Environmental Law, and other options.

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi, it's junior year and I've recently been seriously contemplating my options for where I will spend the next 4 (possibly more) years of my life. I'm taking Environmental Science this year, and I absolutely love the class, although this is true with all the sciences. I also do quite well for myself in them. It's prompted me to seriously consider Environmental Law for my major, as I've wanted to be a lawyer for quite some time too. I'm not sure whether this is my final decision, but it will most definitely be either this or a field of science. The amount of money made in the profession is also a big factor for me, because I honestly feel like I would enjoy the majority of them. I'm aware this is pretty vague in some ways, but I'll list some statistics and hopefully I could get some ideas.
I've considered Lewis and Clark College, but quite honestly it doesn't seem to be very prestigious and I almost feel like it wouldn't be good enough for me. Thanks so much, guys.</p>

<p>My weighted GPA is ~3.85 (it will drop slightly this semester, I've slacked more than my norm)
Haven't taken an SAT in highschool.
My ACT score was a 35.</p>

<p>I’ve taken 2 AP classes:
APHG: 5
AP Euro:4</p>

<p>I’m currently taking 3 AP classes as a junior
AP Literature and Composition
APUSH
AP Environmental Science</p>

<p>I'm in Project Lead the Way at my school, an engineering program. My particular school has a partnership with Ford for the Next Generation Learning Program. I love the math and theory behind it all, but the more hands-on pieces tend to bore me. For instance I tried to join Robotics, but frankly couldn't be bothered.</p>

<p>I'm the captain of my school's chess team. I love chess and play outside of school, winning multiple trophies.
Beta Club
Active Ecology Club member. I have started this only this year. I recognize the changes we need to make to the environment and enjoy doing my part, but I'm not a total activist "nut-job" and am still not decided on my career.
French Club
Afterschool tutoring of underclassmen.</p>

<p>I've participated in the Duke TIP program, and also VAMPY (studied physics for 3 weeks at WKU). Absolutely loved the physics, btw. Along with this, I received a grant of a few thousand dollars to be able to travel with the WKU center for gifted studies to Europe, which i would consider an honor. I have no allegiances to WKU...</p>

<p>Thankyou so much for any and all help.</p>

2

<p>First, you can’t major in environmental law. That’s a subfield students study in law school, which comes after college. The general advice around here is that students looking into law school minimize debt since the top schools cost so much. Keep in mind that environmental lawyers aren’t just found as representatives for the community. They’re also defending various corporations, many of which have appalling records of environmental protection. </p>

<p>Second, prestigious in the environmental world does not necessarily equal prestigious to the general public. For example, I’m a geology major in Oklahoma and UC Santa Cruz is very well regarded for the work being done now and in the past. The University of Arizona and to a lesser extent ASU are also thought of being hubs of scientific activity despite most Californians considering them as simply destinations for dumb rich kids who want to party. When I worked in Yellowstone many of the most important people in the park had educational backgrounds ranging from Allegheny College (a decent LAC in PA with a strong ES program and excellent cross disciplinary focus), to Dartmouth, to Montana State. </p>

<p>Third, if you’re looking for prestigious, almost all of the schools in the top 50by the US News have good to great ES programs ( (CalTech, possibly Notre Dame, Georgetown, Brandeis, Yeshiva, and possibly Northeastern are the exceptions) although some lack important sub disciplines. Emory for example doesn’t have geology, which somewhat limits students’ ability to visualize the potential policy issues pertaining to complex resource extraction issues. </p>

3

<p>You might look at the environmental policy major. Don’t worry about settling on a career just yet. At most colleges you won’t have to declare a major until sometime in your sophomore year. You have plenty of time to experiment and explore. </p>

<p>What’s your financial situation? Do you need financial aid? If yes, does your family qualify for enough need based aid? If you’re not sure, ask your parents to run a few net price calculators that you will find on the colleges’ websites to determine if need-based aid is workable for you.</p>

<p>And stop slacking. :slight_smile: Now is the time to get that GPA as high as you can.</p>