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I want to go to Boston University law school. If I get a political science degree from BU, will that help my chances of getting into their law school? Or will it even make a difference.

Doesn't matter what school you went to or what your degree is in. All that matters is getting a good GPA and then doing well on the LSAT (and this coming from a fellow BU undergrad who ended up at BU law)

Going to BU for undergrad might give you some small boost. They won't be impressed by your decision to major in Political Science though. Honestly you should just focus on keeping your GPA up and giving yourself plenty of time to prep for the LSAT.

redsoxfan2495 wrote:Going to BU for undergrad might give you some small boost. They won't be impressed by your decision to major in Political Science though. Honestly you should just focus on keeping your GPA up and giving yourself plenty of time to prep for the LSAT.

Are you saying that I shouldn't major in political science or that it just doesn't make a difference, since so many other students choose the same major?

How old are you?

jeremyxx45 wrote:

redsoxfan2495 wrote:Going to BU for undergrad might give you some small boost. They won't be impressed by your decision to major in Political Science though. Honestly you should just focus on keeping your GPA up and giving yourself plenty of time to prep for the LSAT.

Are you saying that I shouldn't major in political science or that it just doesn't make a difference, since so many other students choose the same major?

Nah political science is a fine thing to major in. Major doesn't really make much of a difference at all though. Just pick something you enjoy and will be happy studying for 4 years. I know people in my school who majored in theater, music, hotel management, ecology, etc. Has no real effect.

jeremyxx45 wrote:

redsoxfan2495 wrote:Going to BU for undergrad might give you some small boost. They won't be impressed by your decision to major in Political Science though. Honestly you should just focus on keeping your GPA up and giving yourself plenty of time to prep for the LSAT.

Are you saying that I shouldn't major in political science or that it just doesn't make a difference, since so many other students choose the same major?

I wouldn't change my major just because doing so might impress a law school down the line. PSC won't hurt you, but since it's such a common major and because it's perceived as an easy major it won't give you a boost either. When it comes time to apply your GPA will be far more important than what you majored in.

I'm a senior about to graduate BU and I've heard that BU law actually disadvantages their own undergrads. I know multiple people who got into Cornell, Georgetown etc who did not get into BU.

At the same time, the majority of BU kids applying to law school are under-qualified for BU law (I think the average gpa on the lsda report from BU is around 3.1) so it might just be some bitterness coming out after the fact.

Lastly, PoliSci at BU is nothing to write home about, so I don't think it'd give a particular advantage. Pretty neutral.

What I would recommend doing, is taking some of the cross-listed law-school classes in the philosophy dept. Show that you can keep up in a law-school class at the university. If you do exceptionally well, you can even get a letter of rec from the professor, which will hold more weight than the average lor. Though it won't make up for a below-par lsat or gpa, so focus on those.

Start your personal statement now. Mention the adversity you faced growing up in NYC as a Red Sox fan. Profit.

rrcipolla wrote:I'm a senior about to graduate BU and I've heard that BU law actually disadvantages their own undergrads. I know multiple people who got into Cornell, Georgetown etc who did not get into BU.

At the same time, the majority of BU kids applying to law school are under-qualified for BU law (I think the average gpa on the lsda report from BU is around 3.1) so it might just be some bitterness coming out after the fact.

Lastly, PoliSci at BU is nothing to write home about, so I don't think it'd give a particular advantage. Pretty neutral.

What I would recommend doing, is taking some of the cross-listed law-school classes in the philosophy dept. Show that you can keep up in a law-school class at the university. If you do exceptionally well, you can even get a letter of rec from the professor, which will hold more weight than the average lor. Though it won't make up for a below-par lsat or gpa, so focus on those.

These two points seem to contradict each other.

Well, the people I know who got into those schools might have been aberrations. And the general feeling that BU law doesn't take its own undergraduates, being very unspecific and unsubstantiated by numbers might be the result of bitter rejected kids. I was giving my own anecdotal evidence, and a possible alternative reason why it may not actually be the case.

rrcipolla wrote:I'm a senior about to graduate BU and I've heard that BU law actually disadvantages their own undergrads. I know multiple people who got into Cornell, Georgetown etc who did not get into BU.

At the same time, the majority of BU kids applying to law school are under-qualified for BU law (I think the average gpa on the lsda report from BU is around 3.1) so it might just be some bitterness coming out after the fact.

Lastly, PoliSci at BU is nothing to write home about, so I don't think it'd give a particular advantage. Pretty neutral.

What I would recommend doing, is taking some of the cross-listed law-school classes in the philosophy dept. Show that you can keep up in a law-school class at the university. If you do exceptionally well, you can even get a letter of rec from the professor, which will hold more weight than the average lor. Though it won't make up for a below-par lsat or gpa, so focus on those.

Solid advice.

rrcipolla wrote:Well, the people I know who got into those schools might have been aberrations. And the general feeling that BU law doesn't take its own undergraduates, being very unspecific and unsubstantiated by numbers might be the result of bitter rejected kids. I was giving my own anecdotal evidence, and a possible alternative reason why it may not actually be the case.

People claim the same thing about UMN. I would guess many people don't realize how competetive law school admissions really is.

Realistically, your chances of getting in aren't great -- but they aren't zero either. Everyone should apply to at least one school that is a reach. If you really want BU -- make sure that your essay really is amazing (let some well educated people who m you trust look at it).

Princeton Review has a lot of statistics about admitted students at a large number of universities. You can compare your states to the ones they have posted.

The average GPA at Boston University is 3.46. Your SAT scores are almost exactly at the 25th percentile of admitted applicants.

You need a backup plan. You should be able to get into some decent universities. Princeton Review also has a tool where you tell it about your background and interests and it spits out a number of schools that are good fits for you.