Well. I just was telling my family about how I don’t know what to major in for law school. As soon as I hang up I got this notification. Wtf. Thank u for this
I am a pre-law philosophy major and I feel like it is definitely preparing me adequately for law school should I be able to get in and that I would be able to do well. Excellent video to make because a lot of people don’t know what to Major in, because we can major anything. Statistically, philosophy is most desired because philosophy majors and English majors tend to do well on the LSATs. I would encourage anyone who wants to go to law school to major in what you love so that you have something to fall back on should you change your mind in the future. With that said, I 1245% agree with everything you said in your video! Great work!
I majored in Political Sciences and I am in law school rn. I would say what I studied does help me with the constitutional law and of course the writing and analytical skills are essential. Also I recommend to study something for your undergraduate that could help you with getting a job. Studying a useless major just to get into LS is a risk... what if you decided not to go to LS... you should have a safety net to fall back on
@@jeromeyucot9968 Most people who study political science go on to work for government, international organizations and foreign service more generally. Not a bad major at all if you add some languages and a little understanding of economics or an area of concentration such as African or Middle East studies.
I half agree with you because for instance if you major in hard sciences such as biology, physics, or engineering it generally has a lower GPA which is a crucial ingredient in law school admissions, besides the LSAT of course.
Thank you for this video! I'm a high schooler hoping to pursue law and until now, I was lost as to which major I should study in my undergrad that would best prepare me for law. This was helpful ❤
Psychology is a good one, especially if you conduct a study or do a data analysis as an undergraduate. You have to do a lot of collecting information from former studies (like doing the same with previous cases as described in this video) and compile that evidence together in order to form your own original hypothesis. It's a very good skill to learn. There also is just a lot of paper writing as a psych student, and that is helpful.
100% agree. I always tell pre law students to major in their plan B career. Because it is not guaranteed that you will get into law school, and it is not guaranteed that you will end up liking law. Have a bachelor degree you would be willing to use in the case you do not practice law! CANT EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH!
Did your English major help you do better on the LSAT? What was your score if you don't mind me asking? And did you find the skills the degree taught you helped you in law school? I've heard some say it made the writing part harder due to rue difference in types of writing used in law.
I’m majoring in Music and minoring in pre-law/phil. I feel like as long as I am getting good grades and study hard for my LSAT I’m going to be successful! I’m excited for my future.
thanks for this video! big fan, current junior in undergrad (philosophy major). I’m wondering what you and your law school peers have done in terms of summer internships as undergraduates ? or what you all have done prior to law school besides getting advanced degrees (for those not interested in getting masters, etc. )? thanks!
As far as I know, people worked for the federal government, at law firms as support staff, as reporters, as teachers, on campaigns-though this is just a small sampling of what comes to mind.
Hi! Thank you for making videos that are so interesting and topical for people interested in the legal field. You always have very helpful and measured insight that is easy to apply and use in evaluating what I want to do. Also, a side note, your voice is super calming and really welcoming to the ears as is your choice in words!
I want to take pre-law in college however, a lawyer who is a family friend told me that he recommends that I don’t take it. What are your thoughts on that should I listen or do you think it won’t affect my chances of getting into law school
Pre-law is not a major and if it is, you should not take it. It is usually a track, but even then, the track is very "loose" as in there's no requirements like a "pre-med" track would entail. You can take a look at LSAC's report about which majors score X LSAT score on average in their report. You can literally major in anything you want. Most people major in either Political Science, English, or some other social science. You can take STEM too which might be a tiny boost on an application, but only if you can get good grades in it. Explore your options and find something you like, because, in the end, all that matters is your GPA and LSAT score.
Major in whatever your good at. E.g. I majored in history, because I had good grades in AP history. I would say look for other majors that give you marketable skills. I wouldn’t select any pre classes, and please choose a major you can get a 3.5 or above.
I agree with the other commentators. pre-law tends to be a really crappy degree if it is offered and does not tend to do great on the LSAT. Also does not offer a fall-back. Major in something you are interested in that emphasizes critical thinking and logical reasoning.
I agree with what the other commenters have said here! I don't know anything about the pre-law track you're thinking of specifically, but in general, it doesn't seem necessary to do pre-law to get into law school. And as others have mentioned, if you end up deciding you don't want to go to law school (a totally valid choice!) then another major will set you up better to explore other options.
Have you failed a course in undergrad? If yes, what did you do to bounce back from it? If not, what do you think aspiring law students should do to bounce back? Did you work in your undergrad while going to college full time? How did you balance? Did you have a social life?
Not many people think about this, but one of the most lucrative areas of law is Intellectual Property (copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets). Obviously patent law is probably the most lucrative subset practice area of IP law, but unless you want to be a litigator (and even if you do), you need to major in a STEM field as an undergrad in order to practice before the Patent & Trademark Office (go to the USPTO website and see what degrees that the U.S. government accepts as a prerequisite for taking the Patent Bar). As a bonus, if you have a BS degree in one of the accepted STEM fields, you can get a job as a patent examiner with the federal government with only a BS degree, and once you have worked at the USPTO for a couple of years, you are eligible to be reimbursed for your law school tuition IF you are working at the USPTO full time while currently attending law school part time (in the afternoon). It is difficult to work full time and go to school at the same time, but doable, and you get your law degree almost completely paid for (sorry, but no reimbursement if you get your law degree first, and then get a job with the federal government afterwards). And after you graduate, and you change your mind about working in IP law, well, I have known patent lawyers to transfer to the Department of Justice and practice some other area of law. The only catch is that in order to get your law degree paid for, you need to be working for the federal government before, during, and for a few years after law school. Working during the day while going to law school at night can be difficult, but if you survived getting an undergraduate degree in a STEM field, well, you are probably used to pulling long hours anyway, and compared to Engineering, I thought that Law School was way too easy (some people may disagree, but I thought that it was a piece of cake - unless, of course, you want to work your butt off and be in the top ten percent, which I did not care to do, as I already had a job and my class rank was not that important to me). Of course, you can take the patent bar exam and become a patent agent without a law degree; all that you need is a BS degree in a STEM field (or just work for the USPTO for four years, and automatically become eligible to become a patent agent without taking the patent bar exam). But I digress; you can search the Internet for “patent agent” and see if that line of work might interest you. Of course, if you don’t like patent law, you can always practice in other areas of IP law with any kind of undergraduate degree, once you bass the state bar law exam. And in some states (such as VA), you can take the state bar exam and become a practicing lawyer without ever going to law school. All that you need is a bachelor’s degree and a four year apprenticeship at a law firm (look up the “law reader’s program”). www.lawschoolbible.com/chapter-7-lawyer-apprenticeship-programs
I didn’t :/ math-based courses were always more challenging for me though! You’ll get through it-and remember it’s just a single class! Such a small thing in the broader scheme of your life and future accomplishments.
Is it beneficial to go into a specialty law program rather than a general program? For example, a biology major wanting to practice environmental law, should they look for good environmental law programs or go for any highly ranked program?
It's a tough question but in general I would say if the two programs are pretty far apart in ranking, go for the more highly ranked one. If they're close (i.e. you're choosing between the #12 and #13 ranked law schools, and #13 has a particularly strong environmental law specialty) then go for the specialty! You should also ask the advice of a lawyer who is in the field though, because getting jobs might be specialty-specific and I don't know much about that.
Do you have any videos about getting into law school? What was your journey like as far as applying? How many schools did you apply to? I see that you have a video about the LSATs, which I am going to watch here in a minute, but also, I am a type A person, as you mentioned in one of your other videos and I am getting ready to transfer to either Berkeley or UC Davis, and I am terrified, because I am typically a 4.0 student, I don’t expect that to change once I head off to a major university, but has your GPA or your personal best been impacted at all through Law School? Are you able to maintain it or does it become more difficult and challenging? Also, where did you get your Bachelors from?
Im a upcoming college freshman! Do you think it would be better to major in criminal justice with a minor in psychology or Vice Versa? I want to go to law school for criminal defense
Would you please send me your email? I am an international student admitted for a masters at the American University (decision deferred for Fall 2021) and I would like some academic advice regarding future law school plans.
Do you think at the age of 25 is that too old or older than the average first year law student? I’m switching majors so I’m basically starting over haha
Better not be lol. I'm planning to enter law school at age 24. Used to be a pharmD major now I'm a business major so me and you are sort of in the same boat.
I saw this recommendation on my page today. Can't believe it has been over a year since this video was posted. Hope you're doing well! Merry Christmas! Hope you could do a holiday season video :)
i just read and looked into some articles and forums about how law school and life after graduating is just not worth it because the job market is over-saturated leaving so many people with law degrees jobless and in $150K+ in debt working side jobs just trying to make it by because its just impossible to find any work... now knowing all of this i dont know what to do anymore. Im a junior undergrad and im basically done with my political science degree and now im finding out that going to law school and becoming a lawyer in america is a high risk-low return gig. its almost as if anything ive done so far as an undergrad going for a poli sci degree is worthless and just went out the window because still trying to become a lawyer will just lead me into a ton of debt that i wont be able to pay off and i dont have any other interest in other jobs i can get with a poli sci degree... im fucked
Thanks for the video! Did you have any peers who majored in the Classics? Im a classical studies major and Im interested going into law but there isn't much information out there since classics is more of a small faculty. Thanks :))
At first I thought you misspelled philosophy in a humorous way, then I was like: Wait who misspells their own major? So I looked it up and now I know a new word haha.
I took up a major in Diplomacy which tackles International Relations in-depth and it greatly helped me with vast readings regarding Public International Law and other readings as I prepare for Law School. This is a good advice and I hope more people would look more into their interest and competencies as students to see what fits them and if Law School really is for them. And by the way, I really just have to mention this: you look like BlackPinkʼs Jisoo. LOL
