<p>Okay so I want to go to law school, with a focus in the realm of international human rights and development. However, I don't know what to do for undergrad. I know that there is no set "pre-law" tract, but I was wondering if anyone had major suggestions that would provide me a strong foundation for my intended focus. Recommendations for schools offering said majors would also be much appreciated. </p>
<p>My stats:
SAT: 2240 (750 critical reading, 770 math, and 720 writing)
SAT II: 750 Biology and 740 Math II
ACT: 35 composite (34 science, 35 reading, 34 math, 35 writing)
GPA (unweighted): 3.9 on a 4.0 scale
APs: taken four so far (got all 5's on the exam) and will take another four this year</p>
<p>I'm a Massachusetts resident and cost is a large consideration for me, so I would be looking for schools that offer large merit scholarships and/or good financial aid. Any help appreciated! </p>
<p>I did not go to law school, but I thought about it when I was in college. My father was a very successful attorney, in private practice. When I asked him what he thought the best major was, he said, unequivocally, “English.” He majored in English, and was regularly appalled by how poorly many fellow lawyers wrote and communicated. Most liberal arts programs will require the sort of research and writing that will be valuable experience in preparing a brief or argument. Nowadays, I think that some technical specialties will also be in high demand, for fields like intellectual properties, patent law, health care, and environmental issues. My younger son has just started college, and hopes to go to law school. He intends to major in Political Science, simply because he is passionate about the subject. He is a born “policy wonk,” who loves facts and figures. People might argue that Psychology or Anthropology are the best, in understanding the human condition for your future practice. I am inclined to say that law schools care most about your GPA and your LSAT scores, along with relevant extracurricular or professional experience. Go ahead and major in what interests you; college will be the one time that you can do what you really love. For the area of law you are interested in, even a foreign language major would be valuable. You are strong in sciences, so a science major could provide depth and dimension when looking at global challenges in the future.
You are very wise to look at finances, because law school will be extremely expensive. You should certainly look at UMass-Amherst. Are you male or female? You might as well apply to some top-tier colleges, which have the most generous financial aid resources, but then you should look at colleges where you are well above average statistically - they are the ones that will offer you the most generous merit scholarships. Do you want to remain in New England or the Northeast? Will you qualify for a lot of need-based aid, or will you want more in the way of merit aid?</p>
<p>I’m female. I don’t care about staying in the Northeast so much, but I would prefer living in a city (or area where there is a lot to do). I probably want more in the way of merit aid (my mom makes $60,000 a year so I will qualify for some, but I want more aid than that)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.potsdam.edu/academics/AAS/Phil/upload/LSAT-Scores-of-Majors.pdf”>http://www.potsdam.edu/academics/AAS/Phil/upload/LSAT-Scores-of-Majors.pdf</a> shows the average LSAT scores of each type of majors. Given the logic puzzle section on the LSAT (see the practice problems on the web site), it is no surprise that math and philosophy majors do well on that (though it is not necessarily obvious whether that is a treatment effect (i.e. practice doing logic in math and philosophy course work) or (self-)selection effect (i.e. students good at logical thinking choose and stay in math and philosophy majors). With the convoluted logic sometimes written into the statutes, it can take some strength of logical thinking to figure out exactly what is legal and illegal from such statutes.</p>
<p>English is not the only major where a student may do extensive reading and writing, though how much reading and writing a student will do likely depends a lot on how the courses at the school are taught, and which courses the student chooses. Out-of-major electives can be used to supplement any academic areas that you may feel to be helpful to prepare for law school or a law career.</p>
<p>Do some research on the glut of lawyers currently out of work because law schools have continued to produce the same number of grads even tho the demand has shrunk. Do not think that if you go to a Top 5 school you will get work that allows you to pay your debts. It doesn’t always happen. I too think the best majors for the law are math and philosophy, with English a second, and history a third. But really you can do almost anything that rigorously tests your reading, writing, and thinking abilities.</p>
<p>Eckerd College just announced a 3-3 program with USF. Three years at Eckerd then 3 years at USF. After the end of your first year at USF you are awarded a BA or BS from Eckerd. I can see this working if a student has good stats, some AP credits and is focused. It would save a year of undergrad. tuition if you decided to continue to USF.</p>
<p>Eckerd is very generous with financial aid. Willamette has a similar program, with its own law school, and excellent internship opportunities with the Oregon state legislature (across the street). The one drawback for 3-3 programs is that foreign study might be difficult. My son was accepted at Willamette, with a generous scholarship, but decided against them. I would certainly recommend looking at the universities in Washington, DC: Georgetown is a reach; GWU is a match; American a low-match, where you might get a generous scholarship. </p>
<p>I think some of the schools that allow you to create your own major would work well for a pre-law student. You could create a major that includes:</p>
<p>English
Poly Sci
History
Philosophy…deductive logic!! and ethics!!
econ, business, accounting
…AND SOME SCIENCE courses (too many attys are too light on science knowledge!)</p>
<p>Is your dad still alive? The schools that give the best need-based aid often require the info about the non-custodial parent. </p>
<p>Too late in earlier post #6 to make a correction. The 3-3 program with Eckerd is with FSU, not USF. Sorry. Eckerd has a winter term and spring into summer terms that allow for study abroad with Eckerd professors and students. One of the Spring into summer courses studies international policiy at the Hague and one with the UN in Geneva.</p>