<p>I am currently a sophomore in college which means... that time to officially declare your major is right around the corner. At this point I am still debating which major to choose. </p>
<p>Right now I'm leaning towards a Major in Communications (with a concentration in Media, Culture and Society) and with a Minor in Business. </p>
<p>Although this could lead me to other jobs after undergrad (such as management), the dream of law school is still there. However, I am still not 100% sure I want to go to Law School. </p>
<p>Honestly, would having this major help me in admission to law school? Or better yet, would this undergrad help me while actually IN law school???</p>
<p>Your major won’t factor in at all in admissions. LS is very numbers-driven: GPA and LSAT matter more than anything. </p>
<p>As for your other question: I’ve gotten the impression that in general, majoring in vague fields like “Communications” and “Business” tends to be all but useless. But of course, this varies from school to school (and from person to person), so if you think that these classes will be beneficial to you, then by all means, go for it. What matters most is the skills you acquire in college, not the word it says on your degree (figuratively speaking – I don’t think most degrees even print majors on them anymore ;]). Skills that will be useful in LS are analytical ones: critical thinking, reading comprehension, etc. I’m sure you can get those sorts of things out of any challenging classes, no matter what the field.</p>
<p>^ I mean, maybe it’s not a nonentity, but isn’t it sort of just a tiny thing (like prestige of UG school) that MAY be able to push a borderline person over the edge (or be the deciding factor between two otherwise-equal applicants)?</p>
<p>Is there a general trend, or are some schools just known for caring more about these things than others (or both)? Like, would you say that these things matter more for T14 schools than others, or less? I know T14s are less purely numbers-driven (b/c all of their applicants have such high numbers) and care more about “softs”, but I thought softs encompassed extracurriculars, work experience, etc. and not factors like major and UG school.</p>
<p>Not necessarily true. Several T14s are number-crunchers: Cornell, Georgetown, NYU, Harvard, Chicago, Columbia, Northwestern, Virginia, Duke, and UPenn and Michigan to an extent.</p>
<p><a href=“b/c%20all%20of%20their%20applicants%20have%20such%20high%20numbers”>quote</a> and care more about “softs”, but I thought softs encompassed extracurriculars, work experience, etc. and not factors like major and UG school.
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<p>I tend to equate “soft factors” with everything that doesn’t have a numerical value (i.e., everything but the LSAT and GPA). In that regard, school and major are definitely soft factors.</p>
<p>tysm. I feel like a jerk, now, for responding in definites to things I obviously don’t know for sure. I’ll precede all my posts from now on with “To my knowledge…” ;]</p>
<p>So, is it known what looks good/bad as far as majors? I wanna do something sciencey (ideally neuro), 'cause it’s what I’m really interested in, but will it look like LS was a last-ditch thing if my studies don’t point to an interest in law? (I also want to double major in philosophy, which is more relevant, but I don’t see myself taking a lot of poli sci.)</p>
<p>This is a topic I’ll probably get much disagreement on, but here we go:
It really doesn’t matter whether the major is “law” related. Especially for law school admissions, admissions officers definitely seek a diversity of academic backgrounds. My classmates ranged from mathematics and physics majors at MIT and vocal performance majors at other schools to the typical poli-sci/govt majors.
I always advocate pursuing a major about which you’re most passionate. If that’s neuroscience, then that’s great. Science-ey backgrounds are also incredibly helpful, as they open the door to patent law and increase employment opportunities, as a result. Be forewarned, though, that science majors tend to be brutal to the GPA. Though I always think people do well when they’re doing what they’re passionate about, sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way. If you feel like you could enjoy philosophy, give it a shot and see if you can find your passion there.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, maybe my question was too general… I know that most would say when picking a major for law school, you should choose one that you are most passionate about and one you will excel in (since LS admission is about the numbers). </p>
<p>My problem is that I want the option of going into management if I receive a degree in Communications (which by the way, is the most popular major in my school- it being located in Manhattan) and with a minor in business if don’t end up going to LS. But, if I do decide to go to LS, will the skills from those classes help me at all once I’m actually in LS? </p>
<p>In other words, are there people out there with Communication Majors who go to LS, or are they just two very different worlds?</p>
<p>You are right in your evaluation that major is a soft factor. You are wrong in the implied evaluation that Communications and/or business would be a positive soft factor. In fact, both of them would be negative soft factors; if the decision came to you versus say an English major and all else were equal, chances are the English major would get it. </p>
<p>When selecting a major, I still say you should pick something you enjoy versus trying to pick something a law school would want. However, if you are wondering what law schools see as favorable, basically it’s any liberal arts degree or anything where analytical thinking, reasoning, and logic are stressed, while vocational skills are avoided. Examples that come to mind are English, Philosophy, Economics, Math, History, Government, Political Science, etc. The hard sciences are also not looked down upon (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, etc), but in general these students do not pursue degrees in law, except for Patent Law. </p>
<p>Majors that are looked down upon are Business, Communications, Fashion, and Pre-Law (Criminology); basically anything that aims to prepare you for a certain field rather than give you general intellectual knowledge. </p>
<p>In general a Communications major in law school is not common, but it is not impossible. You had better ace that LSAT, though.</p>
<p>“hard sciences are also not looked down upon (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, etc), but in general these students do not pursue degrees in law, except for Patent Law.”</p>
<p>As far as I know, one cannot get a JD degree in any one type of law, such as patent law, as you note above. One can get an LLM (advanced degree after getting a JD) in patent or tax law, etc., however.</p>
<p>However, it is true that those with undergrad degrees in a science, often pursue careers in patent law, although an advanced law degree in “Patent Law” is not necessary for such a career, and, IMHO, is likely a waste of a lot of money (tuition + lost wages).</p>
<p>Anna Ivey - THe Ivey guide to law school admissions
Richard Montauk- How to get in a top law school</p>
<p>The Montauk book the book is approximately 500 pages and gives a very comprehensive overview of the college process and discusses applications, essays, LSATs, majors, etc</p>
<p>Chapter 8 of his book discusses Making the Most of Your Credentials, Montauk states:</p>
<p>I guess I should have phrased my point better. I meant that students from the hard sciences do not often pursue a JD unless they have the intent of going into Patent Law; not many students select a Biology/Chemistry/Physics major and decide to go to law school, unless they had the intent of pursing Patent Law. I did not mean they had to get a JD in patent law, I just meant in general students who apply with those majors are ones who are planning to go into Patent Law.</p>