<p>I NEED HELP. I am a junior in high school right now and I am just so confused on what to major in. I want to become a lawyer as of today and i'm not looking back. Everyone is telling me that it really does not matter what you major in to become a lawyer: political science, criminal justice, liberal arts, etc. I need guidance though!</p>
<p>You want a major that’s going to require high level language skills (critical reading, analysis, writing, etc.). The actual subject is not too important beyond that. It MUST be something that will hold your interest because:</p>
<p>1) Jobs for new attorneys are strongly correlated with the quality of the law school you attend
2) Law school admissions are a numbers game - undergraduate GPA + LSAT score
3) Top law schools expect top GPAs from quality programs.</p>
<p>So… you want a major that will hold your interest, is intellectually rigorous and is taught at the best undergrad school you can get into. Which leads us to the suggestions:</p>
<p>Classics (Latin & Greek - my major and often referred to as the “best” major for Law School prep.) Teaches the close reading and analysis skills you’ll need.
Philosophy - self explanatory
Engineering and Physical Sciences - analysis skills + technical background will open corporate doors</p>
<p>If you have an interest in another field that happens to also use attorneys (e.g. urban planning, charity management, social services) that’s where you should be looking for your major.</p>
<p>Don’t obsess too much about your undergrad school - your state flagship university will be fine, but DO look at the quality of the programs you’re interested in. A few places (e.g. Michigan) excel in many fields, others have significant weaknesses you’ll want to be aware of before committing to a major.</p>
<p>Check in at the Law School section here - there’s tons of good (and bad) advice there.</p>
<p>And… you’ve got 8.5 years AT LEAST before you finally graduate from Law School. Lots of things can and will change in your life during that time, so keep an open mind and be ready to take advantage of opportunities when they arise.</p>
<p>crosee14</p>
<p>Agree with above post. See attached web link for guidance - </p>
<p>[Pre-Law</a> | Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar](<a href=“http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/pre_law.html]Pre-Law”>http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/pre_law.html)</p>
<p>Here’s the key to Law School, and could ge generalized to Grad schools in general. Major in somethink your passionate about and will do well in it!!! Most universities will have a “Pre-Law” advisory committee to assist you once you’re there. NO specific major is required for law school, however, read the link and heed the above poster’s comments.</p>
<p>2 Most Important things are - LSAT Score, and GPA. THEN, comes, course curriculum, volunteer work, internships etc.</p>
<p>It really is a numbers game with law school admits!</p>
<p>My personal comments from experience.</p>
<p>CJ</p>
<p>You need a great LSAT score, a great GPA and a lot of money. </p>
<p>What you major in doesn’t matter much - pick something in which you’re interested and can do well. I had a triple major in accounting, economics and finance before going to law school. My husband was a chemistry major. I had law school friends who majored in everything from philosophy to political science to history to english to engineering. Some undergraduate majors may be useful to you once you start practicing (although I wouldn’t choose them for that reason unless it was something I was truly interested in). For instance, I practiced commercial real estate and corporate law - my business knowledge (and especially my accounting knowledge) was very useful, and after 20 years of practicing law I went onto the business side with a financial services company. Technical backgrounds are very useful for patent lawyers. My husband’s chemistry knowledge came in handy when doing public offerings for pharmaceutical companies. You might also consider majoring in something that would make you marketable if you decided not to go to law school. I would definitely not pick my major based on what you think a law school might want to see.</p>
<p>Major in what you’d like to learn. I majored in poli sci, minored in history and took a lot of english and journalism classes. My school accepted CLEP credits so I did not have to waste a single credit on math or science, I just tested out of them. My H majored in psychology.</p>
<p>I have friends who majored in art, theater, physics, engineering, history, economics and the like before going in to law.</p>
<p>My writing classes helped me with law but since I practice civil litigation (an oxymoron if there ever was one), my poli sci and history are useless though I did enjoy studying them, which helped keep my GPA high.</p>
<p>For Law School you really can major in just about anything and still go. As people have said you need to find something that will keep your interest and won’t be SO hard that you’ll quit. Personally i’m doing English Lit.</p>