I’m a freshman this year and considering law school. I’m rly interested but not 100% sure that it’s what I want to do. That being said, as a pre law student I would need a 4.0 or close to it…From what I understand, it’s only worth going to law school if you can get into a top one (plus getting aid).
Tbh I was excited about college as an environment where I wouldn’t have to worry about getting perfect grades and could try classes I wasn’t sure about, etc. Is it worth sticking to a safer path to get a super high GPA for the potential law admissions?
I guess it’s just a matter of personal priorities but I rly wanted to hear from some people with experience.
I really hope you will enjoy classes, take risks, and not let premature planning interfere with opportunities. I think children and teens are taught to think of work in limited number of professional categories, but the work world is large complex and diverse. I would suggest trying a lot of different areas of study while you have the chance, getting a well-rounded education, and make sure to volunteer or intern or work during college to also try out some workplaces. You can do this during the school year and/or summer.
The young people I know who did what they loved during college have done well in every way (emotionally too), and they all landed jobs, if not right after school within a few months. Regardless of major, everyone with a bachelor’s has access to professional schools like law. There is usually no “prelaw” program, so it is absolutely fine to NOT take the safe path!! Good luck!! I think it’s great you asked this question : )
Quote from a friend who is a graduate of Harvard Law School: “My clients don’t care where I went to law school, they only care about whether or not I win their case.”
Since law school doesn’t have a pre-ordained path, my attorney friends majored in just about everything from education to French to biology to engineering. Pick your path based on what you would like to do with your life should you decide not to go to law school.
IMHO law school admissions is a mix between GPA and LSAT. You can still take risks with your classes; you just need to stay focused and keep your GPA reasonably high. Don’t slack freshman year.
Law school is an expensive endeavor for many people in terms of time and money.
All that being said, I truly loved law school and would do it again (though it didn’t cost what it costs today). I would try to avoid debt as much as possible and max your stats while keeping your options open for other pursuits.
You should study whatever you have interests in. That will help you get a competitive gpa for law school applications. Be careful though, because you may change your mind and choose not to go to law school. All things being equal, there is a premium for lawyers with a science background, so if you have the aptitude and interest, getting a degree in a science discipline can be a plus after law school when you are looking for a job. Best of luck!
“These are merit-based, and not really “financial aid” in the sense that it’s not based on need.”
Right – just backing up the point that the vast majority of US law schools do offer merit-based financial aid, up to and including full-tuition scholarships. The laws schools that don’t (Harvard, Yale, and Stanford) DO offer generous loan-repayment plans if you want to seek a low-paying public interest job. So they give a type of need-based financial aid, but it comes after you’ve graduated.
Just want to say that Harvard’s dean always made a big deal about having the courage to take risks, and take some classes in areas unfamiliar or even difficult for you. Too many students, in general, these days, are focused on a particular career goal too early in college. There are exceptions to this of course: some careers require early commitment, nursing, engineering, music, others. But you really can do whatever you want and are good at, and it is also great to try out some things you aren’t so good at,on occasion.
If you’re sure law is what you want–and you’ve gone and interned in a law office so you know what law is really about–then make sure you keep the GPA up. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try anything interesting or challenging (especially if your school allows P/F), but know that if you do you may need to balance out those lower grades with higher ones.
“From what I understand, it’s only worth going to law school if you can get into a top one (plus getting aid).”
It is a little more complex than that.
If you want to be able to get a high paying law firm job in any city in the U.S., then yes only go to a T14 law school and also make sure you do very well there. Especially since you will likely run up a big loan tab by attending such T14 school (unless parents are paying for law school).
But if you know you want to work in Chicago, you can attend one of the non-T14 regional schools in the Midwest (so long as you do well there). And you may not have to pay the big price tag – you might get a good scholarship deal at Loyola versus full sticker at Northwestern or Chicago. You’ll have a shot at getting a job in Chicago upon Loyola graduation (but no shot at a job in NYC or LA). And if you wind up unemployed, at least you won’t owe a lot of money.
But you have to always avoid the worst case. Which is to pay full sticker price at a non-T14, and then you don’t do well there. That equals three wasted years, plus being doomed to long term unemployment, plus maybe having to file for personal bankruptcy. Going to law school in the wrong way is one of the surest ways to completely ruin your life. : )
Your possible future GPA is only one of many factors that will enter into whether you ever attend law school and where. So you’ll be much better off pursuing a career and academic path that has nothing to do with law (since any degree from anthropology to zoology is OK for law school). Check back in a few years. And if in doubt at all, the correct answer is just say no to law school.
Do you have any idea what you want to do with a law degree? I majored in Accounting, Finance and Econ before heading to law school. I chose those majors long before deciding to go to law school, which I didn’t do until my senior year of college. I practiced corporate/commercial real estate law after graduating from law school and the ability to read financial statements and understand finance was a huge benefit. I had law school classmates with majors than ran the gamut, although there were a lot of history and poli-sci majors.
I think you should major in something you both enjoy and can do well in, and preferably something that will help you find employment after college if you decide you don’t want to go to law school. And please take note of what northwesty wrote above - it’s dead on.
Please don’t shortchange your undergrad experience in order to keep a perfect 4.0 for a law school you’re not even sure you want to attend! You’re thinking the wrong way – taking classes that you find interesting, even if you’re not sure you’ll get an A, is what college is all about. And believe me, turning yourself into a grade-grubbing automaton is not the key to getting into law school! Even law schools like to know that their student body is interesting and diverse. Follow your interests and broaden your experience while you’re in undergrad – you won’t be sorry you did.
Law school will take care of itself – or not – you may become fascinated with a subject that you’ll discover through one of those unusual classes, decide to change your major, and end up specializing in something you aren’t even aware of right now!
Don’t do prelaw!!! Study something that interests you. Study something that you may add your law degree to in the future. For example - patent law requires science or technology backgrounds. A lawyer with an art background might go into a certain field of law while a lawyer with a finance or accounting background would have very different opportunities. Political science might also be a great background. It all depends on your strengths and interests.
I went to law school with an international affairs/South Asian studies background. It REALLY doesn’t matter (except for patent law).
Going to a “top” law schools helps in a few select fields (think Wall Street) but not so much in the real world for 99% of people.
I had very good financial aid from my law school - totally based on LSATs and graduate school GPA. I still had a lot of debt when I graduated - so you need to do careful planning.
A pre-law degree does NOTHING for admissions to law school as far as I know - and can make you look less interesting.
Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I agree with those who say, don’t do pre-law. Majoring in something OTHER than pre-law (or political science, which was the most common undergrad major among my former fellow law students) will set you apart.
Others’ law school experience may differ, but I found it to be incredibly homogenizing. You take basically the same classes as the other students (in your first year, it’s literally all the same classes), you mostly all went there right out of undergrad or with only a year or two of work in between. When you’re sitting in an interview with a law firm, and you’re the 12th student they’ve seen that day, they will be desperately scanning your resume looking for something to ask you about that isn’t your class rank or whether you’re on law review. “Oh, you majored in Russian literature? Tell me about that.” That will at least help them remember who you are afterwards.
Thank you for all the info!!! To clarify, I am definitely not pursuing a “pre law” major. I’m considering math, history, or maybe computer science. Those are fields that I find challenging and interesting. I guess my concern is less about my specific program of study and more about prioritizing where I spend my time – do I turn down an EC to make sure I get an A instead of a B in a difficult course, or whatever. Your advice was very very helpful, and I feel more confident.
To answer the questions about law, I’m most interested in working at an advocacy group – the ACLU or Planned Parenthood, etc. Not sure how super hard those jobs are to get?