<p>I'm currently a sophmore at NYU - Stern majoring in economics and finance. I plan to go to law school eventually, although right now I'm undecided between going right after undergrad or after working in i-banking for two years (and going when they say I should go get my MBA).</p>
<p>Originally I planned to graduate in four years, with both majors and hopefully honors in economics. However, this year, Stern has changed their policies of taking AP credit (I won't get into it, for those unfamiliar it's pretty convulted), and if I take 8 credits next summer, I can graduate in 3 years and go straight to law school. That would save me close to $40k, but I'd have to major only in economics, no finance. I also would be unable to study abroad as I had hoped but that's not vital to my college experience, it's just something I would have liked to do.</p>
<p>My questions are:</p>
<p>1) Will law schools look at me funny because I have a degree in economics from a business school instead of a liberal arts college? As compared to a degree in economics AND finance where Stern is ranked #2 for finance?</p>
<p>2) Will graduating in 3 years hurt my chances at all?</p>
<p>3) How important is work experience for getting into law school? I'm doing some substantial internships (this summer I'm a research analyst at a regional investment bank/law firm in Pennsylvania) but I won't' have any "real" experience.</p>
<p>My top choices are Harvard, NYU, Columbia, UVA, and Penn and although I have yet to take the LSATs, my freshman GPA was 3.965 and I plan to keep it in the 3.9 range. That's also another factor, as being a finance major may drag down my GPA because of Stern finance's vicious curve (only 5-10% get an A). Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Cardinal:</p>
<p>1) no and no. Economics is fine and the law school won't know what you might have majored in.</p>
<p>2) I don't think so, Some students graduate early via summer classes, AP credits, etc. However, you would be a year or more younger than your classmates, which might create some small to medium-sized social problems.</p>
<p>3) From what I hear and read, most law schools (as opposed to MBA programs) do not require or expect students to have work experience. However, such experience could only help, especially if law-related. Some of your classmates will have worked for a while, so again there will be an age difference.</p>
<p>Congratulations on the fine freshman GPA; keeping it that high is not going to be easy as the courses get tougher next year. Just continue doing your best.</p>
<p>To add to DadofSam's excellent points:</p>
<p>3) the only law school I know of which really encourages work experience is Northwestern. Unless you are going for a JD/MBA programme, then the lack of post-grad work experience won't matter too much. A lot of people who work for a year or two aren't doing anything earth-shattering. I always encourage people to work, mostly because it's good experience and it helps to put the academic experience in perspective. Law school is designed to be a pressure cooker - being out of academia for a while is a good way to not let the stress get to you.</p>
<p>2) For better or for worse, a lot of law school socializing revolves around alcohol. Just a thought. Law schools really vary in what their median age is; some are as low as 24, some as high as 27. Consider applying to a school with younger students. </p>
<p>Also - saving $40k can be a very good thing, esp. if it would defray the cost of law school. Private law schools range between $40k/year and $56k/year (includes everything, not just tuition). A lot of law school grads make decisions based entirely on what they can afford to do in light of their debt load, not what they want to do.</p>