Selection Procedures

Lottery Process for Clinics

After the application deadline has passed, the clinic administrator, or her designee, conducts the lottery selection process. The administrator certifies that the students are in good academic standing and have successfully completed 30 hours of coursework. The next step is to identify priority applications.

• Priorities

  Priority is given to students who:

  1. turn in their application on time;
  2. have not taken a clinic before; and
  3. are closest to graduation.

  From all the students certified, the administrator separates timely applications from late ones. From the applications submitted on time, she removes the applications of students who have taken a clinic before. Applications of students who have not had a clinic before are put in order of graduation (Dec. '13 graduates have first preference, May '14 graduates next, and so on).

• Conducting The Lottery

  Taking the priority applications closest to graduation, the next steps are to:

  1. Sort by Clinic of First Choice: The administrator first starts with the group of students closest to graduation and sorts them according to the clinic they have listed as their first choice. This yields a stack of applications which list that clinic as a first choice.
  2. Insure Students Have Met the Prerequisites: Each application that lists a given clinic as a first choice is checked to insure that the student has the clinic prerequisites. If a student does not meet the prerequisites for their first choice, but does meet the requirements for his/her second choice, the application will be put in the second choice drawing pile and it will be considered for drawings for that clinic or the third choice clinic if the prerequisites are met.
  3. Select Students: At this point, the administrator counts the number of applications for that clinic's first choices. If there are more applications than enrollment spaces, all the applications are put in a box and blindly picked until all the spaces are filled. The administrator continues to pick the applications and place the names on a wait list until all the applications have been picked. If a student is put on the wait list, his/her application then goes into the second choice drawing pile and set aside. The administrator then goes on to the next clinic's first choice pile.
     After the above process has been conducted for every clinic's first choice applications, the administrator follows steps (1), (2), and (3) for each clinic's second choice ones. After every clinic's second choice applications have been selected, the administrator then does the same for each clinic's third choice applications.
  4. Next Graduation Class: The administrator then starts the whole process over with the next graduation class. The process indicated in (1) through (3) is conducted. The administrator then goes on to the next graduating class, and so on until all graduating classes have gone through the lottery.
  5. Late Applications (if received before the lottery occurs): If clinic slots still remain, the administrator considers late applications according to (1) through (3) above.
  6. Students Who Have Taken A Clinic: After all students who have not taken a clinic have gone through the selection process, the administrator then considers students who have previously taken a clinic. The lottery is conducted according to (1) through (3) above.
  7. Visiting Students: If clinic slots still remain, the administrator considers applications by students visiting from another law school.