APPLICANT FAQs

The DSF/PILI Internship for Spring has a separate application process. The Diversity Scholarship Foundation is proud to be partnering with the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) to provide a paid internship with an Illinois public interest agency to a deserving law student in the spring of next year! PILI’s Law Student Internship Program connects law students with public interest law agencies in Illinois and pays them for their work. Interns receive $3,250.00 for working 200 hours during a semester. Interns can also receive law school credit for their Internship if first approved by both the student’s law school and agency. PILI ensures quality supervision by experienced attorneys while also providing supplemental programmatic, networking and educational opportunities. The application period for 2025 Spring Semester Internships will open at 10:00 a.m. on October 15, 2024. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and can be submitted online through the website at pili.org/apply.

Applications are available online at www.diversitychicago.org

No.  Currently, the bar exam scholarship award is given to students taking the exam in either Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin or Iowa.

Unfortunately, no.

Unfortunately, no.  You need to have at least 2 semesters worth of law school credit to apply for our law student scholarships

Yes.  However, law students must have completed at least two (2) semesters of law school and have a transcript as a minimum requirement.

Unfortunately, no.

Yes, if you are qualified, but you must only apply to the categories for which you qualify (i.e., a law student cannot apply for an LSAT scholarship).  Applying to categories for which you do not qualify may reduce your evaluation by the scholarship committee.

Also, note that the DSF/PILI Internship has a separate application process.

Although you are applying for multiple scholarships, you would, however, only submit one essay.  It is helpful to have your view on diversity within the profession and your efforts toward diversity and the specifics of the particular scholarships (i.e., public service work, overcoming challenges despite a disability, pro bono efforts, leading and achieving in law school or the community-at-large, etc.)

No.  Please include your letters of recommendation in the PDF with the rest of your application.

No.

One at a minimum, and up to two.  Applications only require one letter of recommendation but may be strengthened by a second letter of recommendation

Yes.  However, generalized letters of recommendation have not been evaluated as highly as specific letters of recommendation identifying the student’s strengths for the scholarship or scholarships to which the student is applying.  Undergraduate students tend to submit generalized recommendations more frequently.  Specific recommendations are encouraged, but the evaluating committee is aware of the difficulties inherent in obtaining these at the undergraduate level.

Yes, absolutely.

Yes, but we prefer an official transcript.

Possibly.  GPA requirements may be waived for well-deserving students who tirelessly advocate for diversity.  The scholarship committee looks at the entirety of the student’s law school record; academic as well as non-academic.

You would submit your transcript and any relevant information relating to your placement in your classesthat the law school provides so that we can evaluate your coursework.

Yes, we encourage all law students to apply!

Please include your letters of recommendation in the pdf with the rest of your application.

Please include your letters of recommendation in the pdf with the rest of your application.

Attorneys, judges, law school deans, other scholarship recipients, and other supporters of diversity in the legal community will be in attendance.

The occasion is business formal, suits are highly encouraged and preferred.

The Unity Award Dinner is an excellent networking opportunity and being a scholarship recipient is a great conversation starter.  Law firms and bar associations that sponsor the event often request scholarship recipients sit with them at their tables.  You will likely be seated next to attorneys and/or judges.