Department of Political Science, Queens College

Welcome to the Pre-law page at Queens College. 

Pre-law at Queens College is committed to providing Queens College students, both past and present with the information, resources, and support that they need to effectively and efficiently prepare for, apply to, and successfully complete law school.

As the pre-law advisor for Queens I am committed to helping students successfully engage the process involved in pursuing a career in law. The process includes helping students determine if a career in law is right for them, how best to position themselves so law schools will view them in the best possible light, how to successfully manage the application process, and how best to prepare oneself for the many demands they will face in law school.

Access to information is critical to successfully navigating the law school process. To this end there are three essential resources pre-law provides for the interested student. First, is the Law School Handbook, a copy of which can be found on this website by clicking the appropriate link. The handbook is designed to provide information and insight into the law school process. The handbook is a good place to start to get some straightforward answers to many of your questions. 

While familiarizing yourself with the pre-law handbook is a good first step, it is only a first step and should not take the place of meeting with me to have a more in-depth discussion about a career in law and how best to position yourself to engage the process successfully. There are three ways in which students may meet with me. I have regular office hours that are posted each semester in the political science department as well as on this site. Keep in mind that office hours are on a first-come-first-served basis and so it is a good way to get a quick question or two answered but not much more because I try to meet with everyone that shows up. If a student needs to have more time with me it is best to make an appointment. I usually block out anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes for an appointment based on what amount of time the student thinks they will need to meet with me. Appointments may take one of two forms, we can meet in person or we can set up a phone appointment. Keep in mind that anything we discuss is confidential. Students may also email me at carl.bonomo.@qc.cuny.edu . The advantage to an email is that I can answer your email at any time and so you are likely to get a speedy response and you have a written record for future reference.  Finally, students should feel free to call my office at 718-997-5488 to get in touch with me. However, calling my office is the least efficient way of contacting me because I will not pick up the phone if I am with a student and typically people leave long messages and the mailbox fills up rather quickly. 

A third resource is the eight seminars we offer throughout the year, four are offered during the fall semester and another four during the spring semester. The dates, times and topics for the seminars are posted on the pre-law bulletin board in the political science department in Powdermaker Hall, notices are sent out to each department so that the seminar dates, time and subjects may be announced in class, and they are also posted here on this website. The seminars cover a number of important topics and are designed to aid students in the application process, provide insight into determining if a student is well suited for a career in law, and provide students with an opportunity to ask questions they need answers to in order to move ahead in the process. 

Starting in the fall of 2010 I also hope to have a lecture series in place where we will invite practicing layers and legal scholars to come in and discuss a myriad of topics including but not limited the state of the profession, current topics the legal community is wrestling with, and current public policy issues from a legal perspective.

In the spring of 2011 I hope to have up and running our first Careers in Law day and invite various admissions officers, law firms and professional in the field to meet with those in our community who are interested in possibly pursuing a career in law.

Finally, it would be greatly appreciated if you are interested in a career in law, or just wish to come in and meet with me to discuss the possibility that you to click on the Student Information Sheet link below and take a moment to fill out as much of the information sheet as possible and either email it to me or bring it with you when we meet.  It is a requirement that a Student Information Sheet be filled out before we meet. It only takes a minute and it only needs to be filled out once.

I look forward to meeting with you and helping you move closer to a career in law.
 

Carl Bonomo, Pre-Law Advisor

Powdermaker Hall, 2nd Floor, Political Science Department, Room 200Z