Eastern to host 7 schools at Illinois Law School Fair

Joseph Bates, Staff Reporter

Eastern will be hosting the Illinois Law School Fair on Wednesday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the Doudna Fine Arts Center Concourse.

At the event, directors of admissions from Chicago Kent College of Law, DePaul University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, John Marshall Law School, Northern Illinois University, Northwestern University and Southern Illinois University Carbondale will all be present.

Students of any major will be able to stop by during the fair to talk to these directors of admissions one on one.

This fair is meant to give students a way learn more about law school and what it can offer.

There will also be a travel subsidy available for anyone coming from 10 miles and more for the fair.

This is the first time the majority of the law schools in Illinois will be present for the event. Karen Swenson, the pre-law coordinator at Eastern, said that usually only one school comes at a time.

Swenson also said this is the first time the committee of the event is doing the “Down State Caravan,” which will see the directors of admissions from the schools above go to Illinois State University then come to Eastern Illinois University.

Swenson said this is Eastern’s first time hosting the event.

“If the turnout is good, hopefully (the law schools) might come back again,” Swenson said.

Swenson said she is optimistic about the turnout on Wednesday.

Anita Shelton, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said the fair is a good way to learn what law school can do for students and their career path.

“Law school can itself be the entry to a wide range of career paths, so I would encourage all students to attend and learn as much as they can from this opportunity to meet with representatives from law schools,” Shelton said.

Swenson said this fair is designed to help law schools meet students face to face before seeing their application.

“This fair gives students the opportunity to meet with the people who will decide on enrollment for their respected school,” Swenson said. 

Swenson and Shelton said they encourage students of all majors to come and checkout the event if they are interested in entering law school or even if they are not interested.

Joseph Bates can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].