is limited to 15 students. In the past, anywhere from 1/3 to 2/3 of the Summer Institute class have successfully completed the program and been accepted to SLU LAW. 

The Summer Institute is tuition-free; however, there is a $50 administrative and materials fee required of all participants.  

In addition to fulfilling all of SLU LAW's application requirements, applicants to the Summer Institute are required to submit an essay explaining their eligibility based upon the above description. If you would like to apply for the Summer Institute, please be sure to submit your essay and to indicate that you are applying for the Summer Institute when you complete the SLU LAW application. If you have any questions, contact the Admissions Office.