College lays down the Law: students may submatriculate

The College of Arts and Sciences is working to lighten the financial load of law school. Through a submatriculation initiative in conjunction with the Law School, College students interested in pursuing law degrees at their alma mater may soon be able to earn both a bachelor's degree and law degree within six years, thereby stuffing their pockets with thousands of dollars in saved tuition payments. College Dean Robert Rescorla facilitated discussion about the program with Law School Associate Dean Michael Fitts last year -- right around the time Wharton administrators were putting the finishing touches on their submatriculation program with the Law School. Eligible Wharton juniors and first-semester seniors may currently submatriculate in the Law School and receive a bachelor's degree in Economics and a Juris Doctor law degree. Only two Wharton students are submatriculating this year. Wharton Director of Undergraduate Academic Affairs Anita Gelburd attributed the low numbers to Wharton's delayed announcement of the program and the early law school application deadline. The College submatriculation program will function similarly to Wharton's. Students will apply to the Law School in their junior year, after taking the LSATs and completing a majority of the College graduation requirements. Applications will be reviewed by a separate admissions committee, although "the standards are the same" as for regular law applicants, Law School Assistant Dean for Admissions Denise McGarry said. Submatriculants will enroll in law courses during their senior year and may be able to double-count up to eight courses toward the completion of both degrees -- four law courses for the College degree and four College courses for the Law degree. Following a Committee on Undergraduate Education vote -- scheduled for mid-November -- the proposal will be sent to the College Faculty Committee and Law School for approval, Committee Chairperson and English professor Rebecca Bushnell said. "The [proposal] has a good chance of being approved by CUE this term," Rescorla said, adding that qualified members of the current junior class will most likely be able to gain admittance into the program. Although Rescorla said last fall that the pre-professional focus of Wharton may be more compatible with the submatriculation program than the College, he said this month that the proposal is largely "in response to student interest" and will allow students to take advantage of University resources. Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs Kent Peterman said law school faculty are "comfortable" in the College, often engaging in "team-teaching and collaboration in research." While some students questioned why the College and Wharton submatriculation programs were not developed in tandem, officials said that developing such programs takes time. "We just take a long time to do things," Bushnell said, adding that the proposal requires "careful planning." Gelburd noted a "natural connection" between the Wharton and law school curriculums. "A significant proportion of our students pursue law degrees following graduation -- it is second only to the M.A.," she said. According to Wharton-Law submatriculant Mike Chen, the accelerated track allows for "more time to beg for a job." He added that submatriculation is "a tough transition," noting that his work load has increased from five to 25 hours a week. "The biggest thing I am giving up is the opportunity to have a relaxed, fun senior year," he said. Peterman said prospective submatriculants "need to have their aims set as freshmen," and only those with an "intellectual thirst" will succeed. Fitts said he is not worried about the possibility of a number of submatriculants distorting the diversity of the Law School. "We're looking for students with a lot of different backgrounds, but we're also looking for good students," he said. "Penn is a source for good students." And College senior Jen Feldman said she felt the program would benefit those pre-law students with specific professional aims. "The program is a good idea -- if you don't mind staying at Penn for an extra two years," she added.