Math majors who have pursued law school-opinion Forum

[qnuisance]

So I'm currently in my last semester of my undergraduate program and will be receiving my BS in Math/Statistics with ~3.25 gpa after this semester. I have been accepted into the graduate program at the same school to pursue my MS in Applied Math. I have researched some opinions already and have found that most people say that getting your Masters will not help too much in your law school application. However, my undergraduate career was very erratic(ex. Received all F's in one semester, all WU's in another, and have been on the deans list for not only the College of Science and Math but for College of Social and Behavioral Sciences as well). So like I said it's very erratic, and I also changed majors 3 times. I'm aware that most law schools want consistency during your undergrad so I will most likely have to write a gpa addendum. I'm a low-income Hispanic who is also a veteran, and I have had to deal with multiple mental health problems coming out of the military which as you might have guessed affected my ability to achieve my potential as a student. I'm hoping that by receiving my masters I will prove to law school admission boards that I not only have I been able to control my health problems but that I am able to complete an academically rigorous graduate program on top of it. Not saying that Law school is not as rigorous or as difficult as a graduate level math program because it's impossible to compare the two. But after explaining my situation, would this be right course to take? Given that I'm a math major I'm expecting (>158.9) on the LSAT(I'm taking the mean LSAT scores of math and physics majors.)

[AJordan]

If you are serious about attending law school the thing you most need to do is crush the LSAT. That will matter far more than a potential MS. If you want to be a mathematician get your masters in math. If you want to be a lawyer forget it and do what you need to do to crush the LSAT. Also, there is a veterans thread here where they/we can answer your questions with some experience with what you've been through. Great job on finishing your degree.

[mjb447]

I agree that, if you want to be a lawyer, your time would be better spend mastering the LSAT. Also note that the mean LSAT score isn't enough for many people's goals, and it's not what you should aim for anyway.

[Npret]

Note that the LSAT is a learnable test. You don't have any idea how much or how well any math or physics major prepared. Many of them may just have been taking the test to see how well they would do or they may have underestimated the verbal parts of the test.

A math masters degree won't benefit you so much as you might think. The school reports your undergrad GPA.

[BobBoblaw]

If it was a degree in some field that had more applicability to IP law, it might be worth doing, such as computer science or chemistry, but I'm not sure a math master's is going to have much pull among law schools or employers.

I agree, crush the LSAT. With that GPA, you would be aiming for at least 170 to get into a t14, I think.

[genericwit]

You have all the criteria to slide into law school easier than you should. The second you start ticking those URM boxes (Hispanic and a veteran?!) you have an easier time getting in. Schools don't care about how many times you change your major. They care about the final GPA (giving math and science people a break) and the trend. If your trend is good, you're good.

Your LSAT 'goal' is a joke though. The average LSAT score is slightly above the average of all LSAT test takers. You think everyone who goes into the LSAT goes in expecting to get the historical average? No. That's crazy, and you of all people should know that. You know that an average is not equivalent to the range. The range is 120-180. You aim for that upper end.

You can easily get into a T14 despite stretches of bad grades with a good LSAT. And I mean good, not great, because you're going to be cut tons of breaks as a URM vet math major.

I'd consult on your mental illness though. I'm not going to pry, but you want to make sure you've done nothing that would cause problems on a bar application.