<h2>I wrote a long post on the law board that I thought people should read, so here it is (long, but true and useful):</h2>
<p>First of all, in terms of major, it depends on where you are going to school and what you plan to do. If you go to a third tier college, there is more pressure to major in engineering, business, education, or related preprofessional/practical/vocational fields. If you are going to an Ivy or one of their competitors, that is simply not the case. The major employers of Ivy League (and schools that compete with the Ivies like MIT, Stanford, Duke, Georgetown, etc.) are Investment Banking, Consulting, and non-profit employers like Teach for America, the Peace Corps, etc. All of these organizations accept students regardless of major, because a major is essentially three courses per year out of 8 to 10 usually that a student traditionally takes, which is isn't enough to become a specialist in the field. Though Economics tends to be popular for Ivy League alumns that go into banking, that is primarily because students majoring in economics tend to be more interested in pursuing that route relative to students majoring in say Visual Studies at Penn or History and Literature at Harvard (i.e. the plurality of APPLICANTS major in certain fields, but that DOES NOT suggest that those fields give you any advantage in getting these types of jobs). The point of college but elite colleges in particular is getting a broad-based liberal arts education - taking a wide variety of courses in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences (and depending on the school, perhaps pre-professional classes like engineering or business or public policy); this is what distinguishes them from, say, ITT Tech (this is actually consistent throughout the western world - more selective, prestigious schools tend to be broad-based in nature in terms of the educational philosophy at the UNDERGRADUATE level). Also, many students go on to scholarships like Marshall, Fulbright, Rhodes, programs and end up going to graduate school and getting a job as a professor, or depending on the field, political analysts/advisors, researchers, quant jobs in finance, etc., etc. A large portion of these graduates end up heading off to law and medical school, or after some work experience at places like Merrill Lynch, McKinsey, BCG, Morgan Stanley, GS, etc. getting an MBA and staying in the afformentioned fields or going on to senior management positions at Fortune 500 companies or cushy marketing jobs. Of course there are also the trust fund/development admits that already have the connections necessary through family and their social circle to land high-paying jobs after graduation, even if they end up at the bottom of the class at Princeton, Columbia, U Pennsylvania (Wharton or not Wharton), Dartmouth, or Duke.</p>
<p>Remember, though people continue to remain ignorant of this fact, Investment Banking and Consulting firms regularly higher Ivy League (and their peers) alumns REGARDLESS OF MAJOR for the reasons mentioned before, given that they have relevant coursework in analytical methods/calculus/intro econ (though even this is not an expectation or a requirement). As someone whose parent is a senior investment banker, I personally know many associates and analysts from places like Harvard and Yale with degrees in East Asian Studies, Government, Politics/Ethics/Economics, Art History, English/Literature, foreign languages, etc., and the same goes for places like Brown, Cornell, Princeton, Stanford, and other places. Employers recognize that your coursework in college, no matter what you take, will not prepare you for the reality of the actual work you will be doing as an analyst at Bain, Jefferies and Comp., or Bank of America Securities. And remember, these are the highest paying jobs (when you consider the full packages) for graduating seniors out of college including fields in engineering, nursing, or other preprofessional areas. Employers want bright students that have challenged themselves, present themselves well, that have diverse perspectives and educational backgrounds b/c you need that sort of vibrant, mecca of ideas for these high-intensity corporations to flourish. There is a reason why coming from Podunk State w/ a degree in chemical/aeuronautical engineering (and a 4.0) won't get you a callback why a varsity lacrosse player from Williams with a 3.1 majoring in History will definitely have a shot at the previously mentioned places.</p>
<p>Last, though people will continually not recognize the validity of these comments, starting salary does not really mean that much (with the exception of paying off those cumbersome college loans). What matters is the long term careers that students end up with. People majoring in the liberal arts end up doing just as well (and often better) than their peers 10-20 years later, as evidence by numberous career survey conducted by OCS at the Ivies and other top schools (this is particularly true in comparing the salaries of, say, graduates of Wharton/Engineering/College students from Penn). Penn college alumns end up doing just as well if not better. </p>
<p>Top jobs for humanities majors that graduate from top schools pay horribly at first, but end up being incredibly rewarding and interesting later on (think screenwriters - the writers for the Simpsons, Friends, etc. are almost exclusively Harvard alumns; other elite LAC's and universities dominate the most sought after positions in journalism like places like the New Yorker, the Economist, the National Review, the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, etc., etc.). These places are basically off-limits to students who graduate from third tier institutions (though, of course, there are always exceptions to this).</p>
<p>There is a lot of ignorance on this board (and I don't mean to be condescending), but I'm just trying to educate some people.</p>
<p>In response to your question though, you can major in any field and get into a top law school and get that prized BIGLAW firm/government/clerkship/humanitarian job that you want. Though some admissions officers will adjust GPA (not formally or literally, but they will take it into consideration) based on the rigor of your field. I remember hearing from a U Chicago adcom that they know, for example, that Social Studies at Harvard is considered a kind of slacker major, for example. Certain programs are known for their rigor like Cornell Engineering or Sociology at U Chicago, etc. They know which schools are cracking down on grade inflation (Princeton, U Pennsylvania) and which schools aren't (Brown, Yale) and which schools don't need to (UC Berkeley, Cornell, Georgetown). You will be viewed as an individual, but the most important two factors are LSAT and GPA followed by work experience/essay. Good luck!!!</p>