Is my current major bad?

[kev2sexy]

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>i have been reading on this forums and you guys are saying pre-law is a bad major for law school. currently my major is political science/law and society. is the law and society bad? should i drop the law and society and go into regular political science? any info would be great</p>

[lpoolynwa]

<p>i’m not a regular poster here, so take my words with a grain of salt i suppose
but i will say just major in what you’re interested in. since you are also majoring in something that’s not specifically pre-law such as poli sci, it doesn’t hurt that you’re also doing law and society. it’s not like you’re only doing law and society. if you’re interested in law and society, then why not?</p>

[kev2sexy]

<p>thanks. any info would be great.</p>

[Top10LawSchool1L]

<p>I am not a regular poster on this site in particular, but I know the law school admissions process like the back of my hand through various other law-related forums.</p>

<p>IT DOES NOT MATTER. YOUR GPA MATTERS. YOUR LSAT MATTERS MORE THAN YOUR GPA. It’s a numbers game. Have a few ECs, write a decent PS, but most importantly get a high LSAT and maintain your GPA.</p>

<p>Majors don’t matter. Keep your current major if you know you can get a high GPA.</p>

[lpoolynwa]

<p>Top10LawSchool1L, do they look more favorably on a double major? or is it still that it doesn’t matter, just get the highest GPA possible?</p>

[Mondo]

<p>Pre-law can’t possibly be a bad major for law school.
Otherwise, the major wouldn’t exist.</p>

[sybbie719]

<p>would suggest purchasing 2 books:</p>

<p>Anna Ivey - THe Ivey guide to law school admissions
Richard Montauk- How to get in a top law school</p>

<p>The Montauk book the book is approximately 500 pages and gives a very comprehensive overview of the college process and discusses applications, essays, LSATs, majors, etc</p>

<p>Chapter 8 of his book discusses Making the Most of Your Credentials, Montauk states:</p>

<p>

Your specific major matters less than the type of major you choose. What matters is that you choose a serious major. Schools are leery of pre-professional subjects such as business, and those that reward performance talents such as acting. There are some majors that admissions counselors cringe at seeing; communications, criminology and pre-law (even though theoretically pre-law is not a major)
Any subject that requires serious analytical work and dedication attract at least a reasonable % of the best and brightest will meet with approval.</p>

<p>The ideal undergraduate record would thus include all of the following:</p>

<p>Top quality school</p>

<p>Demanding course load (no path of least resistance) advanced work in a second unrelated (to your major) filed is particularly helpful</p>

<p>Top grades throughout (with few courses taken pass/fail) but especially in junior & senior years</p>

<p>Courses requiring substantial reading, strong writing ability good research skills and analytical prowess</p>

<p>Courses developing useful substantial knowledge for your future legal field.</p>

<p>When posed with the question: What factors do you consider when evaluating an undergraduate record admissions officers at various law schools state :</p>

<p>What ever the major, there should be variety including some clearly demanding analytical courses. There is not set preparation for law school, but some majors may be of less value than others (for ex. Pre-law) I examine the undergraduate transcript very closely. I look at what the applicant has done both in and outside of their major- Faye Deal, Stanford</p>

<p>What we are looking for is both breadth and depth. We favor applicants who come to us from broad liberal arts education. They learn about human vision from the arts, how the world works from math and the sciences and the human condition from philosophy and history. We don’t want academic dilettantes however; we want applicants to have taken the most analytically rigorous courses in their field- Jim Mulligan, Columbia</p>

<p>Not all UGPAs are created =. Swat and William and Mary, for instance have refrained from inflating grades; their averages are between 2.8 & 2.9. At the other end of the spectrum, Stanford and Yeshiva have mean GPAs over 3.4- Mulligan, Columbia</p>

<p>The GPA number is just a starting point. Our first concern is how rigorous the course load has been. We look at academic letters of recommendation, which are particularly helpful if they address the difficulty of the course load ex: the grading policies of professors from whom the applicant took multiple courses. Other factors we c examine is whether there were substantial barriers to performance such as the need to work many hours per week- USC</p>

<p>I know what the strongest and weakest programs are at some 50 to 60 schools. At some smaller commonly seen schools (and programs) it can be helpful for the student to provide detailed information. –GWU</p>

<p>We see a # of pre-med students who did poorly as pre-meds but then did well in their next field. The key for them is to make sure they get out of pre-med early so they can fully demonstrate their talents.- UCLA

</p>

<p>another helpful thread</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/547496-pre-law-criminal-justice.html?highlight=richard+montauk#post1060812296[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/547496-pre-law-criminal-justice.html?highlight=richard+montauk#post1060812296&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[MichaelNKat]

<p>The angst over “what major” that pops its head up periodically on this forum is just a variation of the academic psycho-neurosis that seems to pervade so many of the CC forums. It’s just more of the “Oh my gawd, if I don’t get into HYPS or a Top 14 law school my world will come to an end and I will be doomed to be a failure in life.” Please, get a grip on reality.</p>

<p>There are many more important aspects to the college experience than trying to map out what major will position you to get accepted to a quality law school and contrary to what some would have you believe, there are many very high quality law schools that are far less concerned with what your major is than the dedication and academic success you demonstrate in pursuing it. As a practicing lawyer for 30 years and managing partner of my firm for the last 16, I have more than a bit of real world exposure to law students, area law schools, and the hiring practices of firms in my area which include several BIG FIRMS with national and international practices. I personally know of many students who were the “dreaded” criminal justice major, students who were even BFA Musical Theatre majors, who got into very high quality law schools and later went on to successful law practices by anyone’s standards.</p>

<p>The most important thing in college is to pick a major about which you have a passion and to which you therefore devote the time, energy and seriousness of purpose to achieve the best academic record you can. If you then decide you want to go to law school, put in the same diligence and effort preparing for the LSATS to achieve the highest score of which you are capable. Odds are, if you take this approach successfully, you will end up at a high quality law school that will prepare you well for future employment provided you maintain a superior academic record. Worrying about whether you have the “correct” major may facilitate needless stress, but that’s about all it will serve.</p>

[Top10LawSchool1L]

<p>

Top10LawSchool1L, do they look more favorably on a double major? or is it still that it doesn’t matter, just get the highest GPA possible?

</p>

<p>No, they don’t. It’s a numbers game so highest GPA possible is the correct answer.</p>

<p>The best advice I can give you:

1. Get a high LSAT. (A high LSAT will compensate for many, many things, including a paltry GPA, but vice versa is not true.)
2. Maintain a high GPA. Even take “cake” classes to do so. I swear to you schools will like a 4.0 Political Science major from Crap U over a 3.0 Engineering major from Cal-tech. It may not be fair, but it is a numbers game.
3. Partake in a few ECs that show interest outside of academia and write a good PS. Write all the “optional essays” on your applications.</p>