Many law schools require that a dean's or college certification or questionnaire be completed by the applicant's undergraduate institution.

This certification typically requests the applicant's class rank, status on physical or emotional health, and information on matters of discipline during the undergraduate years.

On behalf of our candidates, Wellesley College informs law schools that:

Wellesley College does not rank its students. Permanent files of our undergraduates and alumnae do not contain information on physical and emotional health. If the suspension, dismissal, or expulsion of a student resulted from a violation of the college's honor code and occurred after July 1, 2004, the sanction will be recorded on the student's transcript. In addition, the college reports to the prelaw advisor honor code violations that result in a grade of 'F' in a course. Wellesley College does not report incidences of academic conditional leaves, probation or academic warnings.

We then indicate whether or not the applicant has a violation under Wellesley College policy. We also state that we have recommended that an applicant with a violation report the event to the law school and describe the circumstances.

If a Violation Has Occurred
Limited information regarding honor code violations beyond suspensions, dismissals, and expulsions occurring after July 1, 2004, is reported to the prelaw advisor. When the prelaw advisor is informed by the college of an honor code violation — or when any applicant voluntarily tells the prelaw advisor that she has violated the honor code — the prelaw advisor is obligated to both discuss the matter with the law school applicant and strongly recommend to the applicant that she be forthcoming in both reporting and explaining the circumstances of the violation in her application.

The legal field seeks professionals of the highest caliber. A law school applicant's credentials and background will be checked by admissions offices and later, often more thoroughly, by the bar association(s) in which the law school graduate may pursue membership. Law schools take very seriously any discrepancies between an applicant's statements in her submitted materials and information or violations they may discover through other sources.