To be eligible for the Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund, applicants must: be an entering, first-year law student in the upcoming academic year; be a member of an underrepresented racial and/or ethnic minority (e.g. Black/African-American, Native American, Hispanic American, Asian/Pacific Islander); and have achieved a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5 (on a 4.0 grading scale) at their undergraduate institution. While the scholarship is not limited to U.S. citizens or permanent residents, foreign students studying in the United States are not eligible.
The mission of the program is to encourage racial and ethnic minority students to apply to law school and to provide financial assistance to attend and complete law school. The ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship grants 10 - 20 incoming diverse law students with $15,000 of financial aid over their three years in law school. Since its inception, more than 400 students from across the country have received the ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship.