Advise for a law school hopeful?

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Hello. I may be jumping the gun a little, but I am considering law school, and I realize that there are a lot of things intertwined with that. </p>

<p>I'm only a senior in high school, and I am going to be attending Oakland University here in Michigan. I'm probably U of M worthy, but money is a big issue, which is why I chose a school that would pay for almost everything. Will that decision come to haunt me for law school? </p>

<p>And what exactly should I major in to aid my law school desire? I'm planning on double-majoring in writing and rhetoric and also some sort of math degree. Are those acceptable majors? </p>

<p>And what should my GPA look like? I have over a 4.0 in high school, but I understand that things change in college. </p>

<p>I appreciate anyone that takes the time to help me out. Thanks in advance. </p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>Before everyone jumps on you saying HS is too soon to be thinking about LS, and you might change your mind etc… I think you are just trying to make sure that you are keeping your options open, should you decide to go to LS. So with that in mind, here is my answer, for what its worth :-)</p>

<p>The undergrad school you choose will not haunt you. Law schools generally don’t care about which school you went, but do care about the GPA you received while you were there. So, actually if the school you are choosing will be a little easier for you than you feel you could handle, this will work to your advantage. It will allow you to get a strong GPA and give you time to get involved with EC’s which will help you with the “soft” part of your application. </p>

<p>The fact that you will not be going into huge debt for undergrad will be a big plus, regardless of if you ever end up in law school or not. </p>

<p>As far a an area of study, choose something that will give you a lot of practice with your writing skills and your reading comprehension skills. Also a little focus on logic or philosophy will help too. It sounds like those are in your plans already.</p>

<p>Good Luck next year in school, and enjoy your time there before you worry too much about the next step. Study what you enjoy and your path will hopefully become clear to you!</p>

3

<p>As a lawyer myself, I would say that it doesn’t really matter what you major in. But I would say that taking some political science and american history would be helpful.</p>

<p>That being said, in general, I would think long and hard before becoming a lawyer. There is a vast over-supply of lawyers out there.</p>

4

<p>I agree with FL55; the market for law jobs is almost unbelievably difficult. My advice, if your heart is set on law school, would be to major in something you can get a job with. In other words, with a business degree, if law school doesn’t pan out, you might be able to get a job on the strength of your degree alone.
But please do a harsh, realistic assessment of job prospects before entering law school, and keep in mind that in the law that pedigree is everything(I give you this advice as a non-top 25 law school grad with a liberal arts degree); going to a non-top school guarantees only one thing: a lot of debt upon graduation. With 44, 000 new JDs each year, there will be no guarantee of a job. Everyone assumes it’s the other guy who won’t find a job.</p>

5

<p>Ok, first give yourself some credit for thinking so far ahead, wanting to prepare yourself properly for the future, and asking others about their experiences. (This is the proper method to apply to all significant aspects of life, business and career.)</p>

<p>You also have plenty of time, to investigate whether or not the law is the proper career path for you. (This is a good thing.)</p>

<p>To address your questions specifically, I will generally concur with the other responders here… it doesn’t matter what undergrad school you go to (obviously ivy league will give you more status, however grades and LSAT score trump everything). Because money is a factor to you, you should definitely go to the cheaper school; long term debt is a killer.</p>

<p>Having been through the law school journey, and practicing for a number of years I feel I can give you a little advice on your journey.</p>

<h1>1. You have to know who you are, what your likes are, strengths are, and dislikes are regarding work. This is obviously somewhat difficult for someone of your age, because you have probably only held summer jobs. What you should do is find a personality test online, and take it (it will be worth the cost).</h1>

<h1>2. Find out if you have the lawyer personality.</h1>

<h1>3. Find out what types of lawyers are out there… investigate the different types of lawyers and niches of law (there are many).</h1>

<h1>4. Find lawyers who practice in those niches of law and send them a letter asking for a few minutes of their time for information on the type of law they practice.</h1>

<p>Overall, you have to collect enough information about what lawyers actually do on a day to day basis and discover whether that sort of work is right for you. Your focus at this point should not be what law school you can get into, or what score you have on the lsat… first find out if you would enjoy the work of a lawyer.</p>

<p>I hope this helps, and read the below articles for a more thorough discussion!</p>

<p>[How</a> to Become a Lawyer: Know the Lawyer Personality.](<a href=“become-a-lawyer.com”>become-a-lawyer.com)
[Become</a> a Lawyer, prepare yourself for law school and beyond.](<a href=“become-a-lawyer.com”>http://www.become-a-lawyer.com/)</p>