<p>Well, you actually can get a JD and a graduate degree in computer science at the same time.</p>
<p>I’m assuming you mean a master’s degree. Stanford actually has a joint JD/MS program in computer science. So does the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois, and Syracuse. There may be others, but yes, it is possible to concurrently get a JD and an MS in computer science. Harvard does not have a formal program like this, but it is [possible</a> to arrange a concurrent degree program](<a href=“http://law.harvard.edu/academics/degrees/special-programs/concurrent/index.html]possible”>http://law.harvard.edu/academics/degrees/special-programs/concurrent/index.html) between law and computer science. In fact, some JD students at Harvard arrange concurrent degree programs at MIT.</p>
<p>You could also potentially do a JD/PhD in computer science. Harvard does have a JD/PhD program, with the field open (I would imagine most of the PhD candidates are in the humanities or social sciences, though). Many, many universities have JD/PhD programs, and most of them would probably allow you to do it in computer science.</p>
<p>So yes, it’s totally possible - the question is, is it a good idea?</p>
<p>College (undergrad) is the time for exploration of different fields and interests. You can take different classes and see what you like. Even after you select a major, two-thirds of your classes will likely be taken outside of that major in some combination of general education requirements, divisional requirements, and electives. In college you can certain decide to study computer science and then minor in political science, dabble in a few public policy classes, etc. That’s what it’s all about.</p>
<p>Graduate school is not about that. Graduate school is about getting a credential to do something quite specific, in a specific career. You get a JD because you want to be a lawyer, period. You don’t need a JD to get involved in politics (and in fact, most politicians do not have a JD. Both U.S. Presidents Bushes, Reagan, Carter, and Johnson didn’t have law degrees. You get an MS in computer science because you want to work in the field, like software development, IT, bioinformatics, something like that. You would only get a JD/MS if you wanted some career field that necessitated or privileged both degrees - for example, if you wanted to be an intellectual property lawyer who specializes in data science, computer architecture, software, etc.</p>
<p>You don’t get a JD/MS because you can’t decide between the two of them. You don’t get a JD/MS because you are just generally interested in both fields and think you might pick one. They’re too expensive and take too much time; instead, the solution is to work for a few years before returning to graduate school, because working will help you decide what you want to do.</p>
<p>Also…the graduate admissions process is not easier than the college admissions process, and can be more difficult in some ways. The top programs are notoriously competitive. For example, you said Harvard Law, which is one of the top 5 law schools in the country. The average college GPA of their admitted applicants was a 3.87, and the average LSAT score is 173 out of 180. And most of them, actually, had some post-college experience - 76% were at least one year out of college, and 56% were 2 or more years out of college. It is an extremely competitive process. Don’t be fooled by the higher admission rate (15.3%); it’s higher because applying to law school is more expensive than applying to undergrad, and people don’t waste time and money applying to Harvard if they know they have no chance of getting in, which is probably the case if you scored under around a 167 on the LSAT (and even then, it’s an uphill battle). And the top law schools can afford to look beyond numbers a little, so they also look for evidence of leadership and success, which is why so many of them tend to have post-college experience.</p>
<p>The point of that is that although it’s not too early to start thinking about potential careers and post-college desires, it is too early to get fixated on any one institution - especially one of THE most competitive institutions in the world.</p>