<p>I am about to begin my sophomore year of college and I am working towards getting my bachelors degree in accounting with a minor in political science. However, I plan on going to law school after I graduate and I want to study criminal law. Does your undergrad major affect your choices of what area of law you can study when you go to law school? Or will I be able to study criminal law with an accounting major?</p>
<p>I also have some more questions. I don’t know anything about law school and I am not acquainted with anyone that has gone. </p>
<li><p>I was put on probation for a class B misdemeanor for a theft charge. I completed the probation succesfully and got everything taken care of. Moral terpitude crimes aren’t taken lightly, though. Will this affect my chances of getting into law school or taking the Bar exam someday?</p></li>
<li><p>When should I begin preparing for the lsat and when should I take it?</p></li>
<li><p>Is there anything else I should be doing to increase my chances of getting into law school besides keeping good grades?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Any information or experience with law school will help. Thanks!</p>
<p>Using an example with a lot of cachet, here's what Harvard has to say about what one's major is in college has to do with admission chances:</p>
<p>"As preparation for law school, a broad college education is usually preferable to one that is narrowly specialized. The Admissions Committee looks for a showing of thorough learning in a field of your choice, such as history, economics, government, philosophy, mathematics, science, literature or the classics (and many others), rather than a concentration in courses given primarily as vocational training. The Admissions Committee considers that those programs approaching their subjects on a more theoretical level, with attention to educational breadth, are better preparatory training for the legal profession than those emphasizing the practical."</p>
<p>Depending on with what courses you choose to supplement your accounting degree, I would think you have as much a shot as any liberal arts major into getting into a law school with stated similar preferences as Harvard's, which to the best of my knowledge, constitutes almost all law schools out there.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If you've made all the necessary reparations for your theft charge, I believe it may be unlawful for the law school to which you're applying to simply disregard your academic and like credentials. But I'm not sure how private schools work.</p></li>
<li><p>I would start preparing for it the beginning of junior year-which I will. </p></li>
<li><p>Try to get involved in volunteer work or social work in general that gives you an idea of politics in action.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The important point in applying to LS is to TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT THE CONVICTION. </p>
<p>You'll probably be able to get into LS. You'll be able to take the bar exam. The key question is whether you can get admitted to the bar. States usually don't don't bother to look at issues of "character and fitness" until you've taken and passed the bar. I know of NO state that will advise you whether your conviction would preclude you from being admitted before you take and pass the bar. At that time, you'll have to disclose the conviction and a decision will be made as to whether you can be admitted. </p>
<p>If you failed to disclose the conviction when you applied to LS, in most states you will NOT be admitted. If you did disclose, then a decision will be made. Whether it will be favorable is NOT something ANYONE can tell you years in advance. Undoubtedly, part of the answer will depend on how long in the past the conviction was and whether you've gotten into trouble since. Again, though, this is a decision that will be made if and when you pass the bar and NOT before. It may vary among states, i.e., one state might say no and another yes. </p>
<p>This issue has been discussed on this board before. ALL of the other questions you asked have been discussed MANY times on this board. You may want to do a search.</p>