<p>I enjoy business, but I am also interested in the logic of law. I face a problem, so perhaps you can help me.</p>
<p>I enjoy economics, and so I am majoring in it at a good school (US News Top 3). Right now I'm getting a 3.8, but I anticipate it to be a 3.7 by the time I graduate. I've heard law schools often look solely at GPAs to determine who is admitted and who isn't. A few sociology and French/Italian majors here are trying to get 4.0s to get in their dream law schools. I think I would do better at a subject like politics than at economics, but I don't enjoy politics as much as economics (although I still love the subject), and I don't think politics will offer me too many openings if I decide that law school isn't for me. Should I switch?</p>
<p>Also, what are my chances? On one practice LSAT, I got a 167 (I'm going to be a junior, and with some studying, this might go up seven points or so?). I'm involved in some EC's, not too many.</p>
<p>I am not a current law student, but from everything I have read here and researched on my own, I would stick with economics. If that is truly what you love and you are not 100% sure you will go to law school you should have a degree in something else that you will want a career in. As for your gpa and lsat, a 3.7 is a pretty strong gpa and coupled with a 174 on the lsat you would have a good chance at some pretty good law schools!</p>
<p>Not a law student but your question did interest me.</p>
<p>Found the following:</p>
<p>*Students often ask economics department advisers about the advantages of majoring in economics. The usual reply is that an economics major provides several benefits, such as the ability to earn higher salaries, to analyze interesting problems, and to be flexible enough to adapt to the dynamic economy in which we live. Economics also provides a good foundation for several graduate degrees.
Because many economics majors go on to law school each year, it would be useful to know if they are well prepared. However, no published reports of Law School Admission Test (LSAT) scores exist by major. I collected data for 19911992 and 19941995 on the LSAT scores of various majors to address this question. I found that economics majors performed at or near the top of all majors taking the test.
Approximately 120 majors are categorized by the Law School Admissions
Council (1996). However, many of the majors are really subdisciplines and have only a handful of students taking the test. For example, only one astronomy major applied to law school in 199192. Thus, I summarized the data in two ways. First, I ranked disciplines by the average LSAT scores of those disciplines with over 2,000 test takers in 199192 and in 199495. Second, I ranked the disciplines
by the average LSAT scores of those disciplines with more than 400 test takers in 199192 and in 199495.
*</p>
<p>findings were as follows:</p>
<p>Over all highest LSATscorers are:
major avg. score
1 Physics/math 157.6
2 Philosophy/religion 156.0
3 Economics 155.3
4 International relations 155.1
5 Chemistry 154.5
6 Government/service 154.4
7 Anthropology/geography 154.1
8 History 154.0
9 English 153.7 </p>
<p>Thanks! That is fascinating data. If economics majors can potentially score higher on the LSAT, do you think this could make up for a slightly lower GPA? </p>
<p>Also, having read your earlier posts, I am under the impression that law schools do not closely scrutinize the quality of the college that gave you an undergraduate degree. How would a 4.0 from the University of Texas or University of Michigan stand up against a 3.8 or 3.7 from HYP?</p>
<p>I don't think I have ever said that infact probably quite the opposite is true. It is an often asked question on this forum. IF you look at law school admissions at Harvard, the largest # of students come from Harvard. </p>
<p>One of my D's friends who is graduating today from Dartmouth got into Penn Law with something like a 3.1 gpa and 172 LSAT (I think D said she was a gov't major).</p>
<p>Admissions officers at top law schools certainly look at more than just your LSAT and GPA. Among other things, they look at the quality and difficulty of your undergraduate school, as well as the quality and difficulty of your major and your coursework. That's not to say, of course, that a 2.8 in a difficult major will make much of an impression, but if the differences are a matter of two, three or even four tenths of an otherwise solid GPA, I believe that they will take notice. This review presupposes that you already have presented them with a high LSAT score, well-written personal statement and thoughtful recommendations that present you in the best possible light.</p>
<p>I don't really think that average LSAT by major list says much for the people at CC, because the average scores given are way too law for admission into top law schools. Seeing the top 10 percent of the list by major might be more indicative.</p>
<p>Just like the majority of the students in this country are not attending the top 25 Colleges and Universities (interms of Ivies, elite LACs, etc) the majority of students in this country are not attending nor will they be admitted into the the top 15 law schools in the country (remember there are approxmately 193 law schools in this country.<br>
The overwhelming majority of both groups attend school locally.</p>
<p>"Keep in mind that the average (L?)SAT score (among all test takers) is 150"</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the majority of takers do not go to a top law school; which seems to be the collective goal of people on this forum.</p>
<p>I agree with chocoman, those averages do not indicate anything. All that matters is the number YOU get, as an individual. An Art History major may not be prepared to take the LSAT as a consequence of her choice of major. But if she prepares thoroughly for the exam the major will not matter; her high GPA, consequence of an "easy" major, should also be a positive factor.</p>
<p>If someone is relying on their choice of major to prep them for the LSAT, I think they are already heading in the wrong direction. Major in whatever you want, and learn how to "take" the LSAT. </p>
<p>Of course, if you are interested in a major that will help with the LSAT (i.e. Philosophy), well, more power to you. But my point is that you don't need to choose a major with the LSAT in mind.</p>
<p>I meant that the people on this forum won't be aided by that list, because most of them will be applying to top law schools. Thus, how the average student in a major does isn't worth anything to someone looking for help to get into a top program.</p>
<p>Can it be said that smarter people are generally going to take math and physics as opposed to sociology, so the lsat scores based on major don't mean all that much?</p>
<p>
[quote]
I meant that the people on this forum won't be aided by that list, because most of them will be applying to top law schools.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>How can you say this? There are not nearly enough students in this forum who have reported their LSAT scores, and from those who have reported, only a few surpassed the 170-barrier. We do not know that these forum posters are applying only to the top schools, and we definitely do not know that they are crunching out 180s. Many people say they plan to apply to "the top schools," but these are mostly high school graduates, frosh, or sophs who still need to work out their GPAs and have only an apocryphal LSAT score on which to ground their hopes. Now if we have stats like those guys applying as frosh at Harvard in the Harvard forums, then we could say something.</p>
<p>There is no intrinsic flaw in the LSAT data sheet; errors in reasoning only occur depending on what conclusions one draws from that sheet: the sheet definitely does not imply that one will score high merely by virtue of his or her major. The sheet does conduce to the conclusion that certain majors might provide better preparation for the LSAT than other majors.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Can it be said that smarter people are generally going to take math and physics as opposed to sociology, so the lsat scores based on major don't mean all that much?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Okay, so dumber people score lower on the LSAT.</p>