Hi, I am looking for good and not expensive Los Angeles College for LAW degree. I wonder if its better to have in Pierce College all the GE’s and then move somewhere or might be another college with 4 years degree related to LAW in the area of Woodland of UCLA …any ideas? might be a place which is ok with FAFSA…
Thanks
Law is a graduate degree. You must first earn an undergraduate degree in an unrelated field, such as Philosophy or Mathematics or Political Science, then apply to Law school for graduate school.
Some schools offer undergrad degrees in criminal justice or other law related field. This doesn’t make you a lawyer. California still has the option to ‘apprentice’ for the exam (4 years working with a law firm).
Thanks, criminal justice is what we aim for and i really like to apprentice option. Is there a 4 year degree recommend college taht you might think of for the undergrad?
How about CSULA? http://ecatalog.calstatela.edu/content.php?catoid=26&navoid=2669
Yes, that is very good suggestion. I just wonder if it worth while to have the GE’s in college (such as Pierce) or have it all in the CSULA (as fas as tuition is concerned)?
How about CSUDH (Cal State Dominquez Hills) has pre-law advisors, a pre-law society and help to get into law school through the observation program, mock trials and advisors. It is less expensive and has many majors to choose from.
https://www.csudh.edu/political-science/pre-law-society/
Cost of attendance for Pierce College: http://www.piercecollege.edu/pierce_fees.asp
Cost of attendance for CSULA: http://www.calstatela.edu/financialaid/2019-2020-cost-attendance
In your other thread you said that you’re an international living abroad and your child is a Pell eligible US citizen living in CA. Has that changed?
Hi. nothing changed, this is about my second child which is US citizen by birth who likes very much the criminal justice path.
Great thanks, i will look into it as well. All of you are great help and I really appreciate all the professional knowledge and prompt response you are providing, thank you so much.
By the way i reply to each thread but the reply appears below as a list and not to specific thread…not sure why
@ibelta Just FYI, I believe passing the bar through apprenticeship is extremely rare. I read an article in Cal Berkeley’s online magazine that said, “For perspective: 8,786 law school graduates took the bar exam in California last year. That same year only 45 legal apprentices did so, in the entire country.” (2015). The article does not say how many of those 45 were in California, and/or how many of those 45 passed their bar exam. You need to pass the bar exam in your state to practice law in that state.
I do agree that Cal State LA and CSUDH are both good suggestions for an undergraduate degree. It’s way to early to worry yet about whether your child wants to go to law school (which is a 3-year degree after your child completes a college degree), or if your child would rather try the apprenticeship option after completing college. Either might be possible, but right now he or she should get good grades.
I also don’t think it matters at all if your child attends Pierce before transferring to a 4-year college.
Transferring to a 4-year after community college (like Pierce) is completely OK in California, and will not impact your child’s long term career options. Going to a community college first will be less expensive, and will save money. Many people do this. However it is important your child should try to get good grades in community college. If your child decides to go to Pierce, CSUN may be closer to where s/he lives, and is also a good option for undergraduate.
Dear Dodgers1, thank you for the information. I do agree its too early for her to decide and she should start her path either in Peirce or CSUDH and we will go from there. Again thanks a lot
I do not recommend a criminal justice major. If you are seriously considering law as a career, I would recommend a traditional liberal arts major, such as Economics, English, History, Philosophy or Political Science. PPE is a good multidisciplinary major offered at some colleges and universities. If you are quantitatively inclined, Engineering and Mathematics are also good options, especially if you are keen on patent law. The apprenticeship route was popular decades ago, but in recent years, most law firms, large and small, hire exclusively JDs.
Criminal justice is not seen as a ‘solid’ major by law schools (it mostly prepares for law enforcement jobs not for law school). Criminology can be ok, but law schools will prefer a strong major such as Philosophy, Political Science, Economics, English, or History.
Look into Honors programs.
If your child had excellent grades and scores, look into Pomona, Pitzer, McKenna, Oxy, USC, Whitman, and run the NPC at those as well as LMU LA, St Mary’s of California, ULaVerne, Willamette, UPuget Sound (easier to get into it into meet need).
Please give us your price point.
Keep in mind that your student is out of state for all CA public universities and will be paying OOS costs to attend. The CA publics give no need based aid to OOS students, and precious little merit aid as well…
So define affordable for you…per year.
Does your kid have a free or inexpensive place to live in LA…because living expenses need to be considered as well.
Pierce College is a total waste of money as an undergrad path for law school. Much better to attend a junior college and then transfer to Cal State or UC. Law school is nearly all about two numbers: LSAT + GPA, but a soft factor is the college you attend. Pierce is more of a vocational school, so a Juco would be much better perceived by law school Adcoms, which much prefer a liberal arts college over a vocational college.
Also, avoid Crime Justice majors for prelaw.
Thank you and sorry for late reply.
My kid wants to become (as optional job) an FBI agent. I have checked Pierce but their “assit” for CSU LA for example is very limited. Any suggestions?
Los Angeles Pierce College is a community college (junior college) from which students can transfer to a CSU or UC.