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majors?

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 10:58 pm
by kosherboy2
should i chose an undergrad major thats difficult or easy, since apparently to law schools it doesn't matter as long as you do well.

Also anyone know what else is a good major for a preparing law student besides political science?

And finally, what exactly is pre-law? Are you not declaring a major? and if not what classes will you be taking?

Re: majors?

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 11:02 pm
by manbearwig
Choose a major you'll enjoy. I'm not really sure if there is any specific major that prepares you for law school, even poli sci. From what I've heard though, English can be helpful because it may help you be a better writer.

Pre-law programs are specific to each undergrad. Some schools may have it as a major (and have a list of classes you need/should take) and some may not.

Re: majors?

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 11:08 pm
by Vincent Vega
I think it's always good to choose a major in a field where you can see yourself working in in case you don't end up going to law school. What if you decide your senior year that you really don't want to go to law school after all, you majored in political science, and you really want to be a financial planner or something like that.

Re: majors?

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 11:11 pm
by dextermorgan
Choose a major you can get As in (preferably one you enjoy). Avoid pre-law like the plague. Philosophy will best prepare you for law school, but your major won't matter much in the long run.

Edit: oh and don't choose Philosophy, it's useless for pretty much everything.

Re: majors?

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 11:32 pm
by 09042014
kosherboy2 wrote:should i chose an undergrad major thats difficult or easy, since apparently to law schools it doesn't matter as long as you do well.

Also anyone know what else is a good major for a preparing law student besides political science?

And finally, what exactly is pre-law? Are you not declaring a major? and if not what classes will you be taking?
Don't choose a difficult one, they fuck your GPA. But I wouldn't go out and get the easiest degree you can. If you are absolutely sure you want law school, pick your favorite non science or math subject and major it in. Polsci may be easier than history at most schools, but not if you love history and hate polisci.

If you have no interests, or aren't 100% sure pick something practical. Business, Accounting, Finance, supply chain management, whatever. These aren't that hard and have exit options.

Re: majors?

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 11:34 pm
by DoubleChecks
Desert Fox wrote:
kosherboy2 wrote:should i chose an undergrad major thats difficult or easy, since apparently to law schools it doesn't matter as long as you do well.

Also anyone know what else is a good major for a preparing law student besides political science?

And finally, what exactly is pre-law? Are you not declaring a major? and if not what classes will you be taking?
Don't choose a difficult one, they fuck your GPA. But I wouldn't go out and get the easiest degree you can. If you are absolutely sure you want law school, pick your favorite non science or math subject and major it in. Polsci may be easier than history at most schools, but not if you love history and hate polisci.

If you have no interests, or aren't 100% sure pick something practical. Business, Accounting, Finance, supply chain management, whatever. These aren't that hard and have exit options.
+1, some more "general majors" you could look into would be economics or gov

one on the easier side would be psych, which is easy enough to get a high GPA, interesting enough for you to want to major in it, yet not SO easy that law schools discredit it :P

Re: majors?

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 11:40 pm
by BenJ
dextermorgan wrote:Choose a major you can get As in (preferably one you enjoy). Avoid pre-law like the plague. Philosophy will best prepare you for law school, but your major won't matter much in the long run.

Edit: oh and don't choose Philosophy, it's useless for pretty much everything.
Wrong, do choose philosophy. It's fun :D

If you plan to go to law school anyway, your UG major doesn't matter much: Best to do a major that will interest you and (ideally) also help you with applications and performance at law school. There are only a handful of majors that actually help in law school and on the LSAT: English and Philosophy are the big ones, and Polisci somewhat less. Some writing-intensive majors like History can also help some people prepare. But, if you hate English, Philosophy and Polisci, don't major in them just because they'll be marginally useful later on. Major in something that you want to major in; it's likely that you can bring your passion for that subject into some law field anyway (e.g., Psych into family law, or Finance into tax law, or Engineering into patent law, or IR into international law).

Some schools have a pre-law major UG. I don't get it, and I have no idea what it would be. Don't do that.

Re: majors?

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 11:50 pm
by vanwinkle
Pick something you will enjoy doing. This will help you study more and get better grades, and also help make the four years of getting the degree not miserable.

I studied film for four years, now I look back at those four years and go "how cool is that shit". Make it something worth it to you, you'll be glad you did.

Re: majors?

Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 12:21 am
by kazu
vanwinkle wrote:Pick something you will enjoy doing. This will help you study more and get better grades, and also help make the four years of getting the degree not miserable.

I studied film for four years, now I look back at those four years and go "how cool is that shit". Make it something worth it to you, you'll be glad you did.
+1... even if it's the easiest major in the world, if you find you hate it you're going to be miserable for 4 years and it'll be difficult for you to get good grades.