<p>Is it harder to get into Law school or Med school?
What do I need to prepare to get into law school?</p>
<p>It's harder to get into med school, but the real questions you should be asking are: (1) which is harder to get a job in after graduation (law); and (2) what is my motivation for either field. If it's "for the money" as the answer to either field, you may wish to rethink your options. Both need the passion and a modicum of altruism.</p>
<p>I forgot to answer the last part of your question: nothing really, most majors will help prepare you, but what you must have to succeed is a strong writing ability, a love of reading, and logic.</p>
<p>Virtually anyone who can get into Berkeley can get into law school. But unless you graduate from a top law school, you may find it very difficult to pay off the debt and make a good living. On the other hand, because admissions to med schools are so much more selective, once you're a real doctor, you'll be making good money whether you went to Harvard Medical School or University of Kentucky Medical School.</p>
<p>What about those insurance rates for doctors? I heard that they are very high!</p>
<p>That is correct; they are and it does not look like serious tort reform will be enacted keep them from growing. Doctors still aren't panhandling for money outside the local jack-in-the-box.</p>
<p>A point here is that there are easier ways to make money than becoming a doctor. A lawyer doesn't need the same sense of altruism, but instead a greater intellectual interest for the profession, than a doctor.</p>
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Virtually anyone who can get into Berkeley can get into law school.
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<p>Well, I wouldn't go that far. According to the statistics, of those who reported in during the last 5 years, only 75-81% of Berkeley undergrads who applied to law school got into one, which means that 19-25% of them got rejected from every law school they applied to.</p>
<p>Career</a> Center - Profile of Law School Admissions - UC Berkeley</p>
<p>Now, granted, some of those students may have just applied to only top law schools (and got rejected from all of them). However, if you look at the statistics of the specific law schools in question, you will note that some Berkeley students applied to no-name, low-tier law schools...and still got rejected. For example, 7 people applied to Western State University College of Law, which is not even a fully ABA accredited law school (it is only provisionally accredited). Of those 7 applicants, the majority (4) actually got rejected. </p>
<p>And of course that's just talking about those students who actually apply. Many Berkeley students who want to go to law school won't even apply because they know their grades and LSAT scores are too low for them to get in. For example, if you have a 2.1 GPA and a mediocre LSAT score, you know you're not going to get into any law school, so why even apply? Or, even worse, what if you flunk out of Berkeley completely as some students do?</p>
<p>It's very easy to get into <em>a</em> law school, but most law schools are not worth your money (unless you get a free ride...). Only by graduating from the top schools or at the top of your class will you have the 160K salary available to you. Then there are those interested in public interest or public sector work - in that case, you will want to get enough scholarships so that you don't graduate with loads of debt (or "waste" daddy's money). See Empirical</a> Legal Studies: Distribution of 2006 Starting Salaries: Best Graphic Chart of the Year You want to be in the hump on the right, not the left.</p>
<p>Unlike law schools, where you go to medical school does not matter much. On the other hand, it is hard to get into <em>a</em> medical school. Perhaps as hard (or harder) as getting into a first tier law school.</p>
<p>If you're in it for the money, law school is a better deal, if you take into account opportunity cost and time value of money.</p>
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It's very easy to get into <em>a</em> law school,
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<p>I still have to dispute the notion that it is 'very easy', as evidenced by my previous post above: some Cal students can't get into even low-ranked law schools, and plenty others don't even bother to apply because they know they can't get in. {Heck, some Cal students can't even successfully graduate from Cal.} </p>
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Then there are those interested in public interest or public sector work - in that case, you will want to get enough scholarships so that you don't graduate with loads of debt (or "waste" daddy's money).
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<p>Or get into one of the top ranked law schools that runs a generous loan-forgiveness program to those working in nonprofits. HLS and YLS are two that have unusually generous programs. HLS will even waive the 3L tuition if you enter the public sector for 5 years. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.law.yale.edu/documents/pdf/Financial_Aid/2008COAPDescription_2010andlaterrevised.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.law.yale.edu/documents/pdf/Financial_Aid/2008COAPDescription_2010andlaterrevised.pdf</a>
HLS</a> Student Financial Services: Low Income Protection Plan
HLS</a> Student Financial Services: Public Service Initiative Program Guidelines</p>