Next year I will be a senior in high school and I plan on dual enrolling in North florida community college. I love science, especially human biology and life science. I also enjoy English and history. what can I major in that will get me into a good law school?
2006-12-22 06:13:17 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Speaking strictly in terms of major and course selection (that is, disregarding extracurricular activities, employment, and LSAT score), what matters most of all for law school is your undergraduate grades.
I attend a top-10 law school (as ranked by U.S. News and World Report) and my fellow students come from every possible undergraduate major you could think of! From engineering to foreign languages, political science, music, and philosophy, you can get into a great law school with any major. The most important part is that you choose something about which you are passionate, as that will lead to the good grades that are absolutely vital in the law school admissions process.
Another important aspect of your undergraduate education, that you should begin to develop in high school and during your time in community college, is your analytical ability. Developing your ability to analyze problems completely, to be able to draw conclusions on EITHER side of a given situation, and to reach concise, logical conclusions entails taking classes that demand a lot of analysis and a lot of writing. You can start with English courses that involve a heavy writing component, and would be well-advised to take some philosophy (Philosophy of Logic is a great course that was offered at my college) and some science. It's really not that important (and in fact, some admissions offices look down on this if you've limited yourself to these courses) to take Government or Political Science. Law schools don't expect you to come in knowing the law, and to be honest, you're not going to learn the law outside of law school. That said, the Political Science major is a useful and interesting one, and you'll learn a lot of fascinating things about the way our system operates (I triple-majored in Poli Sci, English, and Middle Eastern Studies). If it's your only major, however, it will put you in the middle of the stack, in the "typical" range of applicants.
You said you enjoyed human biology and life science... How about a Bioethics major? Double-majoring Biology with Philosophy or Anthropology or Sociology? And while you're concurrently enrolled in high school and community college, you could take some college-level English courses, giving you a leg up on the rest of the incoming freshmen with regard to your writing ability, and you could also get some science credits out of the way.
A great way to stand out in the law school applicant pool is to have one (or several) internship(s) at a law firm or in government. That would give you the practical perspective of the law and the political process, and you can also get college credit for that.
Hope this helped!
2006-12-22 06:27:41 · answer #1 · answered by MaryAnne 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
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Well, if you are trying to save money by going to community college, you should probably go for General Studies and take as many courses that will transfer and apply to your final bachelor's degree. This means lots of talking with the counselor at the four year institution you want to attend. I work with attorneys and they first thing they told me is, "DO NOT GET A POLITICAL SCIENCE DEGREE!" It is truly worthless. It will not prepare you for law school and if you choose to not become a lawyer, it won't do much for you outside of law. Attorneys always suggest to me an undergraduate degree that will apply to the area of law you want to practice. My supervising attorney has his undergraduate degree in Engineering and is a construction litigation attorney. I know other attorneys that have sociology degrees and practice family law. See a pattern? What happens when you decide that law school isn't for you? At least you have a bachelor's degree to fall back on. You can't say that for a political science degree unless you plan on teaching history. Law school accepts ALL undergraduate degrees. Major in what makes you happy. Just know that law school requires a lot of writing and comprehension. Many attorneys told me they should have gotten an English degree to help them with their legal briefs. By the way, your path for paralegals...you don't need a bachelor's degree. I have an associate's degree in paralegal studies and I was very employable.
2016-04-09 07:00:49 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
pretty much anything. as long as you take some pre-reqs for law school, they are not necessarily looking for a specific major. Poli Sci majors applying to law school are not exactly rare, more like a dime a dozen.
Do some General Education reqs at a cc, talk to counselors at whichever 4 year you want to transfer to and just go from there.
Take classes that are interesting, with good teachers and that you think you will do well in.
Don't worry there is plenty of time. ;)
2006-12-22 06:18:36 · answer #3 · answered by sbcalif 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A double major in English and History is a good start. I am not sure if a community college education is good enough for law school. (no offense intended.) If your heart is set on CC then why not take your generals there and spring board into a good college for a pre-law degree?
2006-12-22 06:18:17 · answer #4 · answered by jake_deyo 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you qualify, you can skip community college. My brother majored in Political Science. You could also major in Rhetorical Studies, Speech and Communications, or anything involving writing and analysis.
2016-03-29 03:54:23 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You want to have a major that you can fall back on just in case you can't get through law school. (no offense, it is very hard and very easy to get kicked out of) But you should not major in political science either there is not much that you can do with that degree. I would suggest you get your bachelors in some type of business like business management or finance. Start your associates with paralegal that way you can see if you want to pursue a carrer as a lawyer.
Best of luck to you!!!!
2006-12-22 06:20:29 · answer #6 · answered by Melissa 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm a lawyer.
What you have taken in college has no effect on law or your admission to law school.
If you like the sciences, go for it, as IP lawyers are in high demand and they generally require knowledge of the hard sciences.
Otherwise, take what you are interested in and good luck to you!
2006-12-22 06:17:27 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
From my underatanding Law School are looking for students who majored in science type disciplines. If science is your interest go for that.
2006-12-22 06:18:11 · answer #8 · answered by tchem75 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Interested in this
2016-07-28 06:55:10 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
poli-sci, public administration, pre-law
2006-12-22 06:16:31 · answer #10 · answered by curious_One 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋