Law is the subject where students most often pick the wrong activity, because there is no obvious right one. Tigran from Armenia, now at UC Berkeley, explains why: pre-law is not a formal major anywhere in the United States, just a track, and any subject can lead to law school. So there is no checklist to follow.
What tends to work instead is argument. Ameya from Bangalore, now reading Jurisprudence at Oxford, took up debate in school and found it led her to law, because debating formats borrow their structure from legal process. André from Brazil did eleven Model United Nations conferences and won awards at seven, and credits them for his place at Northwestern. Su April from Myanmar ranked first in debate among more than 700 students at a World Scholar's Cup regional round, then became a Pearson Scholar at the University of Toronto reading pre-law.
One thing worth knowing before you start searching. Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School and Yale Law School do not run competitions for school students, and Princeton has no law school at all. Almost every contest you will find carrying those names is run by an undergraduate student club. That does not make them worthless, and two are on this list, but it should change what you expect from them.
Competitions
International Public Policy Forum
The strongest thing on this list by some distance, and the one to act on first. Teams of three to six school students with a coach submit a 3,000-word qualifying essay, and the top 64 then argue the question in writing, four papers per round, through single elimination. The 2026-27 resolution asks whether the United Nations should prioritise protecting the rights of women and girls over respecting state sovereignty. The last eight teams argue orally in New York, and here is the part that matters for an international team: the finalists receive round-trip airfare, hotel and a stipend for three students and two chaperones, with a $10,000 grand prize. Entry costs $25 now that early registration has closed. It is run by the Brewer Foundation with New York University, and the finals are held at NYU School of Law. Registration is open until October 13, 2026.
John Locke Institute Global Essay Prize, Law
Free, open to anyone under 19 from any country, and it runs a dedicated law category alongside nine others. You answer one of three set questions in up to 2,000 words. The category winner receives a $5,000 scholarship, with $2,000 and $1,000 behind, and the grand prize across all categories is $10,000. Entrants come from more than 150 countries. The 2026 round registered in March and closed at the end of May, with the ceremony in London in October, so the 2027 questions should appear early in the new year.
Princeton Legal Journal High School Essay Contest
An essay of 1,500 to 3,000 words on the year's legal theme, submitted anonymously in Chicago or Bluebook style, and international students are explicitly welcome, which is rarer in this category than you would expect. It costs $15 to submit, and the prize is publication rather than money: the top three essays run in the journal, and winners work through the full editing process, which is the genuinely useful part. It is run by an undergraduate publication at Princeton, which has no law school, so treat the name accordingly. The 2026 deadline was May 15.
Legal Defense Global Challenge
The closest thing here to arguing a case. You work as defence counsel, alone or in a team of up to three, choosing a white-collar, civil liability or constitutional track, then work through a ten-page discovery packet and submit a written defence portfolio of a memorandum, a client letter and an evidentiary audit. The top tenth unseal a judicial order and record a four-minute oral argument. It is open to school, college and gap-year students worldwide, entirely online, capped at 500 teams, and costs $59.99 per team, which is about $20 each at full size. First and second in each track win $100. LegalEagleBee is a student-founded venture rather than an established institution, judged by a panel of attorneys and law students. The 2026 round closed at the end of September.
Simulations with a legal forum
THIMUN The Hague
The oldest and largest Model United Nations conference, in its 59th year, and the reason it belongs in a law post is its International Criminal Court forum, which sits alongside the General Assembly committees and runs as an actual court simulation in the city that hosts the court itself. Entry is by school delegation only: your school registers, a teacher attends throughout as MUN Director, and individual students can apply for Student Officer, ICC or press roles from a registered school. The 2027 conference runs January 25 to 29, with delegation registration closing September 25, 2026 and the full participant list due November 20. It costs €190 per delegation plus €340 per participant, covering lunch and local transport but not travel, accommodation or visas.
Harvard Model United Nations
The largest conference of its kind, with more than 3,000 delegates from over 60 countries, run by Harvard undergraduates through the Harvard International Relations Council rather than by the university. Delegations apply rather than individuals, up to 20 delegates each, with an adult advisor required. Fees run from $115 to $210 per delegate depending on when you register. The part worth knowing: there is a need-based financial aid programme and all delegations are eligible to apply regardless of country of origin, with a deadline of November 1, 2026. The 74th session runs January 28 to 31, 2027 in Boston.
Programs
Yale Young Global Scholars, Politics, Law and Economics
Two weeks at Yale on legal frameworks, governance, human rights and market regulation, and unlike most items here it is run by Yale itself rather than a student organisation. Students come from more than 150 countries. Tuition is $7,500 covering housing, meals and materials but not travel, and the reason to apply anyway is that need-based aid reaching full tuition is open to international and domestic students alike. Application fees are waivable through a school official. The Early Action deadline is October 15, 2026, with regular decision on January 6, 2027, for sessions running across June and July 2027.
Telluride Association Summer Seminar
Six weeks at Cornell or the University of Maryland studying how power works, taught as college-level seminars with student self-governance, and entirely free: tuition, room, board, books and field trips, with travel assistance available on top. It is not a law programme, and it is on this list because it is the best-funded option for a student heading in that direction and because the reading and argument are close to what a law degree asks of you. One restriction to note: students studying outside the United States must be sophomores rather than juniors. The last cycle opened applications in October and closed on December 3, so watch for the 2027 round now.
Start your own journey
Two deadlines are close. The International Public Policy Forum closes on October 13, and Yale's Early Action on October 15. THIMUN needs your school to register by September 25, which is this week.
If none of those fit, Ameya's route is still open and costs nothing: join a debating society, and learn to build an argument someone else is trying to take apart.
Kai, the Borderless AI college counselor, works out which of these your age and country qualify you for, keeps the deadlines in one place, and helps you turn an argument into an application an admissions reader can follow. It is free to use.
Start with Kai, and read the stories from students who did it.
