Top Law Schools

I'm in the midst of finishing my undergraduate degree and have been giving significant consideration to a career in law lately which would necessitate switching majors I believe. At the moment I'm a secondary education major, but that was a sort of a default career choice as I'm a 33 year old single mom and the hours and lack of a commute appealed to me. However, I work part-time in a school setting and I've found it to be mundane and I would enjoy something that is actually stimulating. I'm fairly certain my sole interest in law is the criminal side. My dream job would be working as a DA.

Given the fact that I have a strong interest in criminal law would it be a horrible mistake to obtain a criminal justice undergrad degree? The program is offered at an affordable a university very close to my home and I'm quite certain I would be able to maintain a high GPA with little effort. My current GPA is near a 3.8. I'm not sure how I would do on the LSAT, I tend to do well on reading and writing portions of tests.

To be clear I have no top tier school or biglaw aspirations. I live in Salt Lake City. As far as a law schools go I am thinking of BYU, University of Utah or possibly public schools in New Jersey (Rutgers?). Will an undergrad degree in CJ prevent me from getting into those sort of schools (assuming I maintain a high GPA and get a decent LSAT score)? Also, I'm in the National Guard if that matters.

Thanks in advance for any advice and I apologize for likely using the wrong terminology!

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Thanks for responding.

I'm not necessarily tied to Utah. I have family in NJ and would consider living there permanently. I need to double check, but I believe that the NJ national guard will pay 100% of tuition at any public school. So I can transfer to NJ and have my law school paid for.

As far as my career goals go, will a regional school prevent me from working in the DA's office?

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With your very good GPA, military experience, and (depending on what particular subset) URM status you are starting from a position of extreme comfort in regards to admissions and possible scholarships. If you are able to score 170+ on the LSAT, you can essentially write your ticket to any regional school and potentially get serious scholarship considerations at T14 (possibly up to a full ride).

If you want to maximize your chances of working for the DA then T14 is going to be your best bet. You could realistically end up with a full-ride to a top school depending on your LSAT performance. I'm saying this because this isn't a position that many people are in, and with T14 and other T1 schools just beyond the geographic range of what you had already listed, I think it's something you might consider. NYU, Columbia, Penn, and Georgetown are all schools that would likely accept and offer significant scholarships to you depending on your LSAT score. These are the schools which give you the best opportunity to work wherever you want, and to stay in the legal profession for the long term. On the west coast you also might consider Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, or USC, but unfortunately there isn't really a "top tier" school in any of the mountain states.

More than anything, if you don't go to a T14 you need to go where you want to work and live. It's possible to change regions after law school, but it's needlessly difficult if you already know where you intend to practice. The mobility of the T14 negates that geographic limitation (grads can get work anywhere if they try), but they still have the most power in their home region.

3.8, veteran, URM? You're like a wet dream for admissions officers. Your major matters very little in the admissions process, and your other softs will more than make up for it anyway.

Work your ass off on the LSAT and enjoy tons of offers.

You would not need to switch majors to go to law school. Criminal justice is perceived as one of the weakest majors. While it may not matter at most schools, it could matter at the types of schools that could be possible for you if you get a high LSAT score.