<p>I'm currently a freshman majoring in Human Biology at UCSD (which is a large top 40 public school for those who don't know it), and I'm wondering about how to improve my chances of acceptance to a T-14 law school.</p>
<p>A few notes about myself:
I'm a bio major since I originally wanted to go to med school, but I'm loath to change majors because I'm currently receiving a pre-med scholarship that basically requires me to stay on this academic track. </p>
<p>I took my first practice LSAT and scored a 174. I'm studying about an hour a day now.</p>
<p>My current LSAC gpa is 4.1.</p>
<p>I'm involved in several clubs around campus, including a pre-med one and quiz bowl. </p>
<p>My questions are:
Will my current major hamper my chances of acceptance to a top law school? If so, will the difference be large enough to encourage a major change? What major should I change to? </p>
<p>What kind of LSAT score can I expect if I continue to study at my current rate? </p>
<p>How will the prestige of my undergrad (or lack thereof) affect my chances of admission? What kind of LSAC gpa should I shoot for to recoup any possible loss? </p>
<p>What kind of ECs or work should I do to be a competitive applicant to a T-14 school?</p>
<p>Thanks for your time. :)</p>
<p>Put your hands up, and do exactly what I say.</p>
<p>Slowly, SLOWLY, put down that LSAT preparation book.</p>
<p>Spending an hour a day as a freshman studying for the LSAT is a criminal waste of time.</p>
<p>There - you’ve been given a precious gift of time. You have an additional seven hours a week to go and make some memories.</p>
<p>Go to the beach. Go out on some dates. Life is short. When you’re in your fifties, and you’re trying desperately to think of something more pleasant than the root canal you’re undergoing, you’ll want to be able to recall something more pleasant and meaningful than the time you’re wasting now, preparing for a test years before you have any reason to take it.</p>
<p>Correct …
College years are the best time of your life.Althouth determined and motivated people like see college as their path to success, studying ALL the time and preparing for tests that you will take YEARS from now, is an absolute waste of time.</p>
<p>However, 174 is an outstanding score for a freshman and you should not worry about it !</p>
<p>I completely, completely agree with the prior posts and I wanted to add that a Bio major will not be an obstacle to law school.</p>
<p>-undergrad prestige won’t count all that much. if you keep over 4.0 and score 174, you will be heading to at least harvard. </p>
<p>-don’t study LSAT right now. for one, you will be wasting precious real exams that should be taken in a 3-4 month period before the actual test (to build stamina etc). </p>
<p>-don’t worry about EC for law school. they are a minuscule factor. instead, do whatever you can to keep your sky high GPA. </p>
<p>-if you REALLY want to prepare for LSAT this early, instead focus on reading comprehension by reading tough books or even the WSJ/NYT every day. anything that will help improve your reading will be good for the LSAT.</p>
<p>You scored a 174 on your first practice LSAT?</p>
<p>I don’t mean to sound rude, but if you’re smart enough to score above the 99th percentile on your first practice LSAT, why aren’t you at Harvard, MIT, or – at the minimum – UC Berkeley?</p>
<p>Anyway, focus on maintaining your GPA and read a lot.</p>
<p>intelligence is not completely correlated with u-grad rank. for one, OP could have been looking for a good financial deal, and took a cheap school or scholarship. he/she could also have been a slacker in HS who didn’t strive for a high GPA, and thus had no shot at the top u-grads.</p>
<p>Omg, I’m so glad there are other people out there that are/were trying to decide between doctor or lawyer. Surgeon/human rights lawyer to be (hopefully) here 
I’m always worried people will think I’m too pre-professional, but they just happen to be my strongest interests.</p>
<p>Anyway, I agree with the others, you’re a freshman, you probably should start thinking about this at the end of sophomore year.</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses guys! </p>
<p>The thing that I’m most worried about isn’t my GPA or LSAT, but my lack of extracurriculars, which unfortunately barred me from admittance to Ivy League schools back in high school. It just seems counter-intuitive that someone who couldn’t get into top colleges with a good high school GPA and SAT score would still be accepted to a T-14 law school with similarly good numbers. </p>
<p>Also, I agree that pooling all of my time to studying can be detrimental to my well being, but I don’t want to fall into a pit of complacency like I did in high school and idly wait for success to fall onto my lap. At the very least, I can get a head start by understanding exactly what I have to do to succeed.</p>
<p>u-grads are looking for people that will be the best of the best in a number of fields. they are also using “holistic” admissions to ensure a steady batch of admits for elite private high schools and legacy admits. </p>
<p>law schools are almost the complete opposite. there is no “legacy factor”. furthermore, they aren’t looking for well-rounded people, but rather those with the best analytical talent and demonstrated academic performance. </p>
<p>ECs like playing violin or whatever REALLY don’t count. if you continue to insist on ECs, i would recommend either volunteering or political stuff. but they really won’t make a substantial difference either way, and in no way are they ever worth a dip in GPA.</p>