Pre-Law at Dartmouth and Penn

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Hello, </p>

<p>Having been accepted to both Dartmouth and Penn (CAS), I have been curious about their pre-law programs. There is no question that both appear to be quite strong:</p>

<p>Penn's CAS posted impressive statistics: Last year, seniors enjoyed a 93% law school admission rate compared to the national average of 66%. Forty-six percent of those attending law school chose a Top 20 program. Approximately 11% of Penn alumni are lawyers or judges. </p>

<p>Dartmouth, on the other hand, refers to its Rockefeller Center, the Daniel Webster Legal Society and so on and so forth. It also mentions its active Alumni Career Advisory Network, as well as the Dartmouth Lawyers Association.</p>

<p>Any comments would be greatly appreciated! Thanks very much.</p>

2

<p>Don’t do pre-law. It’s totally useless and unnecessary for law school. Major in something useful and keep your debt as low as possible. Then, if you’re still interested in law when you graduate, come back here.</p>

3

<p>Given the soaring student debt in the law market, that would make sense. I intend to major in Philosophy which is a topic I’m truly interested in.</p>

4

<p>I majored in philosophy. It’s worth doing if you are interested in it and certain you want to go to law school. It’s useless for anything else. I’d recommend at least a minor in something that provides practical skills, as a backup for if law doesn’t work out.</p>

5

<p>Neither Dartmouth or Penn offers pre-law</p>

6

<p>Hasn’t the deadline for choosing (01 May) already passed, or did you get off a wait list?</p>

7

<p>I am a transfer student.</p>

8

<p>the ONLY thing that matters for Law school is GPA+LSAT. (Well, ok, recs+essays+ECs are 5%.)</p>

<p>Both Penn and Dartmouth offer the Ivy rigor, and would be equivalent in the view of LS adcoms. Thus, attend whichever you like best.</p>

<p>With grad programs, and being larger, Penn likely has a “stronger” philosophy program. OTOH, Dartmouth is much more undergrad-focused.</p>

9

<p>Dartmouth has a study abroad program in philosophy</p>

<p>[Foreign</a> Study Program](<a href=“Home | Department of Philosophy”>Home | Department of Philosophy)</p>

10

<p>Then pick the one that has an environment in which you - you, personally - can academically thrive. They are very different schools, with very different campus cultures. The one that enables you to get better grades, get more out of your classes, and interact more with your professors is the one to attend.</p>

11

<p>Thank you for the great advice, everyone. I ended up accepting Penn’s offer of admission, mainly because I believe I can thrive there –– academically and socially speaking. After maintaining a 3.94 at my prior institution, I just hope, for my sake, that I can reproduce that success at Penn.</p>