Starting list for pre-law

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, if I wanted to maximise my chances of getting into a t14 school, I should find the easiest major in the easiest college that gives As to everyone? And spend a few months prepping for LSAT, right?

Within reason, yes, because the law schools report stats to USNWR-so the days of holistic review are over. But you must be no 1 your class.

Good. Sounds a lot more meritocratic than med school admissions for sure.

[Anonymous]

OP here. This has been fascinating. We have no lawyers in our family and very much appreciate all the advice. I shared this thread with my kid. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, if I wanted to maximise my chances of getting into a t14 school, I should find the easiest major in the easiest college that gives As to everyone? And spend a few months prepping for LSAT, right?

And getting excellent LSAT result.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a T-14 law professor and have served on our admissions committee. OP, major really does not matter. GPA and test scores matter.

Does anything other than GPA/LSAT matter? Like references, personal statements, ECs

Yes, there are things that matter for applicants on the bubble, but only those in the narrow "maybe" range. More than 90% get in on GPA and LSAT alone. On the bubble schools may care about things that show maturity or improved employment prospects. For example, having a PhD in the hard sciences, being a Rhodes Scholar, having done Peace Corps, having done Teach for America, having been a foster child, having overcome extreme personal adversity, etc. None of these are a substitute for a good GPA and LSAT, but can help if your scores are on the cusp.

Agree (I'm the law prof PP).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get the highest undergraduate GPA possible. Major is totally irrelevant. In fact, a Theatre major would stand out in a sea of polisci majors applying to law school

Supplement the high GPA with some kind of relevant interest that connects to law school. Like volunteer for a drama program that works with incarcerated people or with at-risk kids. Then write a personal statement about how this experience has been the inspiration for a career using the law to address societal iniquity

Get a 170+ on the LSAT

+1 don't worry about "pre-law" and study what DC is excited about and does well in

Going to a higher ranked college is a huge leg up as well, just in terms of the numbers of who is admitted to the same selective grad programs at those colleges

- HYS undergrad and law school grad here

HLS Class of 2024 has graduates of 171 colleges, many of which are "no name" schools. Yes, higher ranked schools are leg up, but you're overstating how much of a leg up they are.

https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/jdadmissions/apply-to-harvard-law-school/undergraduate-colleges/

Also some notable colleges NOT on the list - Wellesley, Smith, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Oberlin, Reed, Kenyon, Grinnell, Haverford, Claremont McKenna,

What about Jenny? And she was on Law Review! LOL

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-samuels-a93067127

Jenny isn't class of 2024, which is what the list was. Smaller schools will have fewer applicants on average, which means there will be some years they don't have any matriculating. That will be less likely for a larger school, all other things being equal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get the highest undergraduate GPA possible. Major is totally irrelevant. In fact, a Theatre major would stand out in a sea of polisci majors applying to law school

Supplement the high GPA with some kind of relevant interest that connects to law school. Like volunteer for a drama program that works with incarcerated people or with at-risk kids. Then write a personal statement about how this experience has been the inspiration for a career using the law to address societal iniquity

Get a 170+ on the LSAT

+1 don't worry about "pre-law" and study what DC is excited about and does well in

Going to a higher ranked college is a huge leg up as well, just in terms of the numbers of who is admitted to the same selective grad programs at those colleges

- HYS undergrad and law school grad here

HLS Class of 2024 has graduates of 171 colleges, many of which are "no name" schools. Yes, higher ranked schools are leg up, but you're overstating how much of a leg up they are.

https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/jdadmissions/apply-to-harvard-law-school/undergraduate-colleges/

Also some notable colleges NOT on the list - Wellesley, Smith, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Oberlin, Reed, Kenyon, Grinnell, Haverford, Claremont McKenna,

What about Jenny? And she was on Law Review! LOL

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-samuels-a93067127

Jenny isn't class of 2024, which is what the list was. Smaller schools will have fewer applicants on average, which means there will be some years they don't have any matriculating. That will be less likely for a larger school, all other things being equal.

This. I don’t know why this needs to be explained so many times.

[Anonymous]

So if major doesn't matter, are all GPAs deemed to be equivalent across majors? It's hard to believe that admissions committees in their right minds would consider a 3.9 in physics or computer science to be the same as a 3.9 in theater or sociology.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So if major doesn't matter, are all GPAs deemed to be equivalent across majors? It's hard to believe that admissions committees in their right minds would consider a 3.9 in physics or computer science to be the same as a 3.9 in theater or sociology.

They do. Sorry. That’s reality. They report that’s on admitted gpa and last and they select to be high

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, if I wanted to maximise my chances of getting into a t14 school, I should find the easiest major in the easiest college that gives As to everyone? And spend a few months prepping for LSAT, right?

Yes - this is the case absolutely. But good luck with getting straight As and super high LSAT - not as easy as you would think that's why the formula holds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So if major doesn't matter, are all GPAs deemed to be equivalent across majors? It's hard to believe that admissions committees in their right minds would consider a 3.9 in physics or computer science to be the same as a 3.9 in theater or sociology.

They do. Sorry. That’s reality. They report that’s on admitted gpa and last and they select to be high

Elle Woods

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So if major doesn't matter, are all GPAs deemed to be equivalent across majors? It's hard to believe that admissions committees in their right minds would consider a 3.9 in physics or computer science to be the same as a 3.9 in theater or sociology.

They do. Sorry. That’s reality. They report that’s on admitted gpa and last and they select to be high

Elle Woods

Indeed, while the movie is fiction, what made it so entertaining were the occasional nuggets of truth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get the highest undergraduate GPA possible. Major is totally irrelevant. In fact, a Theatre major would stand out in a sea of polisci majors applying to law school

Major is irrelevant to law school admissions, but it can help with recruitment. I graduated law school during the 2008 recession and those with a compelling story were more likely to get offers than those with an indecisive resume. You still needed a good law school GPA, but there were too many of those for everyone to get a job. It was a huge leg up to have a finance degree and to be going into securities law, a hard science or engineering degree to go into IP litigation, or an MPH to work in health law. Even the theater majors billed themselves as trial specialists. A generic English or Poly Sci degree was of absolutely no help.

If my kid wanted a law degree I'd encourage them to study and undergrad major that intersects with a legal area. There are lots of options.

This is good advice!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So if major doesn't matter, are all GPAs deemed to be equivalent across majors? It's hard to believe that admissions committees in their right minds would consider a 3.9 in physics or computer science to be the same as a 3.9 in theater or sociology.

Why is that hard to believe? A sociology major would be better prep for law school anyway IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-law-school
Best law school feeder schools.

This is very interesting. The top feeder list is roughly reflecting usnwr rankings with two exceptions, Yeshiva and Brandeis. What is special about these two t50+?

Feeders are NOT a thing. Correlation is not causation.

What are you talking about, what causation. Obviously if you go to these feeder schools they prepare you well for top law schools, so you have a better chance of being accepted.

This is simply untrue. They're not getting accepted out of these schools because they're considered exceptional in "preparing" students for law school -- they're getting in because they have good grades and high LSAT scores, and students who score high on the LSAT are likely to have scored high on the SATs, which these schools place a premium on in admissions.

This is so true. I’ll offer a sports analogy. North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, etc don’t get more of their players to the NBA because of better coaching or because they do a better job of preparing them for pro ball. They get more players to the NBA because they more successfully recruit high school All Americans to begin with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get the highest undergraduate GPA possible. Major is totally irrelevant. In fact, a Theatre major would stand out in a sea of polisci majors applying to law school

Major is irrelevant to law school admissions, but it can help with recruitment. I graduated law school during the 2008 recession and those with a compelling story were more likely to get offers than those with an indecisive resume. You still needed a good law school GPA, but there were too many of those for everyone to get a job. It was a huge leg up to have a finance degree and to be going into securities law, a hard science or engineering degree to go into IP litigation, or an MPH to work in health law. Even the theater majors billed themselves as trial specialists. A generic English or Poly Sci degree was of absolutely no help.

If my kid wanted a law degree I'd encourage them to study and undergrad major that intersects with a legal area. There are lots of options.

classmate got a master's in chem, then went to law school and ended up in pharmaceuticals/patent law.

Patent law is a bit of its own thing. Requires a science degree (real science, not Poly Sci).

I had a literature degree from a well-known but not exactly prestigious school. Grades were OK. Got into pretty much everywhere I applied on the back of a 179 LSAT. There is no real substitute for a high LSAT.

So, I'd recommend that your kid study what she'd like where she'd like to. Concentrate on doing her best, taking part in activities of interest and then prepping for the LSAT as though nothing else in the world exists in the run up to the test.

Not only that, but so many of the Patent Lawyers I know of graduate degrees in hard science (many PhDs) and a law degree. They are a very bright bunch.