Hello! I am currently a senior in high school and have been contemplating which majors I should take to best prepare me for law school. There are only two schools I would apply to, since they have rolling admission, and it took me so long to decide if I actually wanted to continue with the idea of law school or not.
Anyways, one choice I was thinking about was to double major in philosophy and Spanish. One reason I’m doubting this is because I am Hispanic (and very obviously so through my last name, Angeles) but I am not completely fluent in it. I can speak it relatively well - well enough to hold a conversation for awhile. But, I’m terrible at any grammatical aspect of it, and would like to improve my Spanish-speaking skills to have overall better communication with anyone since it’s not THAT great. I don’t want it to look like I took Spanish as an easy major to boost up my GPA, so I’m just worried about how that will look in the application process. I would also be interested in majoring in English since it has always been my favorite subject, but I don’t know it it would be better to have English/Spanish or English/Philosophy.
Another choice I am contemplating is a double major in English (concentration in writing or literature) and political science, or an English/Communications (concentration in journalism or film production) double major. I know political science doesn’t do well on the LSAT, but I’ve always liked learning about government. Also, for communications, I find that field incredibly interesting and saw the courses they take, and it really appealed to me.
Overall, I just have no idea which one to choose. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks, and I really want some insight from others. I want something that will not only give me a good GPA, but will help me score highly on the LSAT, since I know they’re both very important for law school admissions. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
The best major for law school is the one you will get the highest GPA in. Philosophy and Spanish sounds like a great combination to me. S14 took a lot of philosophy courses and I think it helped a lot with the LSAT. He did very well in his law school applications.
Colleges have clued into native speakers taking intro languages. Does your college have an placement process for enrolling in Spanish courses? A good command of Spanish could very well help you in your practice of law and in your admissions. Schools like to see fluency in languages in addition to English.
Courses in which you do a lot of reading, writing, and analysis will help you for law school. Also courses in which you can get good grades. Knowing Spanish definitely will help you as a lawyer. Good luck!
You do not need to major in Spanish to take additional Spanish courses. Some colleges and universities have Spanish courses for heritage speakers who speak well but need more practice reading and writing. A major in Spanish will require upper level courses in literature, culture, etc. that presume fluency and literacy in the Spanish language.
Philosophy and math majors tend to top the LSAT score lists, probably because their majors require practice in logical thinking, which is one of the sections on the LSAT. It is likely that those who are good at logical thinking are more likely to choose majors like philosophy and math.
http://lawschoolnumbers.com/application-prep/ugraduate has some suggestions on undergraduate choices for pre-law students.
You can major in anything and go to law school. The idea about taking classes that require reading, writing and analysis is good. If you want to be a patent lawyer there are specific STEM majors in order to qualify.
Classics majors outperform all other humanities and social science majors on the LSAT. Below are the 2017-2018 average LSAT scores by major:
Statistics 164.14
Mathematics 162.80
Physics 161.58
Astronomy 161.33
Computer Science 161.24
Nuclear Engineering 161.20
Bio/Biomedical Engineering 160.45
Classics 160.38
Engineering 160.32
Chemical Engineering 160.19
Industrial Relations 160.02
Russian 159.41
Linguistics 159.40
Economics 158.99
Policy Studies 158.99
Electrical Engineering 158.82
Botany 158.67
Biochemistry 158.66
German 158.39
Aerospace Engineering 158.14
Mechanical Engineering 157.95
American Civilization 157.64
Other Engineering 157.57
Computer Engineering 157.51
Petroleum Engineering 157.47
Art History 157.39
Foreign Languages 157.32
International Studies 157.32
Literature 157.26
Philosophy 157.21
Government 157.19
Asian-American Studies 157.00
Zoology 156.83
International Relations 156.77
French 156.73
Environmental Sciences 156.35
Archaeology 156.27
History 156.27
Industrial Engineering 156.11
Anthropology 156.04
Chemistry 156.02
Marine Engineering 156.00
Religion 155.95
Urban Studies/Regional Planning 155.89
Geology/Earth Sciences 155.78
Music 155.66
Women’s Studies 155.65
Theology 155.56
Architecture/Environmental Design 155.52
Geography 155.38
Performing Arts 155.36
Finance 154.96
English 154.78
Civil Engineering 154.71
Film Production 154.59
Marine Studies 154.50
Drama/Theatre Arts 154.34
Biology 154.25
Recreation Management 154.18
Dietetics/Nutritional Science 154.05
Spanish 154.03
Journalism 153.72
Animal Science 153.71
Real Estate 153.67
Political Science 153.62
Secondary Education 153.55
Accounting 153.30
Management Information Systems 153.19
Education Psychology 152.90
Visual Arts/Graphics 152.86
Manufacturing Engineering 152.83
Art/Design 152.74
Insurance & Risk Management 152.74
Business and Commerce 152.68
Psychology 152.53
Advertising 152.48
Fine Arts 152.43
Forestry 152.07
Public Affairs/Services/Admin. 151.95
International Business 151.89
Transportation and Commerce 151.88
Health/Kinesiology 151.83
Marketing 151.29
Construction Engineering 151.00
Library Studies 150.93
Computer Programming 150.87
Communications 150.83
Agriculture 150.70
Sociology 150.59
Education, General 150.37
Business Management 150.30
Information Sciences 149.91
Personnel Management 149.86
Military Science 149.67
Family Relations/Child Devel. 149.56
Speech 149.44
Criminology 149.43
Hotel/Restaurant Management 149.36
Sales/Retail 149.35
Business Administration 149.32
Special Ed./Disabilities/Handicapped 149.21
African-American Studies 149.18
Physical Education 148.89
Elementary Education 148.65
Recreation and Leisure Services 148.59
Hospital/Health Care Admin. 148.55
Business Education 148.53
Engineering Technologies/Design 148.36
Business Management/Admin. 148.33
Pharmacy 148.25
Mexican-American Studies 148.23
Speech Pathology/Audiology 147.96
Social Work 147.68
Electronic Engineering 147.67
Aviation Science 147.00
Medical Lab. Tech./Radiology 146.44
Law Enforcement 146.00
Criminal Justice 145.87
Physical Therapy 145.83
Nursing 145.80
Computer Information Systems 145.54
Home Economics 144.67
Practical Arts 144.29
Indian Studies 144.25
Guidance/Counseling 141.23
Police Administration 139.88
Philosophy, political science and literature are all excellent preparation for law school which is extremely analytical-reading oriented, and in which excellent writing skills are crucial. Notice classics and Russian are up on the list above… that’s because both involve very intense studying of texts that are intellectually and linguistically challenging to English speakers. I’d encourage you to pursue Spanish; truly mastering it at a very high level could become very useful professionally.
I think it really depends on what area of law you are interested in practicing. For example healthcare law I would think something in the sciences or even public health. You could really major in whatever you like.
There is good advice above. You need to get good grades, so choose subjects where you are engaged and can excel. The LSAT itself requires preparation for the test itself, but not for the subject matter, unlike the MCAT. You will read and write voluminously in law school, so classes that prepare you for that are good. I had an engineer friend that went to law school and he was utterly lost for a bit on the writing until he got the hang of it.
You need to also think about what you will do if you change your career direction (as many do in college) or if law school doesn’t pan out. A major that keeps some options open wouldn’t be a bad choice.
Pretend for a moment that you aren’t planning on law school. What would be your Plan B, what would you major in? There’s your answer.
This is good advice. There are many lawyers who decide not to practice law, as it is not as glamorous as on TV. Look how many end up in politics. 
You can go to law school with any major, so figure out what you would do if you didn’t pursue law.
In the legal profession, Spanish is most helpful for prosecutors, criminal defense & immigration work.
As far as best majors for law school, something that requires analytical thinking & writing.
It seems that you actually have two different questions:
My experience is more than 20 years old, and is just one person’s perspective, but may still be relevant to your question.
First, you ask what major will help you score high on the LSAT. As a test, the LSAT is a different type of animal, and I suggest if you do take the LSAT, consider taking LSAT prep courses rather than pursuing a major to help with the test. I don’t know that a college major can really “prepare” you for the LSAT in the way you think. Besides, what if you decide not to go to law school, or decide it’s too expensive (it really is), or you go to law school and graduate but decide not to practice law? These questions have been raised in the posts above. ^^
Second, you can be accepted to and succeed in law school with just about any major. My class included a medical doctor, a court reporter, an accountant, and an engineer, along with business majors, history majors. We all graduated with law degrees. What matters, as you noted, is that you need a high GPA to get into law school. I strongly believe in taking classes that refine your reading, analysis, and reasoning skills. You can do that with many different majors, so think about what you’re interested in. Again, what would you want to to do if you decided not to go to law school? I was an English major, and did an undergrad thesis, so I was used to reading a lot of dense text and writing a lot. I felt this helped me cope with the amount of reading and writing required in law school. Also, I didn’t decide to go to law school until a couple of years out of college, and it was my first job out of college that led me to think that the law is where I could make a difference. Well, fast forward several years: I graduated and did practice law, but don’t anymore. But in all my jobs, the ability to read quickly, write clearly, and reason through problems has been a tremendous advantage.
I’ll end this overly long post with a final word of advice: watch your debt. I don’t know about your plans for financing college, and if you will take out loans. Law school is very very very expensive, and many people (myself included) had to take out student loans. I know lawyers who are tethered to a job they hate because they must pay off huge student loans. I know lawyers whose loan payments are equal to a mortgage payment. (I decided not to take on a typical law firm job, and though I have a nice quality of life, I don’t make big law firm bucks.)
Congratulations on your upcoming graduation, and best wishes on your college career.