<p>I am definitely going to law school upon graduation from a 4-year college. However, what would be the best prep course to take to better my chances at law school? My chem teacher, who was a lawyer, says that many of his colleagues took Political Science or English, but my parents don't want me to take courses like that. They'd much rather have me take Biology or something so that I have other career choices besides law. One of my mom's coworkers took Bio and then got into law school to be a lawyer.</p>
<p>philosophy is a big one as well.</p>
<p>you are in a similar situation that I'm in. I am going to double major: Eng/Bio so I can choose either medical or law school upon graduation.</p>
<p>I said it before, I'll say it again. If you are absolutely 100% sure that you want to go to law school (or med-school), then the best undergrad major to prep is whatever major you will get very high grades in while doing as little work as possible, thereby leaving you loads of free time to bulk up on EC's. This usually boils down to a combination of whatever you happen to be very good at and whatever major happens to be easy.</p>
<p>The reality is that law-school (and med-school) admissions are very numbers driven. Adcoms want to see high grades in your coursework (along with high LSAT/MCAT scores) as their #1 priority, while the difficulty of your coursework is a very low priority to them. About the worst thing you can do to yourself, if you are absolutely intent on going to law school, is to take difficult and time-consuming coursework in classes where it is very difficult to get a good grade. It's a sad but true fact that you want to take the easiest possible classes in the easiest possible major, because that will make you look good to the adcoms. Sad but true. You may want to reference some of ariesathena's or calkidd's posts. </p>
<p>Hence, I would have to disagree with sprkl325 and recommend against biology, and I would certainly recommend against engineering. The fact is, biology tends to be difficult, and engineering tends to be ridicuously difficult. And you won't be compensated for their difficulty. Case in point - law schools and medical schools have proved time and time again that they'd rather take a guy with a 4.0/4 in Film Studies from a no-name school than a 3.0/4 in electrical engineering from MIT, presuming all other qualifications are the same. This is despite the fact that the latter guy probably worked a hundred times harder. The adcoms don't care. They want to see high grades, and if you don't have them, too bad.</p>
<p>That's not to say that nobody has ever been successful majoring in difficult coursework and still getting into law school/med-school. Obviously many people have been successful doing that. I know many engineers who have gotten into top law schools. But that's not the point. You can strap a 20-pound weight to your back and still win a footrace, but why would you want to? If you want to maximize your chances of winning that race, then you want to get rid of that weight. Majors like engineering and bio have a way of handing out lots of low grades while consuming inordinate amounts of time, thereby depriving you of the ability to amass EC's. </p>
<p>The fact is, one of the hardest, is not the hardest steps in becoming a lawyer is simply getting admitted to law school in the first place. You don't just get into law school just because you want to. A significant portion of people who apply to law school get rejected by every single one they apply to - and that doesn't even count those who want to go if given the opportunity, but don't bother applying because they know their grades are too low. </p>
<p>Now, the above discussion was based on the assumption that you absolutely 100% want to go to law school. Yet the fact is, a lot of people come into college with their minds set about what they want to do, but then change their minds. In those cases, it is reasonable for you to choose a major that will allow you to get a job right upon graduation or to do other things. But if you are absolutely intent upon getting into law school, well, the best major is an easy one.</p>
<p>Major in PHILOSOPHY. Many top law schools like to see LSAT in the 170s and I read this article where they said philosophy major tend to socre much much higher than Political Science major because philosophy requires you to think logically and critically. Yale likes for its pre-laws to take some courses in philosophy.</p>
<p>Analogy
PHILOSOPHY is to LSAT as LATIN is to
a.)ACT
b.)SAT
c.)GRE</p>
<p>Philosophy. You learn the art of dialectic and argument. </p>
<p>Seems to me a good thing for a lawyer to know.</p>
<p>Is a business major ok? Is accounting good if I want to do tax or corporate law?</p>
<p>Well, I should be studying for finals but, alas, I'm not :-). I agree, adcoms will stare at your LSAT score and your GPA until their eyes bleed. That being said, there is also no such thing as a favorite major at law schools. When you major in something, it does not mean that all the courses you take will be from that department. My plan is to get a high enough GPA (3.7 would suffice) and take some hard classes (200- and 300-level classes). I plan on taking courses in econ, poly sci, philosophy, and english. My planned major so far and the majority of the classes I'll be taking are in poly sci and econ. It depends on where you want to go to law school. If you are shooting for HYCS, etc. you will need to become a GPA and LSAT ho, how you go about this (study 24/7 vs. easy classes) will depend on you. If you feel you have a talent for bio, and feel you'll get high grades in the class, go ahead and major in it.</p>
<p>To recap this convoluted post:</p>
<p>1) There is no favorite major at LS
2) Strike a balance between being a GPA ho (easy classes), and an LSAT ho (thinking classes... you don't want to be retarded when you go to law school).
3) It depends on where you are going to law school and what your academic strengths are.</p>
<p>But overall I agree a lot with sakky's post. Sorry people for this post, finals are tough, and studying is a female dog.</p>
<p>Hey, JCao. </p>
<p>Screw what your parents want. You're an adult -- don't let someone else screw up your life. Screw it up yourself. </p>
<p>I generally agree with Sakky. However, I would add that you should major in something you find interesting. If you do, you'll probably do well, and you'll probably work at it more. You'll also have a better time in the process. </p>
<p>If it's all equal, I would favor philosophy, because it does teach you the kind of thinking required on the LSAT, and in law school. However, you may find something else you prefer, and you should go ahead and study that. Remember, you may end up deciding against law school anyway.</p>
<p>I agree, major in what you have a passion in, unless your passion does not equal good grades. But seriously, I assume that people that major in biology will specialize in biology-related law and cases. You do not HAFTA major in anything.</p>
<p>One friend of mine who got into Cornell Law was a linguistics major, and she said it was helpful on the LSATS. It got her used to that kind of thinking, I suppose. (She was a double major, though.)</p>
<p>It make a big difference will u go to law school because it affects your salary and success. Think of it like this, Your the head partner of some top New York law firm. Where do u think he/she is going to go to hire some new associates. Temple Law vs. Yale law. I think he is going to Yale to get his new associate.</p>
<p>bballplaya753, would YOU hire the top grad. from Temple or the last person in the class at Yale?</p>
<p>CD</p>
<p>More relevantly, what does Bball's post have to do with the topic?</p>
<p>I have actually heard something a little different than all of you folks.</p>
<p>First of all, how the heck are you planning to stand out if you are a political science major just like all the other thousands of kids applying to law school that are also polysci ? The answer is, you won't, unless you are absolutely the best of the best. Therefore, since law schools are looking for diversity of college majors, it makes more sense to go down a less trodden path.</p>
<p>However, taking an "easy" major as Sakky said isn't a great route either. Law schools will look at that, and if they see that you are something like communication or theater/dance perfromance or fine arts, they are going to see right through what you thought was such a sneaky plan. </p>
<p>Law schools also tend not to like pre-professional training majors like Business because they stress application over theory. And law school involves a lot of theory. </p>
<p>Lastly, if they see you were a pre-med then switched your major to something easier after receiving a bad O-Chem grade or something, it's like screaming to the law schools "I want to make a lot of money, but I don't want to have to work very hard at it"</p>
<p>From the people I've talked to/books I've read, the best majors are one's that you will do well in, yes, but also one's that are known for being academically challenging. Math, engineering, history, philosophy, religion, and psychology are all good choices if you think you would do well in them, and especially if you can couple them with some poly-sci classes so that your transcript shows your interest in where you will eventually end up.</p>
<p>I have to disagree with Chloe on a few points. </p>
<p>First off, the single most important thing is your GPA. If you have a high GPA and good LSAT's, it won't really matter what you studied, or how difficult it was/wasn't. </p>
<p>Secondly, something like theater/dance performance or fine arts might be exactly what law schools are seeking to create that "diversity" she mentions. (I know, doesn't make sense to me either, but I know various people who have gotten into top programs with such majors.) </p>
<p>Studying business isn't going to hurt you, but it probably won't give you bonus points either. </p>
<p>The point isn't necessarily that you should study something easy -- this wouldn't prepare you very well for law school. However, the point IS that you should study something you like, and will do well in -- because your GPA will be very important, regardless of what you study. If you have a passion for engineering, and feel you can do well in it, then by all means study it. If you can get a good GPA, then you'll have an edge on fellow applicants. The same goes for science, etc. (Philosophy, if you enjoy it and do well in it, would be a great for liberal arts majors.) </p>
<p>But you certainly shouldn't take a more rigorous major, especially one you don't like, just to impress law schools. (If you start out in pre-med, and find out you're not cut out for it, and decide you want to go to law school, you'd be pretty dumb to stay in a major where you'll end up with mediocre grades.) </p>
<p>(I agree that you shouldn't take Poli Sci unless you really like it. It won't make you stand out much. On the other hand, if you do really like it more than anything else, and would therefore thrive in it, then it would be dumb not to study it.) </p>
<p>Again, I do agree with Chloe that if you feel you can do well in a rigorous major, whether it's bio, science, engineering, or, to a lesser extent, Philosophy, then it could certainly help your application (assuming you don't do poorly.) And if you're interested in patent law, studying engineering or biology would give you a huge career advantage over most other law students. That seems to be one area where there's always work. Biotech patent law would be pretty sweet.</p>
<p>So how would an English major with a decent GPA be looked at? Is that considered a rigorous major? (I might couple it with Journalism also).</p>
<p>My take on the major thing: don't take something laughably easy - but don't take anything too hard. Just really, don't. It's nearly impossible to get a good engineering GPA, especially coming out of a top school. Most patent lawyers have come out of second or third tier law schools, because their grades from undergrad just weren't good enough to get them into the top schools. Two words for you on that subject: Uphill battle. </p>
<p>English is fine. Philosophy, history, economics, journalism, classics, psychology, foreign language - all good. Poli sci majors make up 1/3 to 1/2 of law students - not sure about the percentage of law applicants. Engineers are 1% of applicants, which means that law school admissions don't get many of them applying and almost can't help holding them to the same standard that they hold liberal arts majors. The admissions people are human, too - and they probably all did liberal arts undergrad.</p>
<p>I dunno...caught between the top grad from Temple or the bottom grad for Yale, I might seek a good grad from Tufts or Smith instead. <walks away,="" whistling="" tunelessly=""></walks></p>
<p>TheDad, how is it that you can whistle with your tongue firmly implanted in cheek?</p>
<p>CD</p>