Special Part-Time Program
Application Process
Purpose of Program
Acting on the suggestion of the Women’s Committee, New England School of Law created a special part-time program for people, both male and female, who have child-care responsibilities which would prevent them from attending law school as either full-time day or part-time (day or evening) students. Attending school on a part-time, flexible basis allows students to arrange schedules that are more compatible with their child-care responsibilities.
Applicants for this program must establish that it would be a severe hardship for them to enroll in our standard day or evening programs. The special part-time (SPT) program is highly competitive. Applicants to the program must have excellent qualifications and the maturity to handle an independent law school experience. The program is quite selective, admitting only a small number of students each year.
In an article on parents in law school, Student Lawyer, the magazine of the American Bar Association’s Student Law Student Division, described New England School of Law as being “on the cutting edge in terms of meeting the needs of students who are parents.”
Description of Program
Each student who is accepted in the special part-time program designs his or her own schedule with the direction of the program’s faculty coordinator and may take up to six years to finish school.
To graduate, he or she must complete the minimum of 86 credits and 120 weeks in residence required of all New England students. Special part-time students may combine day and evening courses and may switch between divisions.
Application
An applicant must complete the standard application form, including the required supporting information such as LSAT scores and recommendations, and attach a statement requesting consideration for special part-time status and stating the circumstances that justify it.
Students beginning their legal education can be enrolled in the fall of any academic year; applications must be submitted before March 15.
Transfer Students
Students in good standing at other accredited law schools will be considered for transfer into the special part-time program if their circumstances warrant it. In certain cases, enrollment for such transfer students may be arranged for the second semester of an academic year.
Tuition and Fees
Most special part-time students carry approximately the same course load as part-time students (both day part-time and evening). As a result, they pay the same tuition and fees. If a student carries fewer than eight credits, then the tuition may be reduced pro rata, but the basic fees are not reduced. Special part-time students are not eligible for merit scholarships that are awarded to incoming first year students.
Ranking
Special part-time students will be given an “equivalency rank.” That will be the student’s rank while in school and his/her final rank. The equivalency rank will apply as soon as a student enters the special part-time division, and will continue to apply even if the student subsequently enters day or evening division.
Special part-time students will be eligible for the following academic awards for semesters or years in which they carried a minimum of nine credits: Dean’s List, New England Scholar, American Jurisprudence Prizes. Special part-time students will also be eligible for honors at commencement (Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, Summa Cum Laude). They will not be eligible for Trustee Scholarships or for commencement awards which are based upon exact rank in class at the end of the J.D. Program. At present, there is only one such award, the Amos L. Taylor Award for Excellence in Scholarship.
CONTACT
For more information on the special part-time program, please contact the Admissions Office at 617-422-7210 (email admit@admin.nesl.edu).
