<p>I've heard phil is a good major to prepare you for law school. is this true?</p>
<p>No particular major prepares you for law school. Major in what interests you. Law school involves a lot of reading, good comprehension and good analytical skills. Many majors, if not most, will prepare in some way for that.</p>
<p>It depends on what you mean by "prepare you for law school." </p>
<p>Cartera's claim is a common (and presumably true) one: no major will prepare you for the type of work and material that you'll deal with in law school. That said, certain courses of study will strengthen useful skills, and philosophy is generally said to be one of these such fields.</p>
<p>Many students ask questions like "What (non-prep class) courses should I take to help me prepare for the LSAT?" You can find a number of such threads around CC. Responses almost always include Logic (often/usually offered through the Philosophy department) and some sort of reading/writing/analysis intensive course (my own recommendation is usually something like Ethical Theory or Metaphysics, also both philosophy). You don't have to major in Phil to take these courses, nor is taking them any guarantee of LSAT/law school success. Nonetheless, studying philosophy will probably accustom you to doing a lot of dense reading, being very critical of arguments, writing clearly and analytically, and so forth. I spent many class hours debating liiiiittle tiny words, doing ridiculous thought experiments, and interpreting one sentence in a hundred different ways. Oh my Lord, the lengthy discussions about various loopholes and exceptions and what-if's and what-about's and this-could-never-happen-but-let's-just-assume-for-the-sake-of-intellectual-joyriding's! Direct preparation for the law? Nope...not even close. Tangentially relevant? Sure.</p>
<p>I did receive positive feedback (re: my major) during my admissions cycle. One hand-written note mentioned my particular college and said that coming from there, as a Philosophy major, I was bound to be prepared. It could've been a generic recruitment tactic, but it felt a bit more personal. It was at least something to show to my parents in the face of their "How do you get a Philosophy major off your doorstep? Pay for the pizza" jokes!</p>
<p>I was a Phil major before ever deciding about law school, though the path is a fairly common one. Some people say that Phil tends to be very difficult, grade-wise. I would say that it really attracts a certain type of thinker, and if it isn't your style, then you might struggle (as is true with any major). I certainly wouldn't advise majoring in it *just<a href="or%20even%20primarily">/i</a> because of law school, especially when virtually any undergraduate degree will keep law school doors open to you.</p>
<p>Post-grad plans aside, it's a fun field ;)</p>
<p>I think Student has got it right. It can accustom you to certain modes of thinking, modes that might be applied to the things you study in law school. But, really, engagement with most liberal subjects (english, history, art) will work in the same fashion. Engagement is the key word. Studying a major is like buying a book (haha, the buying of multiple books...). Buying it doesn't guarantee anything. Hell, reading it doesn't guarantee anything. Even reading it in a manner you think is "close" and "fastidious" doesn't guarantee anything. You have to read it closely the right way, and even then--</p>
<p>In other words, it's no mathematical equation. Taking philosophy /= preparedness for law. And this is a good thing.</p>
<p>Philosophy is only the 9th most popular major of Columbia law school's most recent class.</p>
<p>In terms of preparedness, I'd say a solid grounding in formal logic might be fun. Or economics for you Posner fans.</p>
<p>Posner :D !</p>