The Arcuri Wharton Pre-Law Fund

About the Fund 

 

About Alan F. Arcuri and Linda J. Wharton

The Fund is named in memory of Alan F. Arcuri and in honor of Linda J. Wharton. Alan F. Arcuri, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, passed away on November 20, 2017 and was instrumental in establishing ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ’s Pre-Law program. As ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ’s pre-law advisor, he mentored scores of students in their path to law school and a career in law. Professor Arcuri worked tirelessly with students to enhance their chances of obtaining admission to law school.

Linda J. Wharton, Professor Emerita of Political Science, co-advised pre-law students with Alan Arcuri since 2001. She succeeded Professor Arcuri as ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ’s pre-law advisor in 2015 and continued his legacy of providing ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ students with tireless support, dedicated mentorship, and attentive guidance in the law school application process. Through her courses—including Civil Liberties, Constitutional Law, Gender and the Law, Public Education and the Law, Advanced Constitutional Litigation, and Law School Basics—Professor Wharton also has provided numerous pre-law ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ undergraduates with their first experience of a rigorous law school environment. Professor Wharton is a longtime advocate and scholar of using state and federal constitutional law provisions to protect access to reproductive autonomy. Notably, she served as lead co-counsel in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which was decided by the United States Supreme Court in 1992. Learn more about Professor Wharton and her work.

Application Requirements

The Arcuri Wharton Pre-Law Fund supports students preparing for law school by providing a stipend for an LSAT preparation course. This funding opportunity is open to all ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ undergraduates who are currently juniors (earned 64-95 credits) or seniors (earned 96+ credits).

Preference will be given to juniors and seniors who major or minor in a program within the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SOBL). Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 at ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ.

Students - view the application questions here.

Instructors - view the recommendation form questions here.

 

Helpful Tips that Matter When Applying

Be very specific in your answers.

The Arcuri Wharton Selection Committee carefully evaluates your responses to the application prompts and rewards detail; so, please provide as much of it as possible in response to each question.

• If you served in a student club or organization, list its name, the role you played, and dates of service.
• If you are committed to attending law school, demonstrate your commitment by carefully describing completed coursework, internships, and/or jobs. That is, list full course names and indicate whether they were completed at ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ; list job titles and institutions/firms where they were held; include dates of completion for courses, internships and/or jobs; etc.
• Please be especially sure to clearly indicate if you have completed Law School Basics (POLS 2215).
• In your application, please clarify why you need financial support for LSAT preparation. Be specific about how the award will impact you financially. 

 

Make sure your application is well-written.

The care you put into crafting a polished, professional application communicates the degree to which you value an award. So, please make a substantial effort to ensure your application uses appropriate tone and word choice; demonstrates a strong command of vocabulary, sentence structure, and mechanics; and expresses ideas clearly. It is a good idea to carefully proofread your application and to consider working with a tutor in ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ’s Writing Center to improve it.

 

Dates & Deadlines

The 2025 application opens January 27, 2025 and closes February 28, 2025, at 11:59 PM. An application submission link will appear at the top of this page once the application opens.

 

Past Awardees

 

Selection Committee

Currently, the Arcuri Wharton Selection Committee is comprised of faculty from the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences as well as representatives from ÒùÐÔÊÓƵ’s Alumni Relations and University Advancement teams. The full Selection Committee is as follows:

 

Questions

If you have questions, please email Lauren Balasco (Associate Professor of Political Science ) at Lauren.Balasco@stockton.edu or Mariam Majd (Associate Professor of Economics) at Mariam.Majd@stockton.edu