Advice for an undergrad freshman? Forum

[Johnsmith21]

This coming fall I will be a freshman undergrad at a middle teir university, majoring in economics. It is my dream to attend a top 14 law school after graduation. I would live to hear some comments about how realistic my goal is, what achieving my goal will entail, and any advice from others who are more knowledgable and further along in the process than I am. I realize that it might seem premature to be thinking about but it seems to me that the world of law school admissions is somewhat different to undergrad admissions, and I would be very gratefully if you all could offer me advise on how I can start early and put myself in the most advantageous position in terms of law schools admissions. Thanks!

[bombaysippin]

Ask yourself why you want to go to law school.

Read other threads. Get a high gpa, take the lsat. Then come back.

[gaud]

Enjoy your time in undergrad and take classes that will give you a high GPA. Get some work experience in and out of law to see if it's what you really want.

[ph14]

This coming fall I will be a freshman undergrad at a middle teir university, majoring in economics. It is my dream to attend a top 14 law school after graduation. I would live to hear some comments about how realistic my goal is, what achieving my goal will entail, and any advice from others who are more knowledgable and further along in the process than I am. I realize that it might seem premature to be thinking about but it seems to me that the world of law school admissions is somewhat different to undergrad admissions, and I would be very gratefully if you all could offer me advise on how I can start early and put myself in the most advantageous position in terms of law schools admissions. Thanks!

It's great that you're starting to think about how to position yourself already. The best thing you can do right now is keep your grades up. GPA is huge for law school admissions. Some people have trouble adjusting to college, especially during their freshman year, and get crappy grades that haunt them 4+ years later when they are applying to law school. This may happen for a wide variety of reasons: they were unprepared for the difficulty of college classes, procrastinated too much, partied too much, or just didn't care. The important takeaway for you is don't let that happen to you. Have fun, enjoy college; for many people it is the best 4 or 5 years of their life. But it is entirely possible to have a great and fun 4 years and end up with a high GPA and be well-positioned to go to law school.

Your major is fine, a good pick even, as long as you are picking it because (1) you are interested in the subject matter, and (2) you believe that you can succeed in the major.

Think about it this way: a 4.0 in undergrad might net you a scholarship that, potentially and also dependent on your LSAT, could save you $200,000-$300,000 dollars in law school tuition.

Come back in here during your Sophomore year and start thinking about the LSAT if you are still interested in attending law school. Don't worry about the LSAT until then.

[Typhoon24]

Research the legal market and law school casually. Read articles/employment data/etc... nothing too serious, just a couple articles here and there to keep yourself informed.


right now, scoring and maintaining a GPA as close to 4.0 (or 4.33) as possible should be given primacy.

[Nomo]

Biggest thing you can do is get the best grades possible. I didn't know I was going to law school as an undergrad, and had no idea that having a 3.9 or 4.0 would give me better options than a 3.7. So I didn't worry about getting an occasional B in a class that didn't interest me. This turned out to be a mistake.

Obviously you need a major you can enjoy and do well in. But, beyond that there are some that could help lead you to success when you're looking for legal jobs. Economics is great for anti-trust. Accounting is great for tax or bankruptcy. Finance is good for a lot of corporate work. Chemistry and Computer Science, etc. are necessary for IP. Geology is great for oil and gas law. Biology is great for enviornmental law. English, philosophy, and art history are fun; but they won't give you a leg up on the job market.

[Balthy]

What everyone else said + learn to use the search function.

[TLSanders]

It's great that you're thinking about this early. You won't find yourself, three years from now, trying to explain away mediocre freshman and maybe even sophomore grades like so many prospective law students who (by their own admission) "just didn't take it seriously enough" in the beginning.

The answer to your question is pretty simple. There's nothing magical; just work hard, get good grades, don't get into trouble and get involved in something. A lot of college students try to build their resumes with a million different activities, but that's not necessary and can be counterproductive. Getting involved in one or two organizations that you're truly invested in and growing with them carries more weight than being a nominal member of 15 different groups.

As far as academic preparation, your major doesn't really matter all that much, but there are a few classes you should make sure to include.

-logic and/or critical reasoning; it's a skill sadly lacking among the general public today, and one that will be critical for the LSAT, law school and legal practice

-become a good writer; law firms care about this, and law schools would rather admit good writers than teach you to write

-take a couple of substantive law classes where you read case law (not textbook summaries); the most significant thing you can do to boost your first semester law school GPA (which matters a lot more than you might expect) is to walk in the door knowing how to read case law.

[Johnsmith21]

Excellent advice, thank you everybody.