For five freshmen and/or sophomores who want to become lawyers, that dream may be drawing ever nearer.

Wayne State College and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have just started a new agreement called the Rural Law Opportunity Program, or RLOP for short.

“We have an agreement with UNL, and the approved students will be guaranteed a spot in the law program,” Dean of Natural and Social Sciences Tammy Evetovich said.

WSC is the first college in Nebraska to start such a program, but Evetovich predicts that other colleges are likely to follow or create similar programs.

This program will be similar to RHOP (Rural Health Opportunity Program), which is an agreement between WSC and the University of Nebraska Medical Center for students interested in the medical field.

“For one year we are going to consider WSC freshmen and sophomores for the program. If they want to go to law school they should apply,” Evetovich said.

Typically, it will be high school students who will apply for the RLOP; however, this year WSC freshmen and sophomores are also encouraged to apply.

“Many rural areas in Nebraska don’t have lawyers, so we’re hoping students from these rural towns return to practice in these towns,” Evetovich said.

To apply for RLOP, students need a 3.5 GPA, a 153 or higher on their LSAT, to come from a rural area and complete the application online.

Students from any major are welcome to enter this process.
After applying, students that advance will be reviewed by a committee made up of members from WSC and UNL.

Students will be able to apply starting Oct. 3 this year. Interviews will take place in December.

A representative from the University of Nebraska School of Law will be on campus September 21 at 3:30 p.m. in Connell Hall 131 and can answer questions about the new program or law school in general.

Students who are interested in the program or who have more questions about the program can contact Evetovich at [email protected].