Brown Boy Goes to Law School

I hope that if you’re to the point where you’re reading law school blogs, you already know that you can major in anything and go to law school. Whether its business, dance, political science, philosophy, computer engineering, zoology, or kinesiology…there is no major requirement or even any course requirements (like Med Schools, which require chemistry, biology and physics courses).

Now for the important question: Will one major over the other give me an advantage during admissions?

The answer isn’t straightforward, but here are some things to consider. There certainly seems to be a trend nowadays of law schools diversifying their incoming classes…not in terms of race, but majors. A law school has an instant heightened curiosity when it sees a kid with an Engineering degree or a Science degree or a Business degree or whatever, versus a traditional run-of-the-mill Poly Sci degree or Philosophy degree. They like to see this. A 3.5 Economics guy may very well have a SLIGHT advantage over a 3.5 Poly Sci guy. But the advantage is marginal. Its very small. It goes without saying that you should never in a million years major in Economics for the sake of impressing a law school. That’s stupid. Because what’s a billion times more important is your gpa…period.

You need to major in something you are interested in. Something you have a passion for, and hence, can perform well in.

Also, on double majors…. It can help, but again, only marginally. I will give this advice from personal experience: if you think you can add another major or degree without compromising your gpa….go for it. If you have any doubt as to whether you can maintain the same gpa with that second major…don’t do it. If you, a Poly Sci guy, can maintain a 3.5+ even by adding a second Economics degree….go for it. If you can’t, you might not want to double major.

Are you curious which majors lead to the highest scores on the LSAT? Check out this link.