<p>So would it be safe to say that the prestige of your undergrad school matters little?</p>
<p>Ex) UCI with 4.0 GPA and same LSAT + major + ecs vs UCLA with 3.6 and same LSAT + major + ecs</p>
<p>who now has a better chance of getting into t14 law school?</p>
<p>^^
UCI and it’s not even close.</p>
<p>time to give this one a bump . . .</p>
<p>how much would it helpe to have a master’s degree when applying to law school? i am considering law school and one of the schools i am looking at, loyola university chicago, has a 5 year bachelors/masters program? would this be very useful for admission? even if it is not all that helpful i am still interested though.</p>
<p>A little help. Not too much.</p>
<p>Highest possible LSAC gpa is 4.33</p>
<p>From what I understand, GPA and LSAT are the most important factors to law Schools. However, I have a few questions regarding this concept:</p>
<ol>
<li>If it’s easier to “earn” a higher GPA taking easier classes, then wouldn’t that be best? It would also afford more time for LSAT practice.</li>
</ol>
<p>2 What about the opposite side of the spectrum? Will taking harder classes (Possibly earning a Master’s Degree in the process) at the cost of my GPA benefit me? Does it depend on how much it hurts my GPA?</p>
<ol>
<li>How do law schools account for double majors? What if the second major impedes on my GPA?</li>
</ol>
<p>Overall, it’s just strange that what’s important to law school drives you to take the most laid back position in college (Aside from the SATs). Any comment on this?</p>
<p>Edit: Would it be wise to work on a second degree in case law school turns out to be a problem?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Sure, though in some sense, I feel like I’m better prepared for the rigors of law school because of the rigor of my major. It made me feel less intimidated going in. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It does depend on how much it hurts your GPA. A 3.0 in physics cannot really be forgiven that much, but a 3.5-3.6ish would get a little more benefit of the doubt. My personal rule of thumb is that if the GPA is just below or at the school’s 25th percentile, a good, hard major will give that GPA a substantive boost when the application is considered.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>1) All that matters is your overall GPA.
2) Double majors are fine; if anything, it’s more a positive than a negative, though nothing really to write home about.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It’s definitely a weird admissions process that skews our system of incentives in a negative way. However, given the fact that law schools are flooded with thousands upon thousands of applications every year, it’s simply too much to give each application an individualized review while purporting to maintain a fair system. Though we all certainly wish the law school admissions process would better approximate the admissions process of a Ph.D program, the distinguishing factor between these two is that the latter tends to receive applications in the triple digits, whereas applications to law school come in the four digits, sometimes even five.</p>
<p>And certainly the existence of a highly influential ranking system that takes into account GPA and LSAT of students admitted doesn’t help much!</p>
<p>Thank you for your quick response. Currently, I’m at the point where I can either continue to single major, double major, or go for a MA. I will have to give it more thought, but I’m probably going to go with either a double major or a single major. The benefit of the single major is that it gives me a chance to lighten my class load (5 more semesters to go and six political science classes left), study for the LSAT, and take philosophy/logic/reasoning classes.</p>
<p>bump ^^^^^</p>
<p>bump, again. This thread needs to be put on top! It is too useful to lose.</p>
<p>Great information here.</p>
<p>I am an aspiring attorney and I have some questions regarding which path to take for my major. I am currently working on an associates degree in criminal justice because my law interests are in criminal and family law. Specifically, I am mainly interested in criminal prosecution (working for the D.A.'s office), as well as being an adoption attorney. However, I cannot seem to make up my mind between these two areas. & these are the only 2 areas I am interested in practicing as an attorney. Could I practice both at the same time (as in work as a prosecutor while also doing adoption work)? And if so, what should I major in that would best benefit me in these areas?</p>
<p>Nice post, Embroglio;however, I don’t think that you have emphasized the LSAT’s importance enough. It is true that each law school places differering emphasis on the LSAT vs. GPA. I have found, however, that most law schools emphasize the LSAT MORE than the GPA. It is a very crucial exam.</p>
<p>Moderators, please STICKY this thread.</p>
<p>Probably needs a bit of updating, but this is a pretty good post for newbies. Does my major/undergrad institution matter needs to be up there as well.</p>