<p>I am a rising senior in high school, and plan on attending a top University or College come fall 2006, and would like to attend a top-5 law school immediately following undergrad. Now, I have been looking in depth into different majors and as such I've decided that I will most likely declare myself as a Philosophy major when entering college. However, I feel it's important for me to ask those more knowledgable in the field, which major do you feel would be most beneficial for a prospective undergraduate planning to attend law school such as myself (note that I feel I could succeed in any of these majors, although I'm most personally interested in studying philosophy): Philosophy, Bus. Admin, Poli-Sci?</p>
<p>1) Never major in an area because it will increase your chances for law school; choose something that you like, irrespective of which law school you desire to attend.</p>
<p>2) There have been similar threads on this, and using the search function is sufficient. Moreover, this information can be found on many law school websites. For instance:</p>
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What is the best "pre-law" curriculum? How does one prepare for law school?</p>
<p>The Harvard Law School faculty prescribes no fixed requirements with respect to the content of pre-legal education. The nature of candidates' college work, as well as the quality of academic performance, is taken into account in the selection process. 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, 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.
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<p>Google and the search function suffice for your inquiries.</p>
<p>Law schools could care less what you major in. It's your UGPA, and more importantly, your LSAT's, that count. I'm a double major, political science and history, and I plan on entering law school in fall 2006. I picked those majors because I enjoy them, not because they look good. Pick something you enjoy because you are going to have to do A LOT of work in that field in order to get your degree, and it's a lot easier to get A's when you enjoy the subject matter. Ultimately that will of course affect your UGPA, and your law school chances, if you choose a major because it sounds good, hate it, and end up making less than stellar grades. Law schools are so competitive these days you need all the help you can get. Trust me.</p>
<p>If you are interrested in Philosophy, go for it. It is a very respected major, and since you are pationate about it, you will excel at it. Do not worry about what law schools want. If you graduate with a high GPA and do well on the LSAT, you will have a shot at one of your desired Law schools.</p>
<p>Yay April & Alexandre! :)</p>
<p>Those are really great responses. I'll follow them up with a few thoughts:
*Philosophy majors apparently do really well in law school.<br>
*April nailed it - you'll do better in subjects that you like. For me, it was really hard to stay motivated during my senior year when I knew that I wouldn't be using my major for anything.
*While it has nothing to do with getting in the door, I can say that the top law students come from a variety of backgrounds are able to use those backgrounds to their advantage. The majors of some of the people in the legal honours fraternity are: theatre, journalism, history, English, sociology, engineering.<br>
*Finally, aside from UGPA & LSAT, it is really questionable what role other factors may play. The only thing that you can say for certain is that it varies by school. Some are more willing than others to overlook a low GPA if the student has a hard major or a great resume; others care more about straight up GPA.</p>
<p>thanks a lot for the excellent and informative responses!</p>
<p>im a bit skeptical about this "law schools dont care what you major in" talk</p>
<p>i mean, really, what if i major in arabic?</p>
<p>Same here... I started another thread below (see - Undergrad Business (suicide???) before I realized this thread was here. My question, however, remains the same. I have some people who tell me that all that matters is LSAT and GPA, but is your GPA given less consideration if it is in a more vocationally focused major such as business? </p>
<p>Would it be wise to combine a business major with an econ/philosophy/or history minor to illustrate to law schools that I have taken a broader curriculum?</p>
<p>Or would I just have to make a substantially higher LSAT than other applicants at my law school of choice to really stay competitive?</p>
<p>I've seen alot of "major in what you love" posts around here and in other places too. But, if there are several majors in which you could be happy with, by all means take the one that you think is going to be a better preperation for law school. But rember there is no perfect major.</p>