<p>I'm a junior at an international american school. I want to go into the field of law and complete my JD and Bar exam after undergrad.</p>
<p>What major should I be looking for and applying for at universities? What's the most common major that Pre-law students take? Some universities don't offer pre-law as a major so what's the alternative?</p>
<p>Also what are the best universities for those majors?</p>
<p>Currently my list is way too long and I need to shorten it somehow...maybe someone can help?</p>
<p>Yale
Princeton
Harvard
Columbia
Upenn wharton
Brown
Cornell
Dartmouth
Duke
USC
UCLA
U Mich Ann Arbor
Stanford
Emory
Vanderbilt
UNC Chapel Hill
U of Miami
Northwestern
Amherst
UCSB
Rice</p>
<p>There is no such thing as a "pre-Law" major. Actually, to be more specific, almost every major you can think of from Biology or Mathematics to Economics or Sociology can qualify as "pre-Law". You can also major in Engineering (although not recommended because grade-deflation inherent to the major generally hurts law-school applicants given Law schools' numbers-driven admissions process) or Business. In short, you can go to any university on your list and major in almost any subject and you would be fine as long as you have a high GPA (over 3.5) and a do well on the LSAT (over 160). If you want to shoot for a top Law school, then a 3.7+ GPA and a 170ish (give or take a couple points) LSAT score is in order. Of course, the most common major for Law school applicants are in the Social Sciences and Humanities, but like I sai, it really doesn't matter what you major in.</p>
<p>Altho a few schools have majors like Legal Studies, those majors really don't offer advantages over many other majors. While expecting very good undergrad GPAs and LSAT scores, law schools look for a scholastic record that suggests a student has developed strong critical analysis/thinking and writing skills. They also look for people who have demonstrated they are self-starters and look to lead for the sake of service and not title.</p>
<p>Here comes another guy looking at the rankings and creating a list from that. At least a few of those schools have very weak law schools by the way. You want to CREATE criteria first, then go match schools without changing your criteria. i.e. small/medium/large, rural/suburban/city, warm weather/cold weather, etc...</p>
<p>"Social Sciences and Humanities" is correct, History tends to be the biggest from what I know.</p>
<p>Pre-law is a scam. The reason colleges offer the pre-law "major" is student demand. Students are looking for it, so schools list it in the hopes of recruiting more students, not because it is an appropriate preparation for law school. However, law schools are not particularly interested in pre-law or legal studies majors which, at their worst, are more vocationally oriented. It is better to select a major which demonstrates critical thinking skills ... which is why the humanities and social sciences are the usual choices. Schools which do not offer pre-law as a major are actually doing a service to students.</p>
<p>Can someone explain the political science major? what courses does one take in this major? Is this good for future law studies?</p>
<p>What universities are good for political science?</p>
<p>I'm heavily heavily oriented towards UPenn Wharton because economics appeals to me and I've heard you can select other courses which involve critical thinking and analytical skills along with the business-related core subjects.</p>
<p>Any comments on wharton for undergrad...and then finding a career in law?</p>
<p>A strong liberal arts education is generally the best preparation for law school.
How does Penn's Wharton fit in with the rest of your options? You're applying to like 20 liberal arts schools and one business school. Penn's College of Arts and Sciences is a better option if you are considering law school, and places phenomenally well (57 into Harvard Law last year. <a href="http://www.law.harvard.edu/admissions/jd/colleges.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.law.harvard.edu/admissions/jd/colleges.php</a>) Wharton students tend to go into i-banking/consulting etc. and a very small no. go to law/med school.
Your list is fine, but look more closely at what you want out of school. Will you be equally happy at Penn/Columbia and at Amherst/Dartmouth? These schools are worlds apart--large/big cities and very small/rural...</p>