JDP Cohort

Harvard Law School's campus in the fall

Students admitted to Harvard Law School through the Junior Deferral Program come from a wide range of backgrounds and a variety of different undergraduate institutions. Below you will find more information on JDP students currently on deferral and at HLS.

  • Number of Undergraduate Institutions 80
  • Number of Majors 57
  • States & Territories Represented 47

*Data reflects all students admitted to HLS via the Junior Deferral Program in the past six years

Undergraduate Institutions

The following is a list of the 80 undergraduate institutions represented by the students admitted to the Junior Deferral Program through fall 2022.

  • Colleges and Universities Represented

    Amherst College
    Arizona State University
    Auburn University
    Barnard College
    Berklee College of Music
    Boston College
    Boston University
    Bowdoin College
    Brandeis University
    Brigham Young University
    Brock University
    Brown University
    California Institute of Technology
    Carleton College
    Carnegie Mellon University
    Claremont McKenna College
    Colgate University
    Columbia University
    Columbia University School of General Studies
    Cornell University
    Dartmouth College
    Duke University
    Eastern Michigan University
    Emory University
    George Washington University
    Georgetown University
    Georgia Institute of Technology
    Grand Valley State University
    Harvard College
    Johns Hopkins University
    King’s College London
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    McGill University
    Middlebury College
    New York University
    New York University, Abu Dhabi
    New York University, Stern School of Business
    Northwestern University
    Pennsylvania State University
    Pomona College
    Princeton University
    Rice University
    South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
    Spelman College
    Stanford University
    Swarthmore College
    Temple University
    The Ohio State University
    Tufts University
    Tulane University
    United States Naval Academy
    University of Alabama
    University of California, Berkeley
    University of California, San Diego
    University of Chicago
    University of Florida
    University of Georgia
    University of Idaho
    University of Louisville
    University of Maryland
    University of Michigan
    University of Mississippi
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
    University of Notre Dame
    University of Oxford
    University of Pennsylvania
    University of Pittsburgh
    University of Southern California
    University of Texas at Austin
    University of Toronto
    University of Virginia
    University of Washington
    University of Waterloo
    Vanderbilt University
    Washington and Lee University
    Washington University in St. Louis
    Wellesley College
    Williams College
    Yale College
    Yeshiva University

Deferral Experiences

Students admitted to the Junior Deferral Program choose to pursue a variety of opportunities during their deferral period between college graduation and matriculation at HLS. Some past experiences pursued by JDP students are listed below.

  • Examples of Deferral Opportunities

    Aerospace engineer

    Associate transportation planner for engineering and professional services firm

    Biotechnology associate at a patent research company

    Book author

    Capitol Hill experiences (e.g., Congressional aid, Legislative correspondent, White House Council assistant)

    Co-Founder/CEO of technology company

    Coordinator of Native American Student Recruitment at an undergraduate institution

    Criminal defense practice at a large legal aid organization

    Cybersecurity and automation engineer

    Data engineer

    Director of development for an Orthodox Jewish day school

    Financial analyst

    Economic consultant

    Education consultant/fellow

    Environmental strategy intern at a carbon capture startup

    Founder of fashion startup and women’s cooperative in North Africa

    Funded graduate programs (e.g., Fulbright Scholar, Gates Cambridge Scholar, Rhodes Scholar, Schwarzman Scholar, Marshall Scholar, Yenching Scholar, George J. Mitchell Scholar)

    Impact associate at a nonprofit organization

    Investigative analyst/trial preparation assistant in a district attorney’s office

    Investment banking analyst

    Journalist

    Judicial assistant for a U.S. Court of Appeals Judge

    K-12 teacher

    Law clerk

    Legal administrative assistant on children’s public defense team

    Litigation analyst

    Magazine editor

    Management consultant

    Military service in the United States and South Korea

    Paralegal or legal assistant

    Patent agent

    Planner working with communities to reimagine public spaces to promote positive activities and to increase safety

    Political campaign work

    Political strategist/advisor

    Privacy engineer

    Program associate at a think tank or legal non-profit

    Public service programs (e.g., AmeriCorps, Capital Fellow, Justice Corps, Rockefeller Foundation Fellow, Teach for America)

    Research analyst/assistant/associate

    Software engineer

    Tax associate at an accounting firm

    Weil Legal Innovators Program Fellow

    YMCA Youth Program Director