Hello everyone, I know that this question has been asked a lot. However, the answer to this question depends on context, and I couldn’t find one who shares mine.
Anyways, I am an international student who aspires to become a corporate litigator (or Tax Law). For now, my favorite law schools are Columbia Law and NYU Law. I do not know which one would be the best for me between going to Stern (Econ) or CAS Econ. With CAS, I would like to double major but I don’t know what will I take other than Econ. I have been advised to try International Relations which is an honors program in NYU (apparently I am very competitive due to my internship and educational experiences).
I am aware that GPA and LSATS scores are the most important factors to go to the top law school I am aiming for. However, I do not know which major would give me the highest GPA and which school would give me more time to study for my LSAT and gain valuable internship experience.
Thanks in advance.
Go to the one who says yes. And study what interests you most. History and political science are common routes. But if you are “into it” you will be a better student and happier in class.
If they both say yes. Do you want to be part of a more traditional college campus in the city or more integrated into the bustle of nyc? Your call.
Columbia ug and NYU Law. Awesome.
NYU ug and Columbia Law. Awesome.
Columbia and Columbia awesome but less interesting.
NYU and NYU awesome but less interesting.
Anywhere and NYU Law. Awesome
Anywhere and Columbia Law. Awesome.
When are you planning to apply to college?
IR being an honors program requires you to maintain a certain GPA while you are studying. You can be accepted to CAS undecided by the way. Stern is generally harder to get into, and obviously more focused subject wise. Which related aspects of econ interest you more, finance etc or politics etc? What other schools do you plan to apply to?
Longer term, I am curious as to why you (any international) wants to attend law school in the US, given the extremely high cost and the fact that a US law degree (generally) does not make you a qualified lawyer in your home country.
Hey Thank you so much for all your responses so far! I think it is important for me to specify that I am already an NYU student (freshman) in the liberal studies program. I then have to declare a major.
For what I am interested in Econ, I think I am mostly interested in the Macro/policy part of it, but I would also believe that increasing my knowledge in Business would be interested for a future corporate lawyer.
As to answer the question about why i want to attend a law school in the US? Well, you have to understand that certain people don’t have the option. I graduated from an IB school (International not being recognized where I am from) and I am aiming to have an international career, something that would be impossible to achieve if I studied in my home country. Moreover, let’s just say that I am not very satisfied with the working conditions in my country regarding the legal field… no need to get into the specifics.
You can major in anything in undergrad and become a commercial litigator. I don’t believe econ will offer anything special for becoming a tax attorney. There is a niche where a good understanding of economics is useful: antitrust.
You will want to apply to more than two law schools.
It would have been useful to know you were already in NYU and not applying as a freshman, and what kind of courses you have studied so far. I presume that transfer into either of your options is guaranteed? Are you not able to talk to current students in those schools to get an idea of workload, internships etc and possibly where you’d get better support for studying LSAT?
I did think it’s worth asking why you’d want to spend a few hundred thousand dollars on a potentially not-useful degree. I’m still curious as to where you intend to practice if you can’t get a H1 sponsored in the US.