Top Law Schools

Hi all,

I want to go to a top law school and will do whatever it takes. If you're wondering if I've considered why, the answer is yes, and I'd be happy to talk to you privately about it.

The reason I'm on the boards is that I'm looking for your long-term guidance in the application process. Right now I'm a freshman in my second semester at Rice, and for the next three years, I'll document my application process here by posting updates and such. So, to start: I'm male and white.

Clearly I've got some work to do, though. I don't have any LSAT scores yet, and my cumulative GPA so far is good, but it's just one semester's worth of grades. But that's why I think this should be interesting. I want to see if I can get into a top law school by following your advice and guidance.

The first thing I want to ask is about my major. I'm thinking about philosophy or philosophy and history (double major). I don't know if I could maintain a 4.0 doing both, which is why I'm leaning towards just philosophy. Another benefit to single-majoring is that I can probably have more time to dedicate to studying for the LSAT since I won't have to load up on history courses. Some questions: are there any benefits to double majoring in the eyes of law school admission officers? If so, what would you recommend I combine with philosophy?

Second thing is graduating early. I think it's possible that I can graduate in 3 years if I major in philosophy. Any thoughts on this? Is it looked down/up upon? Reasons not to?

That's all for now. Thanks in advance, and I hope to continue this going forward!

there is no benefit in terms of major choice that outweighs a 4.0. do whatever it takes, then crush the lsat, then enjoy yale. make sure you do interesting stuff in the summers, like circumcising filipino children.

Enjoy college. Get laid. Who knows if you will even want to go to law school in three years?

Major in engineering.

You'll get a lower gpa, and get hired at a biglaw firm to do IP work your 1L year all the same.

Join the military.
Get a slight admissions boost and get the GI Bill so you can ignore money worries for the most part.

Army2Law wrote:Join the military.
Get a slight admissions boost and get the GI Bill so you can ignore money worries for the most part.

i'm rarely serious on these forums but please don't do this.

Serious comment,

I graduated in three years and I have no regrets. Thus far, even at 21, there have been no social/career problems because of my young age. I had some scholarships, but did pay some money for undergrad, graduating in 3 years saved me roughly 10k$ which is why I did it. I would encourage it if you are in a similar situation and you can do so without impairing your grades. Don't double major, it is stupid.

Not sure if real yet. Certain elements of post suggest it's an alt. Tagging for future determination.

Single major in something you're confident you can maintain a 4.0 in that isn't vocational (adcomms hate majors like Criminal Justice).

Then, win a nobel prize, find a cure for AIDS, save the planet from an alien invasion, and score a 180 on the LSAT.

But in all honesty focus on maintaining perfect grades the next few years. Take a minimum possible course load and choose your professors catefully. Nab an A+ and keep going back for more from the same prof if possible. I got 6 A+s from two different professors (3 each) because I figured out their system and they taught multiple courses. This will provide you a safety net from Bs (3 A+s brings a B back to a 4.0) One of the profs wrote one of my LORs

Alright, I'll play. Grade-wise, do whatever you can get the highest LSDAS GPA in. A double major will not make up for even a tenth of a GPA point. That means, get as many A+'s as possible. Until your third year, just keep up your GPA and have some fun. If you want to go to law school straight out of UG, then take the June LSAT during your third year and prep your application throughout the summer and apply early. Make sure that you leave enough time to prepare for the LSAT. For many people, taking a course is not enough. If you aren't applying out of UG, there's not nearly as much of a rush. Do extracurriculars you enjoy and start to gather up some experience during the summers.

No matter what your numbers are, Yale and Stanford are unpredictable. 4.0/174+ will likely get you in everywhere else, and potentially Y/S as well.

However, to echo others' sentiments, you may very well change your mind, and even if you don't you might wish that you had.

Get as much face time with the police as possible. Steal cars, tag mail boxes, etc. Law schools like applicants who have hands on experience with the legal system.

Ok, ok. Shameless joke.

In my experience, the more outside experience you can bring to your application the better. I've often been told that the most useless thing in the world is a college grad with no work experience. Take summer employment very seriously. Intern on the Hill if you can, work for nonprofits, etc. Not only does this outside experience impress adcomms, but you'll Get to Know Yourself better. When you know yourself well, you can craft a compelling narrative throughout your admissions material and that is quite important.

Annnnnything?

1) Do whatever it takes to get a high GPA. Drop the double major like a bad habit. Do NOT graduate in less than 4 years, the fewer classes a semester, the easier it is to keep a 4.0

2) Take a semester off from college senior year. Do nothing but study but the LSAT. If your school will let you take 1 class or something, that's fine. Get private tutoring. Do every real LSAT problem that has ever been released. Take the LSAT.

3) Take 2 years off before law school and do something cool like TFA.

4) Apply

5) ???

6) Profit!!!

A warning to the wise. This is burning your ships on the shores of Asia. It will make you the perfect law school applicant but leave few backup options. How sure are you? If you are confident enough to follow this plan, you are my kind of guy or girl - the legal profession has too few people like you.

Major in Engineering, at least you'll have options if you decide not to do law school (and since you're a freshman, odds are you'll change your mind).

Veyron wrote:Annnnnything?

1) Do whatever it takes to get a high GPA. Drop the double major like a bad habit.

2) Take a semester off from college senior year. Do nothing but study but the LSAT. If your school will let you take 1 class or something, that's fine. Get private tutoring. Do every real LSAT problem that has ever been released. Take the LSAT.

3) Take 2 years off before law school and do something cool like TFA.

4) Apply

5) ???

6) Profit!!!

there's no profit in law school outside top 5% at yale

.

If you truly wish to be a "perfect applicant," aside from acing the LSAT and maintaining a stellar GPA, major in engineering or in a hard science. Also, build your softs: this is very important for top schools (especially HYS). Do interesting/meaningful things, gain leadership positions, and engage in diverse activities and jobs/internships. Take multiple classes with the same professors (and kiss some ass) to get stellar LORs. Be able to hold your alcohol, and don't act like a dumbass/felon in the presence of authority figures.

And that's about all you can do, assuming you're applying straight out of undergrad.

Edit: Could also help to take upper-level electives in English and Philosophy (or other liberal arts-type classes) to demonstrate a diversity in knowledge and skill-set.

beachbum wrote:If you truly wish to be a "perfect applicant," aside from acing the LSAT and maintaining a stellar GPA, major in engineering or in a hard science. Also, build your softs: this is very important for top schools (especially HYS). Do interesting/meaningful things, gain leadership positions, and engage in diverse activities and jobs/internships. Take multiple classes with the same professors (and kiss some ass) to get stellar LORs. Be able to hold your alcohol, and don't act like a dumbass/felon in the presence of authority figures.

And that's about all you can do, assuming you're applying straight out of undergrad.

Majoring in hard science, though great for employablity, seriously fucks with your GPA. Is a 4.0 in hard science better than a 4.0 in Philosophy. . . sure. Is a 3.8 in hard science better than a 4.0 in Philosophy, hells no.

Veyron wrote:

beachbum wrote:If you truly wish to be a "perfect applicant," aside from acing the LSAT and maintaining a stellar GPA, major in engineering or in a hard science. Also, build your softs: this is very important for top schools (especially HYS). Do interesting/meaningful things, gain leadership positions, and engage in diverse activities and jobs/internships. Take multiple classes with the same professors (and kiss some ass) to get stellar LORs. Be able to hold your alcohol, and don't act like a dumbass/felon in the presence of authority figures.

And that's about all you can do, assuming you're applying straight out of undergrad.

Majoring in hard science, though great for employablity, seriously fucks with your GPA. Is a 4.0 in hard science better than a 4.0 in Philosophy. . . sure. Is a 3.8 in hard science better than a 4.0 in Philosophy, hells no.

Agreed, but if dude wants to be perfect, dude needs to man-up and pull the perfect GPA in a tough (patent-eligible) major.

lol @ 3.8 in engineering

beachbum wrote:

Veyron wrote:

beachbum wrote:If you truly wish to be a "perfect applicant," aside from acing the LSAT and maintaining a stellar GPA, major in engineering or in a hard science. Also, build your softs: this is very important for top schools (especially HYS). Do interesting/meaningful things, gain leadership positions, and engage in diverse activities and jobs/internships. Take multiple classes with the same professors (and kiss some ass) to get stellar LORs. Be able to hold your alcohol, and don't act like a dumbass/felon in the presence of authority figures.

And that's about all you can do, assuming you're applying straight out of undergrad.

Majoring in hard science, though great for employablity, seriously fucks with your GPA. Is a 4.0 in hard science better than a 4.0 in Philosophy. . . sure. Is a 3.8 in hard science better than a 4.0 in Philosophy, hells no.

Agreed, but if dude wants to be perfect, dude needs to man-up and pull the perfect GPA in a tough (patent-eligible) major.

Ok, fuck perfect, OP should settle for "highest" [sic] chance of getting one of HYS.

Get a 4.33 triple majoring in finance, electrical engineering, and Chinese. Get a 180 on the LSAT your first try. Get a Rhodes scholarship. Get a PhD in one of the above. Work at some job requiring all three of your undergrad majors.

If you can do that, not only will you be the perfect law school applicant, you'll be the perfect law job applicant, provided you get top grades at Yale.

Veyron wrote:

beachbum wrote:

Veyron wrote:

beachbum wrote:If you truly wish to be a "perfect applicant," aside from acing the LSAT and maintaining a stellar GPA, major in engineering or in a hard science. Also, build your softs: this is very important for top schools (especially HYS). Do interesting/meaningful things, gain leadership positions, and engage in diverse activities and jobs/internships. Take multiple classes with the same professors (and kiss some ass) to get stellar LORs. Be able to hold your alcohol, and don't act like a dumbass/felon in the presence of authority figures.

And that's about all you can do, assuming you're applying straight out of undergrad.

Majoring in hard science, though great for employablity, seriously fucks with your GPA. Is a 4.0 in hard science better than a 4.0 in Philosophy. . . sure. Is a 3.8 in hard science better than a 4.0 in Philosophy, hells no.

Agreed, but if dude wants to be perfect, dude needs to man-up and pull the perfect GPA in a tough (patent-eligible) major.

Ok, fuck perfect, OP should settle for "highest" [sic] chance of getting one of HYS.

Haha, fair enough. I'd still probably err on the side of employable majors (Accounting? Finance?); a lot can happen in 3 years.

There is no way that studying the LSAT for 3 years is beneficial. You'll run out of practice tests in 3 months (which is how long you should be studying for unless you're a total retard).

beachbum wrote:
Haha, fair enough. I'd still probably err on the side of employable majors (Accounting? Finance?); a lot can happen in 3 years.

+1. I'm fairly certain at least half of law school applicants are applying because theyve realized how useless a liberal arts degree is (or maybe its just me).

Stop being a fucking moron and get drunk; I'm drunk. lol @ you.