Undergraduate Help for Future Law School Choice Forum

[habeas2210]

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[dakatz]

You shouldn't pick you college based on where you want to go to law school (and I think your reason for discounting UT is pretty poor). You should go wherever you will be most happy, and where you will be most successful. More than anything else, law schools care about your GPA and LSAT. So as long as you do well in your undergrad studies, the sky is the limit. The more comfortable and happy you are during college, the better you will do. Yes, planning ahead is good, but take it step by step. Enjoy your college years, do well, take your LSAT in a few years, and go from there.

[romothesavior]

Good for you for thinking this far ahead!

Your criteria for picking an undergrad should be:

1. Go where you'll fit in and enjoy your time there.
2. GO SOMEWHERE CHEAP! Do not rack up lots of debt. Go somewhere on a full-ride or close to it.
3. Go someplace with a decent program in whatever you want to major in.

You really don't need to go to a big, well-known school or an elite institution (like an Ivy or something). The most important things you need to do in college are 1) get a great GPA and 2) get a high LSAT score.

While you're in college, I recommend doing the following:
1. Take a major that you enjoy, but not one that will be too difficult or the grading will kill your GPA. Law school admissions officers care very little about your major or your course rigor. They want high numbers.
2. Get involved in a few campus activites. Although being involved will be a weak soft factor, law schools will at least want to see that you were involved in something. It will also give you something to talk about in an interview, if you should have an interview process for law school. Plus you'll meet lots of people and have a good time doing it.
3. Take an intro to logic class your sophomore or junior year to give yourself some exposure to logic. Also try to take some classes that will get you writing and reading difficult material (philosophy is great for this).
4. HAVE FUN! College is a blast if you want it to be. Get your shit done, but also remember to enjoy yourself.

Good luck to you and enjoy college.

[habeas2210]

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[dvd]

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[habeas2210]

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[romothesavior]

Well, UT receives about 5,000 applicants a year, and only accepts 400 of those applicants...and they only take 30% from their own undergrad. It is much much more difficult to get into their law school if you attend their undergrad. I've spoken with a member whose on the board of admissions for their law school and they advised me to go to Rice or A&M for undergrad. But I figured why not take another year at a junior college and save money, but I do not want to go to a junior college my for a semester or a year if it will affect my admissions into a good law school. Yeah, my GPA right now in my college courses is sitting at about 3.9, and I plan on studying for the LSAT starting this summer. I appreciate all the advice, it is greatly valued. (Also, I will be majoring in Poli Sci)

You don't need to start studying for the LSAT now. Maybe take a look at it if you are curious, but you really won't gain much by studying now. 3 months of really solid studying is better than 2-3 years of half-assed studying. Take a few years and come back to TLS... there are lots of great threads about studying for the LSAT that will help you a lot.

As for UT, it is a very, very good law school. Their admissions is very selective. Whether UT is tougher to get to get into as a UT undergrad, I have no idea. Some schools (such as Illinois and Michigan) actually have programs for undergrads where they don't have to take the LSAT at all; if their credentials are good enough, they just get admitted. I don't know if UT has such a program, but it is worth looking into.

Still, if you want to go to UT, go to UT. The resume diversity may help you down the road, but it really isn't worth thinking about now. You may change your mind on where you want to go, or decide not to go to law school at all. Or best of all, you may rock the LSAT and get into Harvard or something. Who knows? Just go where you want to go and let the rest work itself out down the road.

Go wherever you feel will fit you best.

[billyez]

I'm assuming I'm speaking to a fellow Texan, right? Then all you need is to have a high GPA (3.7 plus) and an LSAT score in the mid-160's and you should be able to make it. These schools don't care where you go for UG. Just get the right numbers. This admission season there's been a lot said about UT's unwillingness to accept splitters - folks with high LSAT scores but GPA's below their median - so wherever you go and whatever major you get, just make sure you maintain as high a GPA as possible.

There's also a UT thread around here where you can ask questions about this sort of thing...but they'd probably say the same thing I'm saying I assume.

P.S. I went to "junior college" and got into UVA, so don't concern yourself with pedigree. I'd even suggest going to a lower ranked school for UG so you can get out with less debt. It's all about the numbers with these places.

[habeas2210]

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[CMDantes]

I am currently a senior in high school, but I've known since I was a freshman/sophomore that what I want to do is law. However I am contemplating where too go for my undergraduate. My goal is to go to UT Law School. I know that they are bias when they choose their applicants and do not favor those from their own school (interbreeding). So I have decided to not go there, however my second choice is to go to Texas A&M Univeristy. I already have 30 hours completed because I have been going to a community college while I've been in high school, but to simply put...would it affect my chances of getting into a prestigious law school, such as UT, if I went to a junior college for a semester, or a year?

This rumor that UT doesn't select from it's undergrad is completely false. If you look at the numbers the pre-law advisor at UT undergrad gives out, people coming from UT undergrad had a median of 165 last cycle. Those not from UT? 167. I can't remember the GPA difference but it was similar.

UT Law picks most of its students from its undergrad.

Also, A&M and College Station absolutely SUCK. Why would you choose to go there over UT Austin?