Washington, D.C., Summer Program

Enrollment in the 2009 Program

What to Include in Your Enrollment Materials
Following the practice in recent years, the program will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. The first day to submit your enrollment materials is Tuesday, December 2, 2008. You will be considered "enrolled" when you submit the application materials and the $300 program fee. If the program fills up, and you are not enrolled, then the program fee will be returned to you.

You will submit your enrollment materials to the student services offices. In two of the past three years, the program filled within 24 hours of the beginning of sign-up. Signing up for the program promptly also makes the job search smoother -- you are able to meet with Professor Swire in December and apply for the best fit of positions. For your enrollment materials, we are asking you to provide information that will help in matching you with an Externship. Please submit:

1. A resume that includes your name, address, phone number (including cell number if you use it), and email address. A one-page resume is generally appropriate, and please do not provide more than two pages. The resume should include any work or volunteer experience that you consider relevant to participating in the Program.
2. An essay of no more than 200 words. The essay should explain why you would like to participate in the program, and how doing so will help you meet your educational goals. If you believe that you have experience relevant to participating in the program, you may wish to discuss that experience and how it will help you benefit from the program and contribute to it. This essay will help the Program Director match you with an externship.
3. Areas of interest and leads on externships. Are there certain federal agencies in which you would like to work? Certain public interest groups, research groups, or other organizations in the D.C. area? Please try to list at least some of the sorts of Externships that you would find interesting, to provide a starting place for working with you in placement. If there is any organization where you believe you have an especially good chance of getting an Externship, you can indicate that here. To get ideas of areas of interest, you might wish to look at the list of where OSU students have had internships in past summers.
4. In past summers the program has had both first years and second years. If you have already completed at least a year of law school, please provide a current transcript.
5. One reference, with name, job title, and phone number.

When you enroll, please bring a printed set of materials with your program fee check to give to student services. Those will count as your formal enrollment. Please also then send an email to Professor Swire at peter@peterswire.net or swire.1@osu.edu, so that he can have electronic access to your materials.

Tuition and Living Expenses
The tuition for the summer program is based on the five units of law school credit that you will receive. In 2009, the base tuition, including the program fee, will be $5,462 for Ohio residents and $9,200 for non-residents. This year, students can also apply for scholarship assistance, especially to very substantially narrow the gap between the amount paid by in- and out-of-state students.

This fee covers the five credits of coursework, the time and effort of the Moritz College in placing you with an externship, and a fee to George Washington to gain access to classrooms, the law library, and other facilities.

Based on the living expenses for GW students, other living expenses for the two months of the program are estimated at: room and board, $3,400; transportation (including travel to D.C. from Columbus and metro/bus in D.C.) $900; other living expenses $650. Books for the courses are estimated at $150. (In considering these expenses, it may help to remember that you would be paying living expenses wherever you are for the summer.)

Is the Program a Good Investment?
Each student will have to decide how to spend the first summer after law school. Some students come to the Program in their second summer. Many students in the Program have found it an excellent investment as part of their law school experience. Here are some things students have emphasized:

Quality of the internships. Students work in major federal agencies and non-profit groups that are often national leaders in their fields. By working with leaders in their fields, Moritz students learn the state-of-the-art.

An insider’s understanding of Washington, D.C. Students get an insider’s view of national government, through the internship, the student seminar papers about different jobs, guest speakers, and Professor Swire’s experience in the White House and since.

Put yourself on the national stage. A summer working in Washington underscores your seriousness about working and living in the region to both public- and private-sector employers. More broadly, working in D.C. is a national legal experience that many different future employers value.

Develop expertise in a field. Most internships are in a specific field, such as health care, high-tech, or international trade. Your internship thus provides a chance to become more knowledgeable in that field, and to signal that expertise to future employers.

A good investment as part of the Moritz experience. Some students had considered attending schools in the Washington, D.C. area that have tuition considerably higher than Ohio State. The summer Program provides an opportunity to get a quality work, academic, and social experience in DC, as part of the high-quality and more manageable cost of a Moritz education.

Does the Program qualify for financial aid?
Yes. The Financial Aid office will work with you on this.

How will participation in the Summer Program affect my Ohio residency?
Residency is handled the same for the D.C. Summer Program as for the Oxford Summer Program. Students count their time in an approved program of the Moritz College of Law as time for residency in the state of Ohio.