I am currently a high school junior and have been looking at out-of-state schools that have great econ departments because I love economics and have a strong desire to go to a competitive university. However, I see myself going to law school with some sort of career in law. I know that my interests amd goals may change in the coming years, but is economics a bad idea for someome looking to srudy law. My thinking was that if i minored in philosophy i would still develop the critical thinking skills necessary for law school, but would have a helpful econ degree shpuld i decide not to pursue law as a career. Plus, i love economics. Is majoring in econ helpful in law school? Is it harmful for admissions.
Also, I have been told that going to the best in-state school, in my case the University of Florida, is the best undergrad option to save money for law school and get a high GPA. Would getting a slightly lower gpa at a top university be more/less attractive? For example, would studying econ at the UC Berkeley rather than at UF be inadvisable if i got a lower gpa? Thanks so much in advance!
Econ is a good idea, particularly as a back-up for a non-legal career. In my view (which others might not share), the best majors for law school are ones that require a lot of research and writing. Not sure if economics has that.
You don’t want a joke major or joke school (e.g., basketweaving at Super-Podunk U.), and you don’t want a “pre-law” or “criminal justice” major since those will harm you, but otherwise, do whatever you want. U of F should be fine (and a high GPA there is better than a lower GPA at BC Berkeley).
UF in-state Tuition is $6,500 a year, UC-B OOS Tuition is about $36K a year. If you’re concerned with saving money for Law School, UC-B likely isn’t an option. If you want to look at OOS schools, look into the LACs/private schools(in and out of state) and OOS publics that offer significant scholarships (University of Alabama, for example). You could find a school like Vanderbilt, based on your family income, could be much more affordable than UC-B.
Can’t really speak to your question about GPA, but when looking at graduate level study in Econ, keep in mind that colleges sometimes have two “tracks”. The first requires a significant level of math and would prepare you for Grad School (in Econ), while the 2nd requires less in the way of high level math, and is fine for Law school, etc.
For Example, at UF:
https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/liberalarts/majors/economics.aspx
FYI: If you do apply to UF, you may also want to think about FSU. It’s econ program is at least the equal of UF’s.
Good Luck!
paying OOS rates to attend a UC is economically foolish for most majors. Run the NPV!