Pre-Law at Princeton - Is it manageable?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hey guys! I was admitted to Princeton and recently committed. I'm excited for the school and I love it and plan on concentrating in the Woodrow Wilson School. I want, however, some insight from current and past Princeton students who have successfully matriculated to a T14 law school. I'd prefer feedback from Woody Woo students specifically, though anyone can help :)</p>

<p>Some background: I plan on majoring in Woody Woo with a concentration in Finance. This is because I want to have some quantitative background as a backup because I'm also interested in consulting and Wall Street finance. So here are my questions:</p>

<p>-Grade deflation at Princeton: How does it affect people applying for law school and competitive internships?
-Will the Woodrow Wilson School adequately prepare me for a pre-business track? I was considering just straight economics but I decided that was too dry for me and I wanted more of the applied approach to policy and problem-solving that the Woodrow Wilson School entails.
-What kind of GPA is a competitive GPA at Princeton for law school, given the grade deflation?
-Is there adequate pre-law advising?
-How hard is it to balance extra-curricular activities with the academics? I feel like I definitely want to get involved with Princeton Business Volunteers, the Pace Center, and Business Today. Is it manageable?</p>

<p>Any insight would be great. Thanks! :)</p>

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<p>Oh and my dream law schools would be like Penn Law (for a joint degree with Wharton for MBA), Harvard Law, and Columbia Law.</p>

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<p>[Welcome</a> to LawSchoolNumbers.com | Law School Numbers](<a href=“http://lawschoolnumbers.com/]Welcome”>http://lawschoolnumbers.com/) may give you hints about what GPA and LSAT scores are needed for each law school.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the info haha but I’ve seen that information. I was wondering more about the specific school - Princeton has heavy grade deflation which makes it harder to get a 3.9 there than, say, Dartmouth or Brown. Does this mean Princeton students are at a disadvantage? I was looking more for current and past students’ personal accounts of what the pre-law experience was like at Princeton.</p>

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<p>It is surprisingly difficult to come by comprehensive, up-to-date information about acceptance *rates<a href=“not%20just%20number%20of%20matriculating%20first%20years”>/i</a> for applications from specific colleges, to specific law schools, for various GPA+LSAT combinations. The following is a relatively data-focused (but not too current) discussion that does cite some figures for Princeton:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/331975-undergraduate-schools-most-commonly-found-top-law-schools.html?highlight=YLS+number[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/331975-undergraduate-schools-most-commonly-found-top-law-schools.html?highlight=YLS+number&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Post #12 comes closest to what I’d want to see
(the admission rates and mean accepted LSAT + GPA from each college to each law school).
Comparing the Princeton numbers in post 10 to the Georgetown numbers in post 12, it appears that Princeton does have a higher admit rate to, say, Columbia law than Georgetown does (26% for Princeton v. 20% for Georgetown). However, post 10 does not present the mean GPA+LSAT for admitted Princeton students. So, it’s hard to tell if we’re comparing apples to apples.</p>

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<p>Why don’t you just email the pre-law advisor some of these questions?</p>

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<p>Not to split hairs but Princeton doesn’t practice grade deflation, but less grade inflation. [National</a> Trends in Grade Inflation, American Colleges and Universities](<a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com/]National”>http://www.gradeinflation.com/) Purdue is the only college listed which doesn’t have ANY grade inflation.</p>

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<p>Yes, it does, at least relative to Brown (mean GPA of ~3.6.)</p>

<p>LS is nearly all about GPA+LSAT. In today’s app pool, an unhooked candidate needs at least a high 3.7 to be competitive for HLS (assuming an above median LSAT).</p>

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<p>The California community colleges (systemwide) and some of the listed CSUs also have not had grade inflation.</p>

<p>However, the students there are somewhat less competitive than those at Brown or Princeton.</p>

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<p>Princeton does not have a pre-law course of study as posted on their website. They do have what looks like good advising and seminars, etc…</p>

<p>Your GPA will matter if you want to apply to law school. Any major will do.</p>

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<p>Ah okay makes sense haha. Thank you guys for your help!</p>