Eligibility
Sidley Scholars will be selected on a competitive basis. To be considered, one must:
- Be a second-semester college junior or a senior, graduating from an accredited American college in good standing no later than June 30, 2026, or be a very recent graduate of an accredited American college.
- Submit a complete application and supporting materials by the application deadline.
- Demonstrate financial need through the application and supporting materials.
- Preference will be given to the most well-qualified first-generation professional applicants [individuals whose parents did not graduate from college (U.S.) or university].
Required Application Materials
- Copy of most recent FAFSA or Student Aid Report from your college/university;
- Transcripts from all colleges/universities attended (unofficial transcripts may be submitted initially; however, official transcripts must be provided in order to receive award);
- Résumé (one page maximum);
- Recommendation form and/or letter from one academic reference. If you are not directly uploading a recommendation letter, please upload a document with the name and institution of the person who will submit your recommendation. Recommendations can be emailed directly to: sidleyscholars@sidley.com.
Incomplete applications will not be considered. An application submitted successfully will receive a confirmation email. If you do not receive a confirmation email, the application has not been submitted.
Expectations of Sidley Scholars
Each Sidley Scholar is expected to:
- Graduate in good standing from college no later than June 30, 2026.
- Meet all LSAT or GRE, law school application, and program deadlines.
- Attend all classes associated with the LSAT or GRE preparatory course.
- Attend the entire Sidley Scholars Summer Seminar in the summer before law school. The last installment of the scholarship award is contingent upon in-person attendance and successful completion of the Sidley Scholars Summer Seminar. It is expected that the 2025-2026 Sidley Scholars will attend the 2026 Summer Seminar.
- Matriculate to law school in Fall 2026.
- Be available to Sidley representatives via telephone and email from February 2025 through September 2026 and respond in a timely way to all inquiries from Sidley.
- Upon starting law school, remain in touch with Sidley representatives to provide feedback on how the Sidley Prelaw Scholars Program is benefiting the Sidley Scholar during the first year of law school.
- Upon an expression of interest, be available to a future Sidley Scholar as a mentor.
In rare circumstances, a student may request that the firm consider an exception to a requirement of the program. Sidley will consider such requests on a case-by-case basis, but certain benefits of the program may not be made available to such student. For example, Scholars who do not attend the entire Summer Seminar will not receive the second installment of their scholarship award. All such decisions are at Sidley’s sole discretion.
