<p>I'm sorry if I am posting this in the wrong thread, (although my post does have some relevance to Law school). </p>
<p>I will be a incomming freshman at the University of Arizona, and my main plan is to do well on my LSAT and get a 3.7-4.0 G.P.A. (I want to get into T14 law schools)
I currently am considering doing Poly. Sci. for a major and English minor due to hearing that people who take English as a Major or Minor tend to score higher on the LSAT. That being said, I also need to consider my classes for freshman year.
Any recommendations as to what I should take (Gen Eds included), that would be beneficial to me and the road I want to forgo? </p>
<p>Also, will my undergrad school be an issue when applying to law school, even if I do considerablly well on my LSAT and GPA?</p>
<p>Don't go into school thinking you have to do Pol. Science as your major to get into law school.... and don't minor in English unless that's something you like. Just take courses you enjoy, do well in them, and make sure to take a lot of upper level courses in more than one subject. </p>
<p>For freshman year, it really doesn't matter what you take.. try to take a class in every subject you think you may find interesting rather than focusing on one major already</p>
<p>Oh, I really do love English. :D I'm a english nerd, in fact.
As for political science, I find that subject pretty interesting. Thus, I am sure I will have no problem with the major and minor I am choosing. I'm just trying to come up with a 4 year plan. I really want to aim high when it comes to law school. I never was quite the student I wanted to be in high school (graduating with a 3.4/3.5), took honors and AP classes, but not close to my potential. I feel that college is going to be a new chapter for me, a way to truly get involved in the community, leadership programs, higher education, and really put myself to the test.
I just want to make it work as smooth as possible in order to reach my goal. Which would be a ivy leage law school.</p>
<p>Well, people who are English majors generally develop very high reading comp abilities in college, but I've heard that science/engineering majors score highest on the LSAT, followed by Philosophy, followed by Econ (someone posted that on this board, i don't have the source). I guess since 2/3 of the lsat is logic, and people with those majors generally have better logic skills? I think Pol sci would develop your reading comp skills just as well as English, but since you enjoy both, your choice of major/minor sounds perfect.</p>
<p>as for UG rigor, i've heard they really don't care, it's all about gpa/lsat. don't worry about lsat at this point, just focus on keeping your grades high.</p>
<p>Yeah, you are right. I just have a tendency to think about things way ahead of time. :) I'm one of those people that worry and wonder a lot. Not that it does me much good. I should focus on my plans for next year and how I am actually going to achieve a high gpa. </p>
<p>Does anybody know how many years of math/science classes one needs if they are going to be Poly. Sci. Major? Also how many hears of a second language?
I have already taken Spanish 4 years in highschool (Not that it did me tremendous good), but did not sign up for college credit because I didn't really put much thought into that kind of stuff yet. </p>
<p>But the bright side is that if I do need to take spanish again in college, I will be prepared more than those who did not take it much in HS. </p>
<p>Also, I was reading another thread and a person said no matter what one does as a UG from a state school, the chances of getting into HLS and YLS or top 14 law schools is pretty slim and futile, even considering that one gets a 3.7> GPA and 168> on their LSAT. True? Because I really hate the idea of having false dreams. I want to work for it if it is possible. And I will.</p>
<p>jennifer- big generalization and things can change over the next few years- but IF you can maintain a 3.75 or better and get at least a 168 LSAT and have a good application and recommendations, you have a pretty good shot at a T 7-14 school. Just remember a 168 is top 4% of all testtakers, so it may sound easier to obtain than it actually is- </p>
<p>just relax a little and enjoy your college experience.</p>
<p>Oh, it definitely and most absolutily is easier said then done. A 168 on the LSAT... and a 3.8 GPA is going to be a very steep hill to overcome. But, I am sure with a lot of studying, a good deal of practice, and the right kind of college bound mindset, I will be able to achieve my goals. I mean, the school I am going too doesn't have much to do around, (It is AZ after all... the hub of utter and infinite boringness) thus I will have no other option but to put more time and effort into my education. Plus, with the kind of money my parents are putting into education, I rather not disapoint them, or myself.</p>
<p>There are about 4,400 slots for first year students at the top fourteen law schools combined. That number is about one third less than the number of freshmen at the University of Arizona.</p>
<p>Even a 168 on the LSAT would put you below the median at twelve of the top fourteen law schools. At one of the other two (Berkeley), the median GPA for the entering class is 3.82. There are 104 undergraduate schools represented among the student body there, but the most commonly represented schools are UC Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, Brown, Cornell, Yale, and Harvard. </p>
<p>Only 37% of applicants to Berkeley for law school who did their undergraduate work at Yale were offered admission in a recent year; only 19% of those from Princeton made the grade. </p>
<p>If you're really serious about getting into a top 14 law school, assume you'll need a 4.0. (The University of Arizona doesn't give plus or minus grades, so this may not be as difficult as it sounds.)</p>
<p>There's nothing wrong with aiming high. But please don't think that your future happiness depends on getting into one of a handful of law schools. I've known lots of happy and success lawyers who went to a wide variety of law schools, and lots of happy and successful people who didn't go to law school.</p>
<p>Majoring in PoliSci and minoring in English.... you certainly are on the law school track! Your undergrad school will be taken into account, but no options will be cut off for you based on your undergraduate school. Every year, YLS, HLS, SLS, and other top schools accept students from all levels of undergraduate institutions. You have to succeed in college no matter which one your at in order to enter a T14 law school. I wish you the best of luck in your quest!</p>