Top Law Schools

Hey everyone,

So, I have been a huge fan of TLS for the past year or so. I just took my LSAT in June--scoring a 171. I owe a lot of thanks to the TLS community for all the different tips/tricks I have read on here over the past year. I never have created a post, but I have a question for the TLS community that the pre-law advisors at my university seem to be unable to answer. More specifically, they give the same generic answer--and I am wondering if anyone on here could shed some light on it from a more "no-nonsense" approach.

I am entering my 4th year of college, and I am double majoring in Classics and Criminology. My "main" major is Classics--I added Criminology as a second major in effort to not just take straight electives for 2 years while I wait to graduate. I love both subjects, but ancient history/Greek/Latin (Classics) is where my heart truly is. Criminology is super interesting, too--and not to harsh on my GPA, either.

However, I see that there is a strong general consensus that having a major in Criminology is deemed as "vocational" or "not a serious, respectable major" to highly ranked law schools. I fear that despite my LSAT score and other major in Classics, the fact I have a major in Criminology may work against me in the admissions process. I have heard both yes and no to this question--and both sides of the argument seemed plausible.

Can anyone give their perspective or impart any of their knowledge? Did I accidentally screw myself by picking an "easier" second major, or is it not going to make any difference?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Nobody gives a shit what your major is. Law schools care about your LSAT and GPA (and whether you're an URM). Almost everything else is fluff.

If anything, picking an "easier" major is the smart call because it should mean you'll get a higher GPA.

I've never seen a critique of criminology as an "easy major". The critiques I've seen are that statistically, criminology majors don't score as well on the LSAT (clearly, this wasn't an issue for you) and that they can sometimes come into school thinking that they already know things about the law that their professors are going to be teaching them.

You'll be fine. The only potential impact the double-major will have will be a barely-measurable good one.

Don't worry about that. Schools really don't care about your major, just your numbers. From what I see, your 171 puts you in a good place.

Capitol_Idea wrote:Nobody gives a shit what your major is. Law schools care about your LSAT and GPA (and whether you're an URM). Almost everything else is fluff.

If anything, picking an "easier" major is the smart call because it should mean you'll get a higher GPA.

Yep, I agree. Shoulda done this myself.

It seems weird when you're applying to law school and everyone tells you only your LSAT and GPA really matter. But it's true. Everyone has extracurriculars/work experience and the schools need a way to sort applicants. Unless you saved a small country from a plague or something- maybe mention that in your app