<p>I visited their website, and they say that they offer pre-med. but I didnt see pre-law there. Is it true that they do not offer pre-law?</p>
<p>Pre-med is nto a major but a series of courses that you have to take to prepare for the MCATS and for application to med school. There is no such equivalent for law school admission--people take the LSATS and apply to law school with a much wider range of courses. YOu don't need the same kidn of specific areas of knowledge. That is why most schools including Davidson do not have a formal prelaw program. That is not say however that many Davidson students do not apply to law school successfully. It is simply a different set of prerequisites. Davidson happens to have an unususually focused and acive pre-med program, but people in it major in a variety of subjects, such as psychology, biology, chemisxtry, even music. or philosophy. People who consider themselves prelaw are probably even more varied because they don't have the various science sequences to occupy their schedules.</p>
<p>Davidson does have a pre-law advisor, and a LOT of Davidson grads go to law school. MattMom is right, there is no "required" curriculum for law school though--so it is very different from pre med in that regard. It doesn't really matter what you study before you go to law school--law is a very unique subject that very little prepares you for. Ironically (although most parents tend to flip) philosophy is the #1 major for goign to law school. I have really found that my philosophy-oriented background has really helped me in law school because of my strong background in writing, logic, and argumentation (all fundamental building blocks of legal learning). That said, there are lots of kids in law school without philosophy backgrounds so, seriously, study whatever you want. There aren't any rules for pre-law--except get good grades and do well on the LSAT!</p>
<p>Thomas Sowell in his book "Choosing the right college" states:</p>
<pre><code> "If your interest is not so much in your prospects immediately after college, but rather in your career after finishing graduate school or medical or law school, then there is even less reason to select a big-name undergraduate institution, as such. The quality and renown of your postgraduate training will undoubtedly have a very real influence on your career prospects-but at that point no one will care where you went to college before you received your M.B.A. from Wharton, your Ph.D. from Stanford, or your M.D. from Johns Hopkins. Perhaps you are concerned about getting into such postgraduate programs and think that a big-name college will help your chances there. But the people who run the leading graduate and professional institutions are unlikely to be dazzled by big names. They know from long personal experience which colleges students actually perform well, regardless of whether or not those colleges are known to the general public. It was the deans of law schools who ranked Davidson College ahead of most Ivy League schools for the calibre of its students performances in law school. It was the deans of engineering schools who ranked the students from Rose-Hulman Institute ahead of those from Princeton."
</code></pre>
<p>I'm really sorry to butt in, but I have a question for HubbellGardner--your PM function seems to be disabled.</p>
<p>I know this is really random, but I have a question concerning your post in the "do ivy leagues really matter" thread? </p>
<p>I'm really familiar with your idea that LACs provide a sort of advantage when one applies to graduate school, especially medical school, and that was one of my reasons for applying to Amherst, Williams, and Pomona College--less known liberal arts colleges. </p>
<p>Well, I got into all three, but I struggled with a personal decision of finances (at USC or Berkeley, I wouldn't have to take out loans versus 90,000 at the LACs) versus educational quality and graduate benefits provided at the liberal arts colleges. </p>
<p>You said that state schools are very looked down, and USC is a state school. I was wondering if you think the same disadvantage for medical school applies to USC? I've been having regrets and have been melancholy ever since I sent in my deposit to USC. </p>
<p>I'm a first generation college student and I would really appreciate your input, as you seem very familiar with medical school admissions and have gone through the process yourself. A lot of the comments from that thread about hanging elite degrees on one's wall with self satisfaction has been troubling.</p>
<p>Many thanks
Sony</p>
<p>Sony,</p>
<p>This is Hubbell's dad(the physician) responding-I peruse this sight using hubbell's password at times(he is the davidson student).</p>
<p>The point I was trying to make in the other thread was that I went to medical school by one route and decided to advise my son to take a different route. My route-I went to a third tier state university in Pennsylvania-a college that has 15,000 undergraduates-that sends less than 10 students to medical school a year-and in order to get accepted from that school, you had to be a summa cum laude graduate and do extremely well on the MCAT(no easy feat from that school as those who go there can not afford prep courses and are poorly advised as to how to 'game' the application process). When I got to medical school, I met lots of students, mostly from LAC's, who got in with much lower GPA's etc... Tiny Franklin and Marshall college had more graduates in my class then my entire college sent to all medical schools. I was greatly impressed with this, and the mentoring they got from their pre-med program, the advice, the preparation for the MCAT etc.. All of this for me was like pulling teeth from my college. So, when my son was interested in going premed, I told him that a LAC with a great premed record is better than what I went through-even though I could give him advice that was not available to me(I am now a medical school professor after a long career in military medicine-I had military scholarships to pay my was through both college and medical school). He chose Davidson-where the premed advisor is presently the President of the national association of college premedical advisors, where they know exactly what it takes to get accepted to medical school-they tell you what it is, the help you acheive it and they work with you until you accomplish your goal-at a >90% acceptance rate for those students who go throught the 'premed committee". That is not to say that 90% of all students to arrive at Davidson who once thought that they were going to medical school get accepted, it is 90% of thiose who stick it out and folow the advice. Obviously, if you fail organic chemistry and get a D in calculus-you will probably be taken aside and told to rethink your career options a bit.</p>
<p>OK, I am getting a little off track, but the point was that I am living proof that you can get into medical school from just about anywhere-especially if you are singleminded, work extremely hard etc.., but, if you want some room for error, need to a little push now and then, could use some helpful advice and have people help arrange research during the summer, get clinical experiences and 'check off all the boxes' that medical school adcoms like to see checked off, there is a to to be said for a place that looks out for you in that regard-very large schools just can not give you that 'boutique' attention. Some people do not need boutique attention-the question is-do you?</p>
<p>As for hubbell, he took the MCAT last month, has excelled in the davidson program and has punched the right tickets to get accepted, and I am confident he will. His college experience was much more rewarding than mine, and I was glad that I could afford that opportunity for him.</p>
<p>I wish you well on your journey.</p>