Inform, Educate, and Guide: A Study on the Impacts of the Law School Preparation Institute at the University of Texas at El Paso
Abstract
Between 1998 and 2018, the Law School Preparation Institute (LSPI) at The University of Texas at El Paso helped send four-hundred and nineteen students to law schools across the United States. The mission of the LSPI aims to prepare its students to be competitive in the application process and in law school. The preparation is accomplished by providing help with the law school application. The preparation is also accomplished by creating an environment where students feel supported and prepared for the rigorous workload of law school. The techniques students acquire in the LSPI intend to make the life altering transition from one event in their lives to another less overwhelming. The study explored the impacts the LSPI had on students that completed the program. A qualitative inductive approach was used to collect and analyze the findings of this ex post facto study. Findings from those that matriculated to law school indicated that while the LSPI accurately portrayed the first year in law school, the LSPI was best in assisting with the application process. For those that did not matriculate to law school, the LSPI provided an understanding of the expectations of a law student as well as someone in the law profession, which helped them decide not to pursue law school. The study provides recommendations for future research to continue to explore the impacts of the LSPI and programs like it. The study also provides programmatic recommendations to update the current curriculum and provide assistance for students interested in graduate school to improve the program.
Subject Area
Educational leadership|Educational administration|Communication|Education
Recommended Citation
Serrano, Rachel, "Inform, Educate, and Guide: A Study on the Impacts of the Law School Preparation Institute at the University of Texas at El Paso" (2021). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI28549672.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI28549672