Law School?

<p>I was wondering how easy it is to get into law school after attending W&M? </p>

<p>I am thinking about attending W&M because it's cheap(in state) as opposed to GWU. Which one do you think I would have a better chance at? </p>

<p>I am asking because I had people come to my school and speak and they spoke about William and Mary and none of them had any problems getting into Med school the first time. So this led me to believe W&M is a more math center and I am more social science oriented. Do you think I will fit in and the academics will be challenging?</p>

<p>WM is not math-centered, it is rather liberally-arts focused.</p>

<p>UG institution does not matter very much when it comes to law school.</p>

<p>W&M has one of the top pre-med and law school admittance rates with both being around 80%. The College has strong science departments, but its specialty probably leans towards the humanities with great programs in just about every subject. So yes, as a humanities guy you will definitely fit in, but the academics will be challenging no matter what major you pursue. The LSAT and your school-weighted GPA are the two biggest factors in law admissions from my understanding, so whatever undergrad prepares you best for the LSAT and encourages you to work hard is probably your best bet - and I believe that W&M does that better.</p>

<p>W&M does very well in law school placement. Obviously, wherever you go, you will need to 1. have solid grades, and 2. do well on the LSAT.</p>

<p>you can go here: [Outcome</a> information](<a href=“http://web.wm.edu/career/OutcomesIndex.cfm]Outcome”>http://web.wm.edu/career/OutcomesIndex.cfm) and search for “JD” in the graduate program drop down menu to see some W&M info</p>

<p>I’m a WM grad and a rising second year law student. Having W&M on your resume won’t hurt your resume and will certainly give you credibility. However, to be honest you can go to a no name school and get into any law school as long as your LSAT is good enough. It really is more about the LSAT than your school and GPA (although you ideally want to have an above-average GPA). Many people think WM is difficult and I would venture to bet that it is harder than many other undergrads in terms of workload. However I can tell you having gotten through a year of law school that law school is DEFINITELY more difficult than WM. Unfortunately, there really is no perfect undergrad or major that will prepare you for what you will go through in law school. It really is a whole different animal. Best of luck to you.</p>

<p>BTW, i’m more social sciences oriented as well - I majored in History and took many Anthropology classes. WM is strong all the way around from math and science to the social sciences. You will likely be amazed by the intellect of your professors and peers. It makes for a great classroom experience.</p>

<p>Tribe you made me feel so much better. It just seems like everyone is so math science oriented now and I am more of a social sciences that I just can’t stand math! </p>

<p>By the way thanks to everyone else who put input in! </p>

<p>I am mainly looking at W&M because it is so cheap and I can go there and be comfortable. Somewhere like GWU I would always be worried about money.</p>

<p>Does anyone know anything about the International Relations at W&M?</p>

<p>Ahh yes. IR. I am an IR and Environmental Science and Policy (policy tract) double major. I’m starting my sophomore year, but from what I have seen and heard IR is one of the harder majors to complete as it is so interdisciplinary, incorporating government, economics, history, language, and culture which add up to a lot of required credits. It is also one of the more popular majors, despite being so hard. Many people double major with econ since the two are so close (although only 6 credits can count towards both majors at the same time) and some of the smartest people I know are double majoring in a science as well.</p>

<p>The IR Club is a big group (one of the largest on campus) of IR and non-IR majors who’s main function is attending and hosting Model UN Conferences, from Harvard to Montreal to wherever WorldMUN is hosted that particular year. I think this next year is Hong Kong or Taiwan or somewhere else in SE Asia. We have one of the best teams in the world, having received ‘best delegation’ at WorldMUN 4 times in the past decade iirc, and consistently place near the top the other times. We host a MUN for high schools in the fall and middle schools in the spring which help bring in money for the club to keep prices of attending the other conferences reasonable (around $200, and club scholarships are available on a needed basis, includes travel and a dinner at a fancy restaurant too). Everyone can get a chance to go to every conference, although the McGill conference in Montreal is heavily requested, many freshmen are given the opportunity to go to the Harvard national MUN, and only 15 or so of the best delegates (including Freshmen) go to WorldMUN.</p>

<p>The IRC also hosts speakers, parties, and other events for club members and the entire campus. One of my favorite events was when we took submissions of photos from students who had traveled abroad and printed out the best 50 or so with the help of the Muscarelle Museum in large super-high quality format on this thick board type thing and hung them around the Sadler Center and then held a silent auction to raise money for Doctors without Borders. </p>

<p>The IR department also has a research arm called the “Institute for the Theory and Practice of International Relations at the College of William and Mary” where I am serving as a Research Assistant this summer. A few of the professors in the Institute recently wrote a book titled “Greening Aid?” where they examine the intersections between the environment and international aid (remember, I’m an Enviro Policy and IR guy - I love this stuff!). The Institute is also working on developing a database of all of the international aid given over the past few decades (called PLAID) which is the largest database of its type in the world - meaning its a treasure trove of research opportunities for all of us RAs. The database will go public when it is completed next year (thanks to a large grant from the Gates and Hewlett foundations), but is currently a private affair which means practically every research project we work on is novel. One professor recently returned from Bonn, Germany where he presented a project that I did some major work on to the climate change negotiations there in preparation for the Copenhagen Agreement (the successor to the Kyoto Protocol) which has to be signed by December.</p>

<p>One other thing you should know is that W&M IR is that it approaches IR from an interdisciplinary perspective, as I have mentioned (e.g. the professor who went to Bonn in a professor of Sociology who concentrates on the effect that the environment has on people) and is not a sub-discipline to Political Science as it is at many other Universities.</p>

<p>Basically, IR rocks, especially at W&M. And W&M rocks, especially with IR.</p>

<p>IR is very strong at W&M… and fairly difficult, and has extensive requirements.</p>

<p><– IR degree</p>

<p>Weren’t you there before they revamped it and made it more structured too?</p>

<p>Heretohelp! Wow that helps a ton. Thanks soooooo much! I didn’t think W&M’s IR program was very good. Now I just hope I can get in. I think I will double major in Econ too. </p>

<p>Here is my chance thread <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/734259-help-me-advice-mainly-schedule.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/734259-help-me-advice-mainly-schedule.html&lt;/a&gt;
Does anyone think I should be taking different courses anywhere? I know you are wondering why doesn’t he have any EC’s? Well it’s because my firs two years I went to a school 45 minutes away and couldn’t ever stay after. Now that I am going to a school very close to home, I can do more stuff after school. My GPA is low because of my freshman year…4.43 But I WILL bring that up next year. I didn’t try too hard in freshman year(partied more than studying actually I don’t remember studying once.) So next year should put me on track. I didn’t start caring until the middle of my sophomore year.
What EC’s should I do if I want to major in IR like you guys?</p>

<p>I just wanted to say thanks again guys for all of your help.</p>

<p>Continuing on W&Ms IR tract, how extensive are study abroad options? How well funded are they, most importantly?</p>

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<p>I was. I think mine was roughly 45 credits (30 + 9 foreign language + 6 econ prereqs)… the new one is closer to 60, isn’t it?</p>

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<p>just focus on doing things that you care about. Don’t try to find something international relations-ish</p>

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<p>W&M has extensive study abroad options. Australia, England (Oxford, Cambridge), China, Argentina, Scotland (St. Andrews), Spain, Barbados, South Africa, India, Ireland, Italy, France, Mexico, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia.</p>

<p>They will also try to help you with options that aren’t through W&M. You can find more info here: [Study</a> Abroad | Reves Center](<a href=“http://web.wm.edu/revescenter/studyabroad/?svr=www]Study”>http://web.wm.edu/revescenter/studyabroad/?svr=www)</p>

<p>some financial aid info here: [William</a> & Mary - Study Away](<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/admission/financialaid/howtoapply/studyaway/index.php]William”>http://www.wm.edu/admission/financialaid/howtoapply/studyaway/index.php) I would guess there is not much</p>

<p>For most of the study abroad options I believe they have tuition exchange so its not ridiculously expensive. I have a bunch of friends doing study abroad this summer in Prague, and there is always W&M in DC where you can spend a semester with a few other students and professors taking classes and interning in DC.</p>

<p>For IR, the number 56 popped into my head, so I’ll go with that for the required number of credits, including 12 credits of econ prereqs (all the way through intermediate micro and macro)</p>