The Pathway to Law School program allows aspiring law students to begin their journey at San Jose City College.

“The program is for students who are interested in either going to law school or other law-related careers,” Pathway to Law School program coordinator, Rachel Hagan said, “any legal field, including (but not limited to) paralegal, legal secretary, police officer.”

Jorge Casas, a student in the program, is very excited at the opportunity of one day getting into law school.

“I realize it’s no guarantee, a large part of it will be up to me to make it academically,” Casas said, “my experiences and endeavors will be greatly enhanced as a member of Pathway to Law school.”

The program was created to give diverse populations more opportunities to participate in the legal profession, according to a press release by the California Community Colleges chancellor.

For students, the program requirements are simple.

“Students can take advantage of this program without having to take many other courses,” Hagan said, “because many of the courses required are basic general education courses.”

As part of the Pathway to Law program, students receive early exposure to the law school experience, individual counseling, LSAT preparation and waived application fees for admission to participating law schools, according to the SJCC website.

“We will be taking a trip to UC Santa Cruz,” Hagan said. “They offer legal studies and mock trial courses, we’ll be going on courthouse visits and (in the near future) speakers from Destination Law School will be at San Jose City College.”

SJCC is one of only 24 California community colleges participating in this program. Participating law schools include: University of San Francisco, University of Santa Clara, University of California Davis, University of Southern California, Loyola University, University of California Los Angeles and Irvine.

Those considering law school must begin preparing now. Students interested should make an appointment with Rachael Hagan the program’s coordinator.

“You have to start planning your first years in college for law school,” Hagan said, “you want to have the appropriate counseling, you want to be participating in law-related activities so that once you transfer, you feel supported to make that next step.”

Learn more about the Pathway to Law School program on the San Jose City College website.