good schools for pre-law?

<p>what are some good undergraduate schools for pre-law besides the typical HYPS? Are the other ivys good for pre-law (penn, columbia...)...what about a place like UC Berkeley?</p>

<p>Just in case you were wondering, there's not a pre-law major per-se at any reputable university; you are supposed to major in about anything that has academic depth that matches your interests whether it be political science, math, etc. Maybe stay away from technical/vocational studies and things like that and focus on writing and critical thinking.</p>

<p>There's a lot of emphasis in law school admissions on GPA and LSAT so wherever you can get a good GPA in a respected program works. That being said, all ivies are excellent preparation for sure, along with the likes of Berkeley/Michigan/UVA/etc.</p>

<p>No top 25 institution offers "pre-law" as a major. In terms of which schools are good at placing students at law schools, pretty much any school in the top 25 is sufficient.</p>

<p>I am currently studying poli sci at Berkeley and it has an outstanding reputation for placing students into tpo law schools.</p>

<p>Good luck</p>

<p>Just going to weigh in with the general lack of a "pre-law" major at top schools, but add that LACs are a good option if one doesn't find the top 25 research universities palatable.</p>

<p>Actually, most law schools look unfavorably towards pre-law. They assert that they have to re-teach indoctrinated students. Personally, I would focus more on a major that is writing and research intensive. I'm going to venture into law and I plan to major in history and philosophy.</p>

<p>Responding to nspeds comment "In terms of which schools are good at placing students at law schools, pretty much any school in the top 25 is sufficient." I think nspeds must mean that you are in a good position to have your gpa taken very seriously if you go to a top 25 ug school. But since LSAT and gpa are what it's really about, a top 25 school is a good thing, but really good students can end up at any undergraduate school, do really well, and get into the best law schools. This is particularly good for students who, for financial reasons, chose a lower-ranked school to get merit money, over a higher ranked school at full freight. </p>

<p>Just as an example, UPenn is one of the very best law schools, with high gpa and LSAT medians. Among their current students are graduates of many of the top schools, but also many that aren't even in the top 50. Here's a complete list: [I didn't even know there was a Stroudsburg, much less an EAST Stroudsburg . . . . !]</p>

<h1>American Univ.</h1>

<h1>American Univ. of Paris</h1>

<h1>Amherst College</h1>

<h1>Arizona State Univ.</h1>

<h1>Auburn Univ.</h1>

<h1>Barnard College</h1>

<h1>Bejing Foreign Studies Univ.</h1>

<h1>Benedict College</h1>

<h1>Baruch College</h1>

<h1>Bob Jones Univ.</h1>

<h1>Boston College</h1>

<h1>Boston Univ.</h1>

<h1>Bowdoin College</h1>

<h1>Brandeis Univ.</h1>

<h1>Brigham Young Univ.</h1>

<h1>Brown Univ.</h1>

<h1>Bryn Mawr College</h1>

<h1>Bucknell Univ.</h1>

<h1>Butler Univ.</h1>

<h1>California Institute of Technology</h1>

<h1>California State Univ.-Fullerton</h1>

<h1>Capital Univ.</h1>

<h1>Carleton College-MN</h1>

<h1>Carnegie Mellon Univ.</h1>

<h1>Case Western Reserve Univ.</h1>

<h1>Claremont Mckenna College</h1>

<h1>Colby College</h1>

<h1>Colgate Univ.</h1>

<h1>College of the Holy Cross</h1>

<h1>College of William and Mary</h1>

<h1>Colorado College</h1>

<h1>Columbia Univ.</h1>

<h1>Cooper Union</h1>

<h1>Cornell Univ.</h1>

<h1>Covenant College</h1>

<h1>Dartmouth College</h1>

<h1>David Lipscomb Univ.</h1>

<h1>Dominican Univ.</h1>

<h1>Drew Univ.</h1>

<h1>Drexel Univ.</h1>

<h1>Duke Univ.</h1>

<h1>East Stroudsburg Univ.</h1>

<h1>Emory Univ.</h1>

<h1>Florida Agricultural & Mechanical Univ.</h1>

<h1>Florida Gulf Coast Univ.</h1>

<h1>Florida international Univ.</h1>

<h1>Fordham Univ.</h1>

<h1>Franklin and Marshall College</h1>

<h1>Fudan Univ.</h1>

<h1>George Mason Univ.</h1>

<h1>George Washington Univ.</h1>

<h1>Georgetown Univ.</h1>

<h1>Goucher College</h1>

<h1>Harvard Univ.</h1>

<h1>Hofstra Univ.</h1>

<h1>Howard Univ.</h1>

<h1>Hunter College</h1>

<h1>Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania</h1>

<h1>Indiana Univ.-Bloomington</h1>

<h1>Jacksonville Univ.</h1>

<h1>James Madison Univ.</h1>

<h1>Johns Hopkins Univ.</h1>

<h1>Kalamazoo College</h1>

<h1>Kansas State Univ.</h1>

<h1>Kenyon College</h1>

<h1>La Salle Univ.</h1>

<h1>Lafayette College</h1>

<h1>Lahore Univ. of Management Sciences</h1>

<h1>Lehigh Univ.</h1>

<h1>Lewis and Clark College</h1>

<h1>Long island Univ.</h1>

<h1>Louisiana State Univ.-Baton Rouge</h1>

<h1>Loyola College-Maryland</h1>

<h1>Lynchburg College</h1>

<h1>Macalester College</h1>

<h1>Marshall Univ.</h1>

<h1>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</h1>

<h1>McGill Univ.</h1>

<h1>Miami Univ. Oxford</h1>

<h1>Michigan State Univ.</h1>

<h1>Middlebury College</h1>

<h1>Morehouse College</h1>

<h1>Muhlenberg College</h1>

<h1>New York Univ.</h1>

<h1>Northeastern Univ.</h1>

<h1>Northern Kentucky Univ.</h1>

<h1>Northwestern Univ.</h1>

<h1>Oberlin College</h1>

<h1>Ohio State Univ.-Columbus</h1>

<h1>Ohio Univ.</h1>

<h1>Old Dominion Univ.</h1>

<h1>Pennsylvania State Univ.</h1>

<h1>Pomona College</h1>

<h1>Princeton Univ.</h1>

<h1>Purchase College</h1>

<h1>Purdue Univ.-West Lafayette</h1>

<h1>Queens College</h1>

<h1>Reed College</h1>

<h1>Renmin Univ. of China</h1>

<h1>Rice Univ.</h1>

<h1>Rutgers Univ.</h1>

<h1>Saint Joseph's Univ.</h1>

<h1>Santa Clara Univ.</h1>

<h1>Sarah Lawrence College</h1>

<h1>Seattle Univ.</h1>

<h1>Seoul National Univ.</h1>

<h1>Seton Hall Univ.</h1>

<h1>Smith College</h1>

<h1>Southern Methodist Univ.</h1>

<h1>Spelman College</h1>

<h1>St. John's Univ.-Staten Island</h1>

<h1>Stanford Univ.</h1>

<h1>Strayer Univ.</h1>

<h1>SUNY at Binghamton Center</h1>

<h1>SUNY at Stony Brook Center</h1>

<h1>Swarthmore College</h1>

<h1>Syracuse Univ.</h1>

<h1>Temple Univ.</h1>

<h1>Texas A & M Univ. - College Station</h1>

<h1>The College of New Jersey</h1>

<h1>Torah Temimah Talmudical Seminary</h1>

<h1>Trinity College-Dublin</h1>

<h1>Trinity Univ.</h1>

<h1>Tufts Univ. of Arts & Sciences</h1>

<h1>Tulane Univ.</h1>

<h1>Union College New York</h1>

<h1>United States Naval Academy</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Maryland</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Richmond</h1>

<h1>Univ. of California Berkeley-Extension</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Delaware</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Edinburgh</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Science & Technology of China</h1>

<h1>Universidad Iberoamericana Law Sch.</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Arizona</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Arkansas-Fayetteville</h1>

<h1>Univ. of British Columbia</h1>

<h1>Univ. of California-Berkeley</h1>

<h1>Univ. of California-Davis</h1>

<h1>Univ. of California-Irvine</h1>

<h1>Univ. of California-Los Angeles</h1>

<h1>Univ. of California-San Diego</h1>

<h1>Univ. of California-Santa Barbara</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Chicago</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Dayton</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Florida</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Illinois-Urbana</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Iowa</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Kansas</h1>

<h1>Univ. of London</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Maryland-Baltimore County</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Maryland-College Park</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Massachusetts-Amherst</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Massachusetts-Boston</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Miami</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Michigan-Ann Arbor</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Minnesota-Minneapolis</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Montana</h1>

<h1>Univ. of New Mexico</h1>

<h1>Univ. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Notre Dame</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Pennsylvania</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Pittsburgh</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Richmond</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Rochester</h1>

<h1>Univ. of San Diego</h1>

<h1>Univ. of South Carolina-Columbia</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Southern California</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Tennessee - Knoxville</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Texas - Austin</h1>

<h1>Univ. of the Pacific</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Toronto</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Utah</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Vermont</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Virginia</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Washington</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Wisconsin - Green Bay</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison</h1>

<h1>Univ. of Wyoming</h1>

<h1>Ursinus College</h1>

<h1>Virginia Polytechnic Inst. & State Univ.</h1>

<h1>Vanderbilt Univ.</h1>

<h1>Vassar College</h1>

<h1>Villanova Univ.</h1>

<h1>Wake Forest Univ.</h1>

<h1>Washington and Lee Univ.</h1>

<h1>Washington Univ.</h1>

<h1>Wellesley College</h1>

<h1>Wesleyan Univ.</h1>

<h1>West Chester Univ. of Pennsylvania</h1>

<h1>Wheaton College-Illinois</h1>

<h1>Wheaton College-Massachusetts</h1>

<h1>Whittier College</h1>

<h1>Williams College</h1>

<h1>Yeshiva Univ.</h1>

<h1>York Univ.</h1>

<p>hayden,</p>

<p>What's more important, however, is the success rate of applicants from each school. Sure there may be a student from Cal State Fullerton, but how many more got dinged?</p>

<p>I'd rather be a smart student at Penn with a 3.7 than a smart student at Cal State Fullerton with a 4.0 any day. Especially considering how often undergrads tend to change career plans.</p>

<p>As someone who is quite familiar with Penn Law, I can assure you that that just under 50% of each year's class comes from the eight Ivy League schools (and in many recent years, fully 10% of the class has come from Penn undergrad and 10% of the class has come from Cornell undergrad) and the vast majority comes from highly ranked non-Ivy universities and LACs, and that many of the other schools have only one or two students accepted to Penn Law every so often. This is also true at the other law schools with which I am quite familiar through recruiting at these schools for many years (including Harvard, UVa and Stanford), and likely to be true at many of the other top law schools as well. Whether this results from the fact that perhaps students who do well in high school and on the SAT (and who then get into top undergrads) also do well in college and on the LSAT or simply because there is something else going on is impossible to say, but the fact remains that students from top undergrads tend to get into top law schools in far greater numbers than their counterparts from other undergrads.</p>

<p>As a Penn undergrad hoping to attend Penn law, I can say that law-school-bound students seem to be the most common thing among non-Wharton, non-Engineering, non-PreMed students, those being minorities on campus to begin with. I, of course, could have poor perception - taking notice to potential competition. But, pretty much the entirety of History, Political Science, PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics), and to a lesser extenet Philosophy, English, and International Relations majors seem all interested in attending law school.</p>

<p>It's kinda scary actually because there's only so many A's to go around in classes that everyone seems to take. I try to assure myself that my Anthropology major will help me standout a little bit, but even that has a fair amount of students hoping to be lawyers!</p>

<p>Anyway, my point is that most of these students could excel at lesser-known institutions and also reap benefits from law schools seeking collegiate diversity, but they don't, and I'm happy to see that they get well-represented at the top schools in the numbers that they do.</p>

<p>^^^I have noticed that too, but with me and most of the people I've talked to, it's not so much a clearly defined goal (becoming a lawyer), as much as a default option of something to do with a humanities/social science major. We're all in the "well, I guess I could always go to law school" mindset. I know very few people who really want to be lawyers...actually, only one, and she's not an undergrad anymore, but has done some paralegal work after graduating. I think most of us who say we're looking at law school will probably take a few years after college to work and do whatever, and probably won't end up going.</p>

<p>Schools like East Stroudsburg, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and West Chester are likely on that list because they are all state schools in PA. They imply to me that the students got full rides to those schools and choose them so they could stay near home and get top grades. There are actually a number of small schools in PA on that list.</p>

<p>sallyawp - you're clearly right that if you do well enough to get into an Ivy, the probability is greater that you will do well on the LSAT and get into a top law school. (BYW, did you notice that no one from Yale was on the UPenn list? I thought that was curious, and says something about UPenn's selections, as ophiolite pointed out.)</p>

<p>But my point was to challenge the implication of something nspeds said. You simply do not have to go to an ivy to get into a good law school. If you are smart (and you do need to be very smart), work hard, and then score well on the LSAT, you can get into the top schools. </p>

<p>There are kids on this board, on this and other threads, who angst that if they don't go to a top 25, then a good law school is out of the questioin. That's just not so. My point is that it's the student that determines which school he/she gets into, not the undergraduate institution. If you are a student who could have gone to UChicago, but for financial reasons did not go or did not even apply; but instead, chose to go to Univeristy of Missouri because, as ophiolite points out, you could only afford U of Mo, then your future is not doomed.</p>

<p>
[quote]
But my point was to challenge the implication of something nspeds said.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That was not logically implied by my statements.</p>

<p>You quoted me as stating:</p>

<p>
[quote]
I think nspeds must mean that you are in a good position to have your gpa taken very seriously if you go to a top 25 ug school.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That I might have argued that a GPA from a top 25 school is sufficient in no way implies that it is necessary.</p>