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Hi everyone -

I am currently a sophomore majoring in accounting/finance. Though I've always loved business, recently law school has been very appealing to me. Am I going to be at a disadvantage as a business major versus a government major?

Also, if I plan on working for a year after undergrad before starting law school, would I apply in my senior year and then defer acceptance or would I apply a year later?

Thanks!

anon00 wrote:Hi everyone -

I am currently a sophomore majoring in accounting/finance. Though I've always loved business, recently law school has been very appealing to me. Am I going to be at a disadvantage as a business major versus a government major?

Also, if I plan on working for a year after undergrad before starting law school, would I apply in my senior year and then defer acceptance or would I apply a year later?

Thanks!

Can you major in both accounting AND finance?

SaintClarence27 wrote:

anon00 wrote:Hi everyone -

I am currently a sophomore majoring in accounting/finance. Though I've always loved business, recently law school has been very appealing to me. Am I going to be at a disadvantage as a business major versus a government major?

Also, if I plan on working for a year after undergrad before starting law school, would I apply in my senior year and then defer acceptance or would I apply a year later?

Thanks!

Can you major in both accounting AND finance?

What? Can you major in history AND English?

Yes, that is a possibility but I'd rather choose either accounting or finance.

anon00 wrote:Hi everyone -

I am currently a sophomore majoring in accounting/finance. Though I've always loved business, recently law school has been very appealing to me. Am I going to be at a disadvantage as a business major versus a government major?

Also, if I plan on working for a year after undergrad before starting law school, would I apply in my senior year and then defer acceptance or would I apply a year later?

Thanks!

I majored in accounting, and no, it had no disadvantage in my application cycle.

I worked for a year before applying to law school, but this was more of wanting time to study for the LSAT. I would recommend working part-time if you can, and devote all the rest of your time studying for the LSAT. Do not apply as a senior, rather focus on your grades to get the GPA high as possible and study for the LSAT when you are done with school.

Good Luck!

anon00 wrote:Yes, that is a possibility but I'd rather choose either accounting or finance.

I did pick one but I don't see the problem with doing both. You just have one resume for one and another for the other. It's not like an employer is going to check your transcript, then punish you for doing both.

I guess I should clarify - not that it makes a difference in the answer, necessarily, but accounting and finance are very different majors. I wanted to know which one you were doing, or were you double majoring?

And, to answer the question:

1) Your major matters very little in applying to law schools. Don't worry about that.
2) Working a year is going to give you a better shot at getting into good schools - they value work experience. Wait a year and THEN apply. But it would also be a good idea to line up your academic letters of recommendation before you actually leave school.

Thanks everyone!! I am currently deciding between picking accounting or finance for my major... I just want to make sure I have a stable undergrad degree just in case I choose not to go to law school down the road!

Accounting is a profession. Finance is a major.

As you may be able to tell from that high and mighty view of accounting, it's what I did my undergraduate degree in. Accounting teaches you a valuable skill set and is a safe bet since the Big 4 are always hiring (at least from my UG).

Also, I'm not exactly sure why someone suggested graduating before studying for the LSAT. It's not like it's not doable during your junior/senior year.

TheBigMediocre wrote:Accounting is a profession. Finance is a major.

As you may be able to tell from that high and mighty view of accounting, it's what I did my undergraduate degree in. Accounting teaches you a valuable skill set and is a safe bet since the Big 4 are always hiring (at least from my UG).

Also, I'm not exactly sure why someone suggested graduating before studying for the LSAT. It's not like it's not doable during your junior/senior year.

My mom (accountant) does not speak highly of finance majors.

My other advice is to JACK YOUR GPA UP. Plus, +es and -es DO matter. Do anything you can for that extra bit. Get the professors to give you a bump!

TheBigMediocre wrote:Accounting is a profession. Finance is a major.

As you may be able to tell from that high and mighty view of accounting, it's what I did my undergraduate degree in. Accounting teaches you a valuable skill set and is a safe bet since the Big 4 are always hiring (at least from my UG).

Also, I'm not exactly sure why someone suggested graduating before studying for the LSAT. It's not like it's not doable during your junior/senior year.

I did not say it was not doable. I said it was in his best interest to fully concentrate on the LSAT and maximize his chances (assuming he will wait a year) which I think he said so. During my senior year, I was taking challenging accounting courses and doing that & studying for the LSAT is a daunting task and I would recommend to get all A's, take a year off and study for the LSAT.

I was an accounting and finance major. It makes no difference what you major in when applying to LS, and I think these majors offer a lot better opportunity to build the skills necessary to ace the LSAT and law school in general. At least better than a lot of what you call "government" majors. FWIW, I enjoyed finance a lot more, but I think accounting will test skills more analogous to those that you'll use in law school and in the practice of law—auditing is a lot of organizing and interpreting data, writing opinions, researching and applying rules and their obscure exceptions.

Also, as far as I know most schools only accept deferrals for a limited number of reasons, usually meaningful 1- or 2-year commitments like Teach for America, or something like military deployment. I don't think you could swing one for working. You would have to apply later. And I think it's for the best. You could devote more time to the LSAT, and the WE couldn't hurt your cycle.

I was a finance major and I thought I had a pretty good cycle considering how late I applied

law schools don't really give a crap what you majored in