I am currently and undergraduate at my local community college.My major is criminal justice and I have just finished my first semester. My GPA is a 3.9 so far. I am not too concerned with maintaining a high GPA in any major other than a science major, but I am wondering if I should switch my major from CJ. I have read that is not a good major due to not being challenging enough. Should I continue majoring in CJ until I graduate? I am looking to transfer to a top university (not Ivy League) after graduation. Then after completing my BA I would love to be able to go to a law school suck as Yale( not depending on it). Should I switch my major ASAP or maintain it until a certain point being that I have already started?Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Side Note: My main career goal is to become a judge not an attorney
You can major in anything. Your law school chances will depend on Gpa and lsat score.
Okay thank you. Is there an ideal time when one should began studying for the lsat?
It doesn’t matter what you major in to go to law school. Just do well in school and on the LSAT. Most states require that you be a lawyer for a set time before becoming a judge. In addition, at least in my state, you need to be politically active and connected to get a nomination. I have been practicing law for over thirty years and would never want to be a judge so to each their own.
I would take a review course and start doing practice tests a year ahead of actual course. Get a private tutor for weak areas.
Test
Teachmom thank you I will have to research more about my state. If possible can I hear some of your cons of becoming a judge through your experience ? I honestly don’t have much insight yet on the career/life of a judge, just job roles/duties.
Honestly, it’s just not my nature to want to be a judge. When I was at the beginning of my career, I was being tracked into management training and I pulled back from that, too. I don’t like being the one who has to decide. I have never regretted it even though I would make more money as a boss. I am a trial attorney - I prefer to take a side and advocate for it than to have to weigh things and be fair and impartial. I like picking apart weaknesses and inconsistencies. When I was a journalism major working on the school paper, I much preferred to edit other people’s work than to write my own.
I find that many judges of my acquaintance are political hacks. That may not be the case in other places but it is where I am. Please don’t get me wrong - there are many fine judges and they do excellent work. It’s just not a job I aspire to.
It really is a personal thing. It’s the same way that I knew that I would be a horrible teacher or that I would rather never have gone to college than have followed my parents’ directives to study computer science. Some things people just know or learn about themselves. When I was your age, I didn’t know I wouldn’t want to be a judge. It wasn’t until I began going to court and trying cases regularly that I realized that I had no interest in it. Likewise, with being a boss. I found that I had zero interest in interviewing people for jobs, although I do enjoy mentoring one on one. I also have zero interest in firing people or disciplining employees.
Change majors. Criminal justice majors are not favored for law school admissions. Do something that will give you a lot of reading and writing experience.
Being a judge can be very rewarding too. You can do internships at courts to figure out if working in the court system is right for you. Also some judges are elected in some states and some are appointed.
Judges can be active in their communities as leaders (registering voters to bring them into the political process, working to translate court materials for different ethnic groups to make the court system more equitable, etc.); they can effect change in peoples’ immediate lives through sentencing and deciding civil cases; they can move into non-judicial political careers; they can move into the private sector after awhile. There are also many different types of judges, everything from criminal court that you seem to be familiar with to traffic court and family court. There’s a whole world out there.
- You can start the LSAT studies whenever you wish. Start now. It will feel impossible at first, but you can do it.
- As you move forward, think about debt. Try to go to a law school where your debt will be forgiven if you go into public interest or government work (look at a Top 14 law school and see what their policies are). Either that or go to a law school that will leave you with minimal debt. Those are hard to find.
- To get into a top law school, get As in whatever major that you choose and score about 172 on your LSAT. The trick to scoring high on the LSAT is to study and to practice and practice and practice some more. If you feel that you just can't do it, that means you need more practice. You can do this. Treat the LSAT like a fun puzzle that you will crack. You can crack this.
- Top law schools want students with different perspectives on the world. You sound like you may have a different perspective. If you pull good grades plus the 172+ LSAT, look at NYU, Columbia, and other top schools. Our legal system needs good people like you. Best wishes.
Agree with post #9 – CJ is considered light weight – and won’t serve you well with actual law school coursework volume. Push yourself into a rigorous reading/writing discipline. PoliSci, History, English – but not CJ
You can be any major at all: Theater, nursing, engineering, fine arts, Italian language or Portuguese, psychology and chemistry–there are branches of law pertaining to nearly any discipline–and judges are needed for these specialties. People outside of law think that law is all about fighting in criminal court or running for office and writing legislation, because that’s what’s portrayed in popular culture. One way to understand the various disciplines is to go to the website of your favorite law school and click on their link for “programs” or “centers”. Those links will take you to their special programs and their specialized centers of learning. But there are many other disciplines not listed there. These are just that school’s Centers and Programs.
For more info about what lawyers specialize in, click on faculty listing. YOu can see what that faculty member is interested in and what she or he researches and teaches (which might be two different things).
Here is NYU’s page for centers and institutes – http://www.law.nyu.edu/centers
Here is Harvard’s page – http://hls.harvard.edu/faculty-research/research-programs-and-centers/
Here is UVA’s page – http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/academics/academics.htm
Here is UMich’s page – https://www.law.umich.edu/centersandprograms/Pages/default.aspx
Here is Columbia’s page – http://web.law.columbia.edu/programs
Here is U of Chicago’s page – http://www.law.uchicago.edu/projects-initiatives
LS admissions is first and foremost about two numbers. Beyond that, other stuff, including major may come into play, particularly at the smaller schools like Yale, Stanford, & Chicago. (They have small classes and can afford to be picky.)
So yeah, definitely choose something other than CJ. If nothing else, more critical reading and writing will better prepare you for LS.
Good luck.
I was an art major and then went to law school. It doesn’t matter what you major in but you have to like to read and write because that’s a lot of what lawyering is.
Let me amend my earlier post: whatever you do – make sure you do lots of reading and writing – regardless of major. That’s why I suggested what I suggested – all I’m saying is that CJ doesn’t require it of you and you could be getting all As and suddenly wonder why your LS coursework seems so overwhelming.
I agree with the other posters who have said that your major doesn’t matter much for law school admission but that criminal justice might not be considered as intellectually rigorous as history, English, political science, etc.
Also, I would be careful about going to law school if you don’t like the idea of actually being a lawyer. In the US, being a judge is something you get after years of practicing law and through some lucky political connections.
I have been a lawyer for 26 years. I would never want to be a judge. However, there are many roles where you can be an arbiter without the necessary political connections needed for judge such as hearing examiner for social security or child support. You can also work for a judge. It’s a great career. I am always learning and work with some very smart people.
I would not recommend you walk around telling people your career goal is to be a judge. That is somewhat presumptuous in my books, although it might depend what state you are looking at. Heck, there are still JPs who don’t even have to be lawyers.
Hello everyone,
I’ve still been thinking about switching majors and have decided that I indeed want too. As I have stated before I have little interest in science majors( Chem,physics,etc.), but out of all majors I am most interested in political science,economics,and maybe a technology major. The problem is my school only offer a select range of majors.
-For the Business academy they offer:
Accounting (AAS), Accounting for Forensic Accounting (AS), Business Admin (AS), Computer Information System (AAS), Managment (AAS), Office Admin and Technology (AAS) .
-For the Liberal Arts Academy they offer:
Criminal Justice (AS), [ALL AA Degree] Liberal Studies, American Studies, Education, English, Exercise Science, Gender Studies, Health and Behavior, Health Promotion and Disease, Prevention, International Studies, Nutrition, Personal Training, Physical Education, Psychology, Sociology, Urban Studies
-For the STEM Academy they offer:
Architectural Technology (AAS), Biotechnology (AS), Chemistry (AS), Computer Engineering Technology (AAS), Electronic Engineering Technology (AAS), Engineering Science (AS), Environmental Science (AS), Mathematics and Science (AS), Mechanical Engineering Technology (AAS), Internet and Information Technology (AAS), New Media Technology (Cert)
Science for Forensics (AS), Telecommunications Technology (AAS)
•Which major would prepare me the best for the LSAT, while being a good BA degree when I transfer after two years? I was thinking of making Liberal Studies my major which Is mainly for undecided majors, I was told that it allows most credits to transfer to a 4-year university. Is this a good plan-b ?
I have also thought about my career choice due to everyone’s helpful feedback. I still hope to one day become a judge, although I know a lot must be done to get there’s depending on the type of judge and the state. Law is still my primary interest (since young) and I was already aware that I had to be a lawyer for a while before becoming a judge. I am still undecided as to which area I would like to concentrate in. I know I have to get more experience in the law field to see my own pros and cons. If I ever do decide to peruse something else I wouldn’t want to have a BA in criminal justice,pre-law,etc. I would instead like to have something that is more valuable and that I can also build on. That is the one of the main reasons I decided to switch majors along with needing to be challenged academically.
Any of your ideas or help is greatly appreciated.