pre-law major

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Florida
1

<p>Do you think majoring in Advertising and minoring in International Development and Humanitarian Assistance is a good idea for pre-law?
Would law schools see Advertising as an 'easy' major and not consider my application?
Would my chances of acceptance increase if I major in political science/history/english/typical major for law school applicants?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>Yeah… recommend against an easy degree. Honestly, this includes the degrees you imply are not easy like history, english and political science. You may even want to do a science or engineering degree if you wish to do something like patent law.</p>

3

<p>It’s my understanding that when evaluating an applicant, law schools will weight your GPA based on your undergrad major. I don’t know whether Advertising and International Development & Humanitarian Assistance is an easy major/minor, nor do I know how it would be weighted. However, you may want to check out studies that show a correlation between undergrad major and LSAT Score. The following info is an excerpt from law.com Legal Blog Watch (<a href=“Legal Blog Watch):%5B/url%5D”>Legal Blog Watch):</a></p>

<p>Choice of College Major Sways LSAT Score</p>

<p>Did you know that your choice of undergraduate major may have contributed to how well or poorly you scored on the Law School Admission Test? A new study finds that the highest LSAT scores are achieved by students who major in physics/math, economics and philosophy/theology. Even more interesting is that the two majors that rank lowest in LSAT scores are the very two that provide training in law – prelaw and criminal justice. </p>

<p>The study, LSAT Scores of Economics Majors: The 2008-2009 Class Update, by University of North Texas economics professor Michael Nieswiadomy, is an update of studies he did in 1998 and 2006 that showed that economics majors score well on the LSAT. It looked at scores for students who took the LSAT in 2007-2008 in anticipation of entering law school for the 2008-2009 academic year. Once again, economics majors did well. </p>

<p>The Law School Admission Council categorizes test-takers into 162 majors. Seeing many of those as sub-disciplines of major fields, Nieswiadomy groups them into 29 categories. Of those 29, he found that the top five majors and their average test scores were: </p>

<ol>
<li>Physics/math, 160.0</li>
<li>Economics, 157.4</li>
<li>Philosophy/theology, 157.4</li>
<li>International relations, 156.5</li>
<li>Engineering, 156.2</li>
</ol>

<p>The five lowest-scoring majors were: </p>

<ol>
<li>Education, 149.4</li>
<li>Business administration, 149.1</li>
<li>Health professions, 148.4</li>
<li>Prelaw, 148.3</li>
<li>Criminal justice, 146.0</li>
</ol>

<p>About a third down the list of rankings was my undergraduate major, English, at number 11. Psychology ranked 17 followed by liberal arts at 18. </p>

<p>Nieswiadomy cautions against reading too much into these rankings. “Economics majors (in fact, all majors) are a self-selecting group. It is not possible to differentiate the effect of the student’s unobservable characteristics from the effect of the economics coursework.” Still, economics professor that he is, Nieswiadomy cannot help but express some modest delight. “Economics faculty should continue to have some modicum of pride in the continued success of Economics majors on the LSAT.”</p>

4

<p>My S is a pre-law junior double-majoring in Econ & Philosophy. I’ll give you the same advice I gave him:

  • Pick something you are PASSIONATE about. If it doesn’t excite you, it’ll show in your grades.
  • Ask the school’s pre-law office (if they have one, may be part of Graduate placement) what they think. @ S’s school, Philosophy was their top recommendation (emphasis on logical thinking, lots of writing, reading, research, structured argument)
  • Majors that place an emphasis on quantitative analysis, attention to detail, and rational analysis. Sciences, engineering, the harder social sciences. Sci/math/engineering in particular for patent law, maybe intellectual property.
  • Majors with career/employment prospects that interest you, if you change your mind, decide to work for a year or 2 before law school, or go the evening route to a law degree (many corporations and government agencies don’t really care where in-house talent earned their degree, just that they have one. Not applicable if your goal is Big Law or a Federal Clerkship.)
  • EC’s <em>might</em> balance a strong showing in a “less-rigorous” major. S’s friend (business major) is nationally competitive in Forensics, but he’s also a top student. A school known for their undergraduate department may also help. </p>

<p>From what I have read, law school admissions rely far more on LSAT score and GPA than undergraduate admissions (seller’s market, they can afford to be choosy.) My take is a strong LSAT score and a solid GPA from a good undergrad school will outweigh choice of major.</p>

5

<p>Thank you for all the replies!!
I first picked Advertising because it’s something I would enjoy doing - so if I bomb my LSAT, I would at least have a back up career.
If I have to major in political science to get into law school, I would - but I was wishing there was a way around that, and make Advertising work. I’m not too fond of math/sciences (this unfortunately includes economics -_- ) so I think the most I could major in that particular field, by that I mean the ‘most challenging,’ would be Psychology (statistics is SOOOO much easier than calculus.) Rank 17 from BiscayneBayDad’s chart doesn’t sound too bad hahaha. My school (University of Florida) is pretty strong in the health/engineering departments, so maybe psychology is a better fit for law school…</p>

<p>I think I’ll take your advice, HereWeGo2, and go talk to an advisor on campus when I return from Winter Break. I would love to major in Advertising, but I would love to get into law school more. I need to find the balance.
If, like you said, admission relied more on GPA/LSAT score than on major, then Advertising would be my top choice.</p>

6

<p>In regards to professional schools I would say it varies. I don’t believe that admission officers place much value on trivial labeling like “hard” and “easy” when describing a major. I agree with HereWeGo2. Pick something you are passionate about because regardless of the major, all Law School hopefuls will be taking the SAME test, the LSAT. I was an English major and I had a friend who was a Music major and that in no way hindered our chances of getting into medical school. Despite having what is generally thought of as “easy” majors we performed well in our science/ prereq courses for med school. Besides, more schools are looking for diverse applicants anyway to separate them from all the other applicants who are doing the same thing. UF doesn’t have pre-professional majors anyway, and I think it’s actually beneficial, so you are at liberty to take any classes you want as electives. I would say major in what you feel is best for you, make excellent grades, take a VARIETY (not just one area) of classes that may help you in your desired field, do well on the LSAT, get involved with student government and possibly internships. I’ve had friends who have been accepted to top law schools including Ivy League law schools within the last 2 years and only a few of them had a “stereotypical” major geared towards law like Political Science or Economics. Those majors include English, Journalism, Anthropology, Sociology, History, Philosophy, Business, and even Dance ironically. Most will tell you that it was there LSAT scores, involvement, and grades that helped and not necessarily their major.</p>