Which major?

[natedog]

I'd really like to become a lawyer. I'm applying to Reed College (#1 pick), Rice University, and a few UC schools, and I'm torn as to what major to select. I've been told that you can major in almost anything to get into law school, so I'm trying to make up my mind. I could go the usual political science route, but is there anything you can do with a political science major besides law school? Would it be a good idea to take a more marketable major, in case my law school plans fall through?

[garrettwc]

Why not take a major that would be most applicable to the type of law you want to practice. If you want to be a criminal defense attorney, why not major in criminal justice? If you are going to be a corporate type lawyer then business school.

[bratch]

I've heard engineers who go on to get law degrees are in pretty good shape.

[Norton]

I agree that you should maojor in something closely related to the type of law that you would want to practice.  If all you want to do is contractual law, then perhaps a business related degree is the ticket.....for instance.

If I were going into law I'd do copyright/intellectual property.....going to be a big area in the future and I only have music degrees.

[telewinz]

Business Administration...then if you change your mind about law school you still have something to offer an employer.

[...has left the building.]

Business Administration...then if you change your mind about law school you still have something to offer an employer.

+1 on Business, Finance, Accounting, Econ, etc. Say you do go to law school, then you have undergrad experience in business which makes it easier to specialize in real estate law, business law, corporate law, etc.

[El Tejon]

You're right about "any major".  My Corporate Tax Professor in L School was a Music Major in undergrad!

Depends on what you are looking to do with your JD.  Patent attorney, a BS in something like chemistry, engineering or biology would be great.  A solid business background (accounting especially, usually a notorious weak spot for attorneys) would be the most utilitarian.  

As for me, History/Political Science double major with certification in Eastern European Studies, my original plan did not work out (Navy did not need us as we won the Cold War) so I had to look for honest work--I'll let you know if I find it!:D

[SpookyPistolero]

I'd agree that a business/finance would be great. It will allow you practice that kind of law if you want, and if not you will have better knowledge of how to succesfully run a practice in the future, if so inclined.

[garrettwc]

If I were going into law I'd do copyright/intellectual property.....going to be a big area in the future

Very true. This may be the next boom trend. In fact one of the VPs at our corporate headquarters just left to start up a company just to do this.

[The Rabbi]

Spanish major, engineering minor or vice versa.

Whatever it is, some skill that sets you apart from the herd.

[Phantom Warrior]

My uncle had a degree in Civil Engineering before his company sent him to law school.  (He runs the company now).  He's the only person I know who's gone to law school.  I have a B.S. in Math and a B.S. in C.S. and I'm _planning_ to go, but I haven't applied yet.

[crt360]

By the time you finish law school, you'll have forgotten almost everything you learned as an undergrad.

A political science major is pretty versatile.  I had a lot of friends with them and they did everything from selling heavy equipment ($$) to working for congresspersons ($).  A bunch of them went to law school.  One is a corporate financial advisor in Manhattan.  A few are probably selling real estate or insurance somewhere.

I double-majored in Philosophy/Political Science before going to law school.  I was one of only two Philosophy students in my class at U.T. that went to law school (the other phil. majors thought we were back-stabbing, capitalist pigs).  I had been a business major my first two years, so I did take a lot of accounting, economics, statistics, bus. calc., etc., before switching over.  I personally wouldn't go the criminal justice route before going to law school.  You can learn all you want about criminal justice in law school, especially if your school has a clinic.  If I could do it all over again, I would seriously consider an engineering degree and patent law.  I'm still pretty happy with my choice of undergraduate study and would suggest that a good philosophy program is a very beneficial background for becoming a lawyer.

Some of the more successful young lawyers I know went to schools that weren't too hard, and majored in stuff that wasn't too hard so they would have a super high GPA.  I didn't know it at the time, but this really works.  At least it did when I was applying to law schools.  A 3.65 GPA in Elementary Education from Middle Western John Doe College beat a 3.1 GPA in Philosophy or Finance or Biology from U.T., Michigan, U.C.L.A., etc.  No weight is given to how hard your course of study is.  Basically, the only thing that counts is your GPA and your LSAT.  I don't think anyone even reads the other garbage they have you submit.  Same thing applies in law school.  If you want to interview with the top paying firms, you'd better be in the top 5% of your class.  I was not.  I do not make a lot of money practicing law.  Im still paying for my legal education and will be for a long time.

If you just sorta think you want to go to law school, or some relative recommended it and you figured it might be something to do, forget about going unless someone else is paying for it.  Find a good school (like Rice) and study what you want.  If you approach law as a profession that might require something to fall back on (and it might) you should not waste your time with it.

If youre passionate about becoming a lawyer (you named your dog Atticus, built the scales of justice in shop class, and mediate family discussion at the dinner table) then you should figure out how to make really good grades in something as an undergrad, kick ass on the LSAT, and get into a good law school.  Youll figure out what to do from there.

[bratch]

I have a little more advice but not totally Law related:

If you have any idea of a major you'd like declare it before entering college. I got over 40K in scholarships that were only for my major and wouldn't have been eligible if I hadn't declared.  Not all major have as good of scholarship support though.

Consider working for a couple years and going back on the company dime.  I graduate in May and don't think I could handle anymore school right now (might have something to do with knowing about grad).  I plan on working for 18 months or so then going back to school for an MBA at nights weekends. My company pays 100% up to $5250/yr (IRS limit before taxxing).  It may take a little longer but I'll get a free MBA.

[Capteddie]

I started out as an engineering major, end up in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.  Never use a thing I learned in engineering, use some of the stuff I learned in Psych. every day running a Offshore Supply Vessel (crew of 14).  Since psych is related to any field of human endeavor I imagine it would be as valuable to a Lawyer as it is to a Captain.