Click on the question to reveal the answer of our most frequently asked questions.
Top 10 Questions
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College study abroad doesn’t have to be on a topic irrelevant to your U.S. pre-law path. Lex is the only program truly tailored to pre-law students, that also allows you to travel in a single or multi-city program. In Lex’s “360 Law Immersion” model, you rotate to different law firms each day and get hands-on experience with diverse cases, fields, and lawyers, guided by someone from a U.S. JD background. With Lex on your resume, you’ll stand out in law school applications with a condensed, unique legal experience (that can also replace common extracurriculars, letting you focus on GPA back at home). Read more here: Why Do Lex?
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For our regular programs, you must be at least 18 years old by the time your program is set to start, and attending or recently graduated from college. If you are an international student, you are responsible for researching and acquiring any travel documents you may need in order to travel to your program destination(s).
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Applications remain open throughout the year; however, as you surely have noted, most of our programs are composed of small groups, which is the reason we constantly fill programs and open new ones. Click here to apply.
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Our team chooses locations that are surrounded by the rich cultural offerings of Europe, U.S. and beyond. We know many pre-law students are unable to do pre-law relevant study abroad due to course requirements. Lex allows students to combine the joys of travel abroad with the invaluable experience of experiencing in global legal systems. Explore available cities here.
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Breadth of exposure to different legal specialities is something that law schools value. It can play a large role in application and interview performance. During each firm visit, Lex students meet with attorneys, learn directly from them about the nature of their work and specific area of legal practice, and answer the students’ questions. These fields range from corporate law to commercial law, from international law to maritime law, from renewable energies to intellectual property. Read more details on the Law Firm Experience here.
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Almost all Lex alumni have not spoken the local language. Most attorneys in most places speak enough English for the language barrier to not hinder the experience. English is also a common language for international legal interactions. When there is a language barrier, such barrier will push most students out of their comfort zone, which fosters resilience & adaptability. Overcoming the any limited language barrier issues is crucial for building your cultural competence, growing in oral communication skills, and also having compelling stories for your applications and interviews to law school.
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See our available programs page for that information.
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Lex programs are robust in terms of the law firm exposure, legal training, and extended learning opportunities that prepare students for the law school admissions process and first year of law school. Housing accommodations, law firm visits, Legal Associate with a U.S. JD background, 24/7 on-site support staff, travel health insurance, cultural excursions, and more are included. View the full list here.
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We believe everyone on track to law school can find a way to afford Lex. It just takes drive and the initiative to make it work. We’re here to help. You have multiple options for how to cover the cost of your Lex program: scholarships and vocation-driven fundraising. Read more here: Financing & Aid.
How It Works
Questions about the day-to-day experience, requesting course credit, and comparing Lex to other programs
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College study abroad doesn’t have to be on a topic irrelevant to your U.S. pre-law path. Lex is the only program truly tailored to pre-law students, that also allows you to travel in a single or multi-city program. In Lex’s “360 Law Immersion” model, you rotate to different law firms each day and get hands-on experience with diverse cases, fields, and lawyers, guided by someone from a U.S. JD background. With Lex on your resume, you’ll stand out in law school applications with a condensed, unique legal experience (that can also replace common extracurriculars, letting you focus on GPA back at home). Read more here: Why Do Lex?
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Yes, During an average 3 week program, Lex students spend about 20+ hours immersed into law firm offices, each in a variety of practice areas. During each firm visit, Lex students meet with attorneys, learn directly from them about the nature of their work and specific area of legal practice, and answer the students’ questions. The attorneys will then provide any pertinent background information the students need before presenting a real-world case, usually one the attorneys have worked on themselves, for the students to analyze with guidance from the Legal Associate. This offers students the unique opportunity to learn through real cases presented by the lawyers who argued them. This offers firsthand exposure to a wide range of legal practice areas, and helps students make well-educated decisions about their law school choices and legal careers. Read more about the Law Firm Experience here.
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Each day of the Lex Fellowship follows a similar structure, but no day is the same. Over the course of the program, Fellows will visit a variety of different law firms and legal institutions, explore and analyze real cases, gain a network of peer and professional contacts, receive training and mentorship from their Legal Associate, and explore a new city. Every morning, Fellows will wake up, enjoy a light breakfast, and head to their law firm visit. The afternoons are reserved for law school trainings and free time to explore. Fridays are reserved for cultural excursions planned for the whole group, and weekends are left free for students to enjoy and explore. Read more about a Day In The Life here.
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Breadth of exposure to different legal specialities is something that law schools value. It can play a large role in application and interview performance. During each firm visit, Lex students meet with attorneys, learn directly from them about the nature of their work and specific area of legal practice, and answer the students’ questions. These fields range from corporate law to commercial law, from international law to maritime law, from renewable energies to intellectual property. Read more details on the Law Firm Experience here.
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Almost all Lex alumni have not spoken the local language. Most attorneys in most places speak enough English for the language barrier to not hinder the experience. English is also a common language for international legal interactions. When there is a language barrier, such barrier will push most students out of their comfort zone, which fosters resilience & adaptability. Overcoming the any limited language barrier issues is crucial for building your cultural competence, growing in oral communication skills, and also having compelling stories for your applications and interviews to law school.
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To make the most of your experience, you’ll want to pay special attention to the information you receive pre-departure and during your program orientation. Ask for recommendations from your site manager about how to optimize your time with the attorneys. Proactive communication, asking questions, taking notes, and putting on a friendly smile go a long way.
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Lex is the only program tailored specifically for pre-law education abroad. Other study abroad organizations are generalists, i.e., they work in many fields.) We’ve been running specifically pre-law programs for many years, and we are learning more every day. When it comes to immersing students in the world of law and preparing them for law school, we have more experience than any other entity in our field, even though many organizations have been around for much longer than we have. Still, be sure to check out what offerings are available from generalist study abroad providers, and see if ours is the best fit for you. Keep in mind that our alumni have been successful in being admitted to law school and other graduate schools in part because of the impact of Lex in their learning, law school applications, and interviews (or those of other graduate programs). That said, only you will know what’s best for your particular case.
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Our approach is different from most programs for a few reasons. Universities have to approve credit anyway in order for it to count, so we spend our efforts maximizing the educational value of our programs rather than managing the administrative work of issuing credit. This allows us to keep costs lower than they would be otherwise, and to offer more flexible dates and options that fit with other summer opportunities. It’s also worth noting that most of our alumni do not request credit for Lex from their university, generally having enough credits from their classes already – it’s often not worth the extra expense for them. If you do require credit, you can often request it from your university; please check out: Support for Requesting Course Credit.
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Most of our alumni do not request credit for Lex from their university, because the legal exposure is so valuable to law school admissions on its own, and because students generally have enough credits from their classes already. However, most of those who do need the credit are successful at requesting it, and Lex is more than happy to assist. Read more here: Support for Requesting Course Credit.
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The structure and exercise of the legal profession follows similar patters world-wide. While the legal systems in Europe and America are different, students delve deeply into the study of legislative applicability, legal analysis, and the skills needed to work with a legal mindset. The international environment provides an opportunity for global perspective building and comparative analysis.
Value
Questions about the law firm experience, legal training, law school admissions, and balancing priorities
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Yes, Lex is designed for American undergraduate students who plan to enter law schools here in the U.S. and later practice here as well. Ideally, Lex complements rather than replaces U.S. legal experience.The structure and exercise of the legal profession follows similar patters world-wide. While the legal systems in Europe and America are different, students delve deeply into the study of legislative applicability, legal analysis, and the skills needed to work with a legal mindset. The international environment provides an opportunity for global perspective building and comparative analysis. Additionally, your Legal Associate will be someone from a U.S. JD background, who will be able to help you compare the similarities and differences between systems, and importantly guide you through the law school trainings that are designed to give you deep insight into what a typical 1L course load includes in the U.S.
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For the most part, law admissions is, in fact, predictable – even if it isn’t perfectly objective, it does follow some well-known rules. To see this for yourself, consult your pre-law advisor or the legal professions advising websites of elite schools (cf. Stanford Pre-Law Advising resources). Though it’s worth consulting many sources, we usually recommend pre-law advisors over law schools, since advisors are not biased towards maximizing the number of applicants (which helps law schools increase their rankings). If you read many of these advisor websites, you’ll realize there’s a core consensus. Here’s the consensus from pre-law advising websites at elite schools (which is relevant for every pre-law student regardless of school): law admissions want three things, 1) legal exposure, 2) GPA/MCAT, and 3) certain competencies. Law Immersion with Lex facilitates all three.
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It’s a simple but sometimes hard truth: trying to do everything is a losing game. As you know, only 3 things really matter to get into law school: legal exposure, stats (GPA/MCAT), and demonstrating the ABA competencies in your applications and interviews. Lex promotes all three pillars, so you can cut out some extracurriculars and focus on what matters. Law Immersion gives you legal exposure (#1), which also contributes to many competencies (#3). This then allows all your energy to be spent on studies during the year (#2), which contributes to the other ABA competencies tied to coursework. This is one of the reasons our alumni have been successful at being admitted to law school and other graduate programs.
Bottom line: if you’re going to do an activity outside of the classroom, make sure it really is worth the cost in grades that it will bring. Pre-law advisors wish students would prioritize grades more – be sure to consult your advisor about how to prioritize.
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During an average 3 week program, Lex students spend about 20+ hours per week immersed into law firm offices, each in a variety of practice areas. During each firm visit, Lex students meet with attorneys, learn directly from them about the nature of their work and specific area of legal practice, and answer the students’ questions. The attorneys will then provide any pertinent background information the students need before presenting a real-world case, usually one the attorneys have worked on themselves, for the students to analyze with guidance from the Legal Associate. This offers students the unique opportunity to learn through real cases presented by the lawyers who argued them. This offers firsthand exposure to a wide range of legal practice areas, and helps students make well-educated decisions about their law school choices and legal careers. Read more here.
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Your 1L grades will be a major indicator of your career success after law school. Set yourself up for the legal career you want by investing in your future early. Lex is one great way to do that, and the law school trainings you receive from your Legal Associate (someone from a U.S. JD background) are designed to help you sprint ahead of the pack by learning about concepts covered in 1L courses. Read more about the topics covered here.
Admissions
Questions about eligibility, deadlines, and how to apply
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For our regular programs, you must be at least 18 years old by the time your program is set to start, and attending or recently graduated from college. If you are an international student, you are responsible for researching and acquiring any travel documents you may need in order to travel to your program destination(s).
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Applications remain open throughout the year; however, as you surely have noted, most of our programs are composed of small groups, which is the reason we constantly fill programs and open new ones. Click here to apply.
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On average, the application process takes 2–4 weeks. The time it takes to advance through the 3-step application process depends on the volume of applications, which varies throughout the year. If your program of choice is starting soon, your application will be expedited. Otherwise, our team reviews applications in order of submission.
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No matter where you attend school, we’re here to help jumpstart your future in law! The criteria for joining Lex are a genuine passion for law, commitment to excellence, and professionalism. We are proud of the fact that our students come from a diverse set of educational backgrounds (hundreds of U.S. universities), ranging from incoming college freshmen to recent graduates and master’s students. They often do end up at great law schools and other legal programs after Lex.
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Our team chooses locations that are surrounded by the rich cultural offerings of Europe. We know many pre-law students are unable to do legal study abroad due to course requirements. Lex allows students to combine the joys of travel abroad with the invaluable experience of experiencing the life of a lawyer in another advanced legal system. View available cities here.
Pre-Departure
Questions about program logistics, travel, and safety
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Please see our contact us page.
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Flights cost less than you might expect. In fact, students who search smartly can usually find flights for under $800 total. That might not be the first price you see on the first search you do, and it depends on where you’re flying to and from. We encourage students to research flying from various U.S./Canadian cities and to look at various departure dates, as you may want to take advantage of traveling before or after your program – especially if it will drastically reduce the price of your plane ticket.
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You are welcome to travel before and/or after your program on your own. However, please note that housing will unfortunately not be provided before the first day of your program or after the last day of your program. If you do decide to travel beyond your program dates, you will need to make your own travel arrangements. Please note that the health insurance provided by Lex will only be in effect during the program itself.
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Naturally, the weather will vary by region and season, so we recommend that you research the climate in your host country for your program dates before you depart. Some things to keep in mind about European seasons: summers are hot and air conditioning is less common than it is in the U.S.. On the other hand, while winters may be milder than in parts of the U.S./Canada, that doesn’t mean you won’t need a winter coat. Please bring a winter coat if your program is during the winter months.
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We provide local housing, with rooms separated by gender (students have 1–2 roommates or several housemates, depending on the type of housing). Typically, students are in basic student residences or apartments relatively close to the city center (generally 30 to 45 minutes’ commute from the law firms), with one bathroom per 2–4 students. Please know that housing in Europe tends to be smaller and often does not have air conditioning (at least compared with the U.S.).
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You are expected to dress in business casual attire inside the law firms.
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Your free time can be used in many ways, including sightseeing, relaxing on a beach or local natural area, exploring your city, resting up after a busy week, traveling, and more. We recommend researching your host country before your program begins to find sites and attractions you might want to visit. Your Site Manager will be a great resource for you while abroad, and they can tell you about the customs and schedules in your host city. During the weekends, you are also free to travel to other cities, or even other countries, if you’ve ensured that you have the correct visa requirements to do so. Note that you’ll be on your own during these outings, and we encourage you to behave safely in your travels. Keep in mind you do not have to travel outside of your main city in order to have a great experience.
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As a Lex student, you will be covered for applicable health issues by Lex-provided health insurance while abroad. If you get sick, you should inform your Site Manager and seek medical attention from the hospital if necessary. In emergencies, you should seek to get to an emergency room ASAP. Please know that local healthcare facilities generally expect you to pay for all treatments and costs out of pocket (at rates far lower than the U.S., usually), but you can submit a claim afterwards to be reimbursed by the insurer.
Financing & Aid
Questions about cost, financial aid, and refunds
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See our cities and programs page for that information.
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Program fees go towards maintaining our staffing, partner development and retention, promotion costs, and administrative costs. The rest covers program costs such as housing, excursions, site staff recruitment and training, travel insurance, meals, and more.
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Find this information on our Whats Included page.
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We believe everyone on track to law school can afford Lex. It just takes drive and the initiative to make it work. We’re here to help. You have multiple options for how to cover the cost of your Lex program: scholarships and fundraising. Read more here: Financing & Aid.
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Lex is committed to ensuring equitable access to programs as much as possible. We do this through flexible payment plans and multiple forms of financial aid. Just as importantly, we are committed to ensuring that our programs provide the highest return on investment (ROI) in our alumni’s entire educational path. A Lex program costs a small fraction of the cost of college and graduate/professional school, and is proven to help with law school admissions while strongly impacting students’ passion for law as a vocation. We know that in the years from high school to law school graduation, students often encounter programs with a steep cost: off-topic study abroad programs, undergraduate degrees with inflated costs, remedial masters programs, expensive post-bac options, etc. There’s certainly a place for all of these options in the ecosystem, but Lex strives to offer the highest single return on investment of any of these opportunities between high school and passing the bar exam. See more info on the Lex cost comparison on our Financing & Aid page.
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See the relevant section within this page.
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See the relevant section within this page.
Payment Issues
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Yes, we permit others to pay on your behalf.
If paying Lex directly, they can set up their own account (using our processing partner), or, you can create an account and have them add their payment method to your account. Either way, they need to make sure their payment includes your full name in the “Student Name” field of the payment form. By default, receipts are sent to the email address of the individual who made the payment. If you need a copy of the receipt, please submit a request to our Post Enrollment team.
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Please reach out to your Lex Representative for help with this question.
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Generally, two days before you are billed, you will receive an email notification of the upcoming payment. Lex unfortunately cannot be liable for any overdraft fees that may be added to your account.
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In the rare event of a mistaken payment, we are generally able to edit payment information if contacted within 12 hours of payment.
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You can update your payment method at any time by logging into your payment account.
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Our deadlines are important so as to ensure our programs are planned on time. Please contact the Post Enrollment team if you have questions about this.
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Students who do not remain in contact with us about payments would be withdrawn from the program.
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Generally we are not able to grant extensions. Please let our Post Enrollment team know if you have any questions.
Alumni Questions
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Yes, please reach out to our Post Enrollment team via email, and they can provide you a copy of your Certificate of Completion.
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This depends on the request. Our Post Enrollment team is happy to be a point of reference for your applications, simply to verify the dates of your program. However, if you are seeking an actual letter of recommendation, please send your request directly to the person you want to write you a letter, being sure that you know them well enough to ask. Asking letters from someone who doesn’t know you well is usually not a good strategy, so consider carefully whom to ask for one.
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Congratulations! We welcome all alumni to update us as their legal career progresses and we are always excited to hear which law schools our alumni end up attending. Email us at contact@lexfellowship.org to share your good news!
Have Additional Questions?
Reach out to us today.