he is a high school senior- wants to be a criminal attorney- what are the best majors to help prepare for law school later?
2007-01-13 03:08:28 · 8 answers · asked by ness 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Higher Education (University +)
I went to a first tier law school. I happened to talk to the admissions people and our school and they debunked a lot of myths people had about what majors to take for law school.
The short answer is to take whatever interests you. If you like it, you'll likely do better at it. Grades and LSAT matter the most in terms of admission.
Law schools don't have any course requirements. Any major will do. So, picking a major to try and impress the admissions committee is useless. They just don't care.
Now, you hear poly sci thrown out a lot. That's actually a bad choice to pick unless you truly want to learn about that subject. Traditionally, a lot of students did have that major. However, law schools know that it's an easy major and they get a ton of applicants with them. That's bad b/c they know the GPA doesn't mean as much as someone who got the same GPA in a hard major (like engineering).
Philosophy is tossed out a lot as well. It's not necessarily a good major to choose either for similar reasons. Some schools actually have it as a hard major, but there are many where it's easy. If you like it, great. But, it's usefulness in law school is pretty limited.
Psychology falls under the pathetically easy and common major as well. It's got the most usefulness out of the three mentioned above, but it's still has extremely limited usefulness.
I took criminology. I found out that criminal justice, criminology, etc.; all those courses are looked down upon like Poly Sci. Law schools hate them because they feel they often have to untrain these kids. They come in thinking they "know the law" already. Untraining is harder than training a blank mind. If you want to do criminal law, it may help b/c you may learn about some of the practical components in criminal law, but all that theory stuff doesn't come into use much.
If you really have no clue, English is a good major. Lawyers write a lot. However, recognize that it's difficult. GPA is still the most important. Law schools know that it's difficult, but they're still going to look at GPA first so if you think you might get a 3.0 in English but can get a 4.0 in a major like Psychology, you may want to be a Psych major.
2007-01-13 03:30:55 · answer #1 · answered by Linkin 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Law schools look for those who have undergrad majors in all fields, but those that require heavy reading, writing, and analytical thinking are preferred. Majors such as English, Philosophy, Psychology, and History will cover these areas.
2007-01-13 11:13:21 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I plan to go to law school, and they say criminology s a good major to go into law school, as criminal justice and political science. I'm currently majoring in criminology
2007-01-13 11:12:35 · answer #3 · answered by Slim 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Believe it or not, philosophy and psychology. Those two majors will allow you to understand how different people think and feel as well as allow you to see into the criminal mind. What one person feels is ethical may be different from another based on their religious philosophies, etc.
2007-01-13 11:12:20 · answer #4 · answered by Angelwings 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
political science and history are good majors for pre-law students. if your college also offers forensics or criminology those would also be good majors. also, you don't necessarily need to major in something that relates to law. as long as you have the pre-law course work, you should be fine. I have many friends who majored in economics, business, and international studies that went to law school. good luck!
2007-01-13 11:17:25 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The study of history will provide you with necessary research skills and the writing of history will provide you with vital communication skills.
2007-01-13 14:10:00 · answer #6 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the best way to find out stuff about lawers is to visit this site,
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos053.htm
http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco20052.htm (about the 7-8 one down)
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos272.htm
those are just some jobs of law practitces,
to search for other jobs, use this index it helps alot,
http://www.bls.gov/search/ooh.asp?ct=OOH
hopes it helps!
2007-01-13 11:19:00 · answer #7 · answered by Britanie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
psych is always good, spanish could also be helpful in criminal if he has any interest in that
2007-01-13 11:12:28 · answer #8 · answered by kELY 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋