<p>I am currently a high school student, with the goal of attending law school. I have been accepted, and will go to the University of Washington Seattle next year. I want to go to t10 law school, and had previously considered computer science as a major. Unfortunately, engineering majors aren't well known for writing well. **My question is if Econ trains me to write well and if it can better prepare me for law school. **If not, are there any majors you would recommend. Math/engineering majors are pretty safe for me, but they won't help me to well in the practicing of law. I've also read a article stating lawyers with econ majors make 10% more on average, but that is biased because such lawyers are less likely to be in public defenders, and more likely to be in corporate.</p>
<p>The two most important aspects law schools look at for admission are GPA and LSAT scores. If you decide to major in something like English or Latin (which I will assume you aren’t too good at), you will end up with a low GPA and law schools won’t even look at you. You said you are comfortable with math. Statistically, math majors are tied with classics majors as the two best majors for getting into law school. So why don’t you major in math? Not only will you achieve a high GPA majoring in math, but law schools will also look favorably upon your major. Math majors also do very well on the LSAT because of its logical and analytical rigor. So, I say, major in math for undergrad and minor in something like english/classics/creative writing so that you can improve your writing skills. That way you’re getting a high GPA, high LSAT, have a favorable major, AND you’re improving your writing skills.</p>
<p>As for economics, meh, it’s geared more towards the math side of things than the writing side of things. So it won’t really help you all that much improve your writing skills. Also, everyone majors in econ and goes to law school. Stand out from the crowd!</p>
<p>If you want to go to law school, I would caution against engineering unless you are sure you want to go into patent law, because engineering has weeder classes that can ruin your GPA. I agree that econ will not help you learn to write, and that you are better off with a math major and a writing intensive minor. You could even simply take electives that teach you to write well.</p>
<p>If your experience with economics has been limited to an introductory course, then yes, you could say this. Upper-level economics courses are very research and writing intensive, at least at the school I attend. The economics department I study in has a strong focus on using powerful econometric techniques (with Stata, R, SAS, etc.) and using these forms of data analysis to write cogent, persuasive research papers. For example, I have to write a 16-20 page research paper this semester for one of my economics courses this semester. If you attend a good school with a strong economics department, you will be forced to learn how to write well.</p>