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What are the best undergraduate degrees to get into law school?

I am pursuing and undergraduate degree and want to know which degrees are best if I want to get into law school. #professor #law #lawyer

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Joseph’s Answer

I met people in law school from many different backgrounds and majors. I was a computer science major in college, so there is no specific major you really need for law school. Some majors such as political science, English or history might help better prepare you for the reading and writing you will do in law school, but I would pick a major in something you enjoy and then try to get the best possible grades and LSAT score. Good undergraduate grades will help you get into a good law school. Once you get to law school, your major will not really matter unless you want to specialize. For example, if you want to be a patent attorney, then I suggest picking a science undergraduate major, so you will be eligible to sit for the patent bar exam.


I hope this helps, but please note that I have been out of school since 2002, so I cannot speak about current trends.


If you want current data, this blog discusses the average LSAT score by major: http://magoosh.com/lsat/2016/average-lsat-scores-by-major/

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Lisa’s Answer

Hi Natalie - Joseph gave great advice. I double-majored in history and English before I went to law school. I did it because those were the courses that I enjoyed the most. I did a lot of reading and writing for my English and history classes that I'm sure was helpful. However, I had a lot of friends who majored in math, economics and computer science (like Joseph) and I thought they generally had better analytical skills than the people who majored in history, English and political science. :-) But we all got into the same law school, came out with the same degree, and went on to have very interesting and diverse careers.


As Joseph said, unless you are planning to practice a type of law that requires or significantly benefits from having particular undergraduate courses, you should pick a major that you find interesting and exciting. In general, it can be easier to work hard and excel at something you find interesting and exciting than something you don't enjoy. And, in general, your ability to earn top grades is often more important for purposes of gaining admission to law school than whether you chose to major in one discipline or another.


Good luck!


Lisa

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Richard’s Answer

I would choose a major that interests you! My wife is an attorney. She had students in her school from every major imaginable. If you love science, you could do that and then do medical malpractice. If you love accounting, you could become a tax attorney. Law schools don’t require a certain field of study. My wife chose history, and said that all the essay writing in college came in handy for writing in law school.
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Terri’s Answer

Your major is less important than the courses you take while you are an undergraduate. Law students have to read, write, and analyze, and you want courses that will help you develop those skills. Taking courses that cause you to write papers (especially if you have to research and analyze resources to do so) will help prepare you for what you will do in law school. It also helps to take a variety of types of courses. Being a lawyer (and a law student) requires you to see issues from a variety of viewpoints, and college is a perfect place to become exposed to a variety of perspectives.
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