Earlier this month, the University of Illinois College of Law announced the creation of the Illinois Law Early Action Program (iLEAP), designed specifically for University of Illinois undergraduate students. The purpose of the iLEAP program is to recruit the very best University of Illinois undergraduate students to also pursue their legal education at Illinois. iLEAP will allow Illinois students who know that the College of Law is their first choice to give themselves their first best chance for admission to Illinois Law. By applying in their junior year, they will have the first shot at the limited number of seats in the entering class. 

The iLEAP program announcement was featured in the October 14 edition of the National Law Journal and Law.com and in the October 15 edition of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.

For Illinois undergraduate students that make Illinois Law their first choice for law school, iLEAP will allow them to save anywhere between $500 and $2,500 on the cost of applying to law school. The additional steps in the iLEAP application process, including an analytical essay and an extensive interview, will give the College more information about the students being admitted and allow the College to select students who are most capable of handling its rigorous curriculum.

iLEAP is designed to allow University of Illinois undergraduate students the opportunity to apply for admission to the College of Law prior to their senior year of college. It is only open to students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

iLEAP applicants will be judged based on their academic record, extracurricular activities, analytical writing ability, interview, and performance in Law 301, an undergraduate course taught by College of Law faculty.  iLEAP applicants are exempted from taking the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) and registering with the LSDAS.

The requirements for admission through iLEAP are separate and different from those applicable to other College of Law applications. In order to be eligible for this program, an applicant must be a junior in academic standing at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and special consideration will be given to students enrolled in a Campus Honors Program and to students who have completed or are currently enrolled in Law 301.

The iLEAP application process is also separate and different from the typical College of Law application process.  A complete submission will consist of an iLEAP Application , an iLEAP Essay, a Résumé and Letters of Recommendation, and an in-person iLEAP Interview. Applicants to iLEAP will be selected for interviews on a competitive basis based upon an evaluation of their promise of success in their law school studies at Illinois.  Interviews will be conducted by College of Law Admissions personnel.  The interviews are designed to provide the College's Admissions team with additional information on a candidate's maturity, judgment, communication and analytical skills, and motivation for success in their legal studies.

Offers of admission to the College of Law through iLEAP will be made by March 15 and are contingent on submission of a Seat Deposit and signed Enrollment Agreement by April 15, compliance with all terms of the Enrollment Agreement, and successful completion of an Illinois undergraduate degree. All students admitted through iLEAP will be given full consideration for financial aid on the same bases as traditional applicants.  Preliminary financial aid offers will be made at the time of admission.

iLEAP Timeline:

November 1 - Applications for iLEAP are available

February 1 - iLEAP applications are due

February - iLEAP interview selections are announced

March 15 - iLEAP Admission Offers are made

April 15 - iLEAP Seat Deposits and Enrollment Agreements are due

Why waive the LSAT Requirement?

The College has chosen to waive the LSAT requirement due to the timing of the iLEAP application process.  Most students choose to take the LSAT at the beginning of their senior year and well past the application time for iLEAP.

About University of Illinois undergraduate students

The College is limiting iLEAP to the pool of students it knows and understands the best - University of Illinois undergraduates.  The College has more applications, more admits and more matriculants from the University of Illinois than any other school by a factor of at least 10.  This volume of students has allowed the College to amass a great deal of information on how Illinois students from a variety of majors and educational backgrounds perform in law school. This data has indicated that certain types of Illinois undergraduate students perform at a high level at the College of Law regardless of their LSAT scores.

The iLEAP Process, Interview, and Timeline

The addition of an interview into this application process will provide a great deal of additional information for admission decisions.  By starting an interview program with a small, select group of Illinois undergraduate students, the College is adding to its evaluative methods another tool for determining the very best candidates for admission.  Since all of the students applying through the iLEAP program will be from the Urbana-Champaign campus, the interview process will be easily accessible to every qualified candidate.

The iLEAP application timeline is designed so that a student who is not admitted through iLEAP will still have the necessary time to prepare for the LSAT and apply to other law schools without prejudice, including Illinois. iLEAP is non-binding on students at the time of application and allows each student a wonderful opportunity to learn a great deal about the College of Law before committing to attend.

For more information on iLEAP, click here...