Support us today and start preparing for your test without the intrusion of ads. The current legal system has evolve… Undergraduate Education The ABA does not recommend any undergraduate majors or group of courses to prepare for a legal education. Unsurprisingly, most law school attendees report having an undergraduate degree in political science. Just money for college.Apply Now. With a solid undergraduate-level foundation in history, you will have a deeper understanding about how the American legal system developed. English is one of the best degrees for law school because of the amount of reading that is … 2020 © Union Media LLC. There’s a reason why many successful politicians are lawyers—the link between law and political theory is very strong. Similar to our analysis of pre-med majors, our team studied the educational paths of more than 80,000 Earnest loan applicants to create a hypothetical typical class of 500 law students. Courses within this major include reading, writing, speaking, and learning about contracts, all skills that will provide a solid foundation for students ultimately seeking a law … Whether one major is “ History majors study the history of the U.S., including the evolution and development of its complex judicial system. , which recommends prospective law students take coursework in areas where they can gain experience in problem-solving, critical reading, writing, and editing, among other skills. English. Sounds bizarre, but is very true. The legal system in the United States has developed over a period of centuries, growing out of an established English legal system during the early colonizing years in the United States. In fact, almost one out of five law school applicants come from this major. There is no formula for getting into a top law school apart from studying hard and developing your mind to work in multifaceted ways. Taking the LSAT is an incredibly important event; it is the beginning o…, As you consider attending law school, one big decision you’ll have to …, Similar to Law School Reading , our team studied the educational paths of more than 80,000 Earnest loan applicants to create a hypothetical typical class of 500 law students. The most popular science and engineering pre-law majors are: While they might not fit into a larger bucket, many of these bachelor’s degrees utilize critical thinking skills needed as a lawyer. The top 5 popular arts majors for pre-law are: Political science; Other humanities; History and classics; English; Economics; Most Popular Pre-Law Science and Engineering Majors. syed13 79 replies 16 threads Junior Member. This path of study also allows for deep analysis of how the judicial precedents have impacted society. This is similar to how medical school students, for example, tend to come from science and engineering backgrounds more often than the humanities. Support us and begin preparing Ad-free for your tests with Union Test Prep. We hope you enjoy our newsletter. October 2010 edited November 2010 in Law School. A Psychology degree can be very helpful for prospective attorneys, since practicing law is as much about the people involved as it is about the law itself. 303 2nd St, Suite 401N, San Francisco, CA 94107, 515 S. Minnesota Ave Sioux Falls, SD 57104, Earnest loans are serviced by Earnest Operations LLC, One American Bank and Earnest LLC and its subsidiaries are not. How Much Should I Spend on Rent? Unlike students pursuing MBAs and MDs, science and engineering majors only made up a small portion of our typical law class at 5% of the total. Economics and business are also highly sought after undergraduate degrees for law school applicants. On the other side of the coin, data crunched by Derek T. Muller, an associate professor of law at Pepperdine University School of Law, showed just how well classics majors (with a high GPA) do on the road to law school. This course of study can help students understand our complex judicial system, foreign policy, landmark cases, and treaties—all of which are highly relevant for those who study law. There are no restrictions for which bachelor's degrees are acceptable for law school. This is where a political science degree shows its advantage in law school. For those who know early in their educational journey that they want to go to law school, it may be helpful to know the best undergraduate degrees that tend to most effectively prepare them for law school education. At Union Test Prep, we are a small team dedicated to bringing the best test-prep material to you, free of cost. Check with your school to see if they offer pre-law advisors and/or a pre-law … Ranked in 2020. Two other degrees that may be best suited for law school attendees are history and English. My graduating class in law school was top heavy with business majors … Use our calculators to aggregate multiple student loans or preview your potential savings from refinancing with Earnest. Using data from the Law School Admission Council, we looked at the top 10 most popular majors for law school based on the number of applicants as well as the average LSAT score and GPA associated with each major… Earnest Loans are made by Earnest Operations LLC or One American Bank, Member FDIC. No one course of undergraduate study is superior to others when your goal is to attend law school, according to the American Bar Association. According to Earnest’s data, the most popular pre-law majors are: Our analysis found that nearly one-third (30%) had a background in the social sciences, with most having studied political science prior to law school. This is similar to how medical school students, for example, tend to come from science and engineering backgrounds more often than the humanities. Your undergraduate college or university may employ a pre-law advisor, whose job it is to help you in choosing the best courses, minors and majors to prepare you for future law school success. A business major, in particular, covers many subjects that a student will encounter in law school. That is exactly what accounting teaches undergrads. We are dedicated to bringing you the very best practice tests, flashcards and study guides to help you prepare for and pass the test that stands between you and the rest of your life. In 2012, a study by the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) revealed that students with majors such as philosophy, economics and journalism had higher law school acceptance rates the criminal justice and pre-law majors … Notably, studying law as an undergraduate major may not necessarily set up you up for success if you’re hoping to earn an advanced degree in law. The Earnest content platform is created and managed by Earnest. Lawyers often … You might want to look to Plato and Jane Austen instead of John Grisham. If you’re planning to work toward a JD, your fate is less about what you study as an undergraduate and more about your performance as a student in that discipline. Among majors who didn’t study a discipline in the liberal arts, business majors made up 13% of law students, followed by pre-law study (11%). As an attorney and CPA, one of the best undergrad majors you can have is accounting. Law is about the practical application and interplay of rules. Aspiring lawyers know … Unsurprisingly, most law school attendees report having an undergraduate degree in political science. Lest your parents give you grief about pursuing your love of Mozart as an undergraduate major—music majors ranked 11th in LSAT scores, according to Muller’s analysis. But we cannot do it without your support. According to the Law School Admissions Council, 3,472 law school applicants in 2016 and 2017 held a 4-year degree in history. The average LSAT score for this group of applicants was 156.1 out of 180. Criminal Justice - 2,220 admitted. … Liberal arts and history majors focus on critical thinking, writing skills, and reading comprehension—all skills critical to succeeding in law school and later as a lawyer. I am applying to FIU for the Fall of 2011, only to find out that there is no pre-law major. Makes … In fact, almost one out of five law school applicants come from this major. Political Science. We always anonymize our data and we never sell our data to third parties. This doesn’t mean that law schools don’t look favorably on STEM majors—far from it—but rather that there are relatively few law school applicants with these backgrounds. Using 2015-2016 data from the Law School Admission Council, we looked at all the majors accepted to ABA-approved law schools. As you can see, political science is by far the most popular major for law school applicants, however; if you look at the complete data, you'll see that political science majors make up only about one-fifth of … What kind of background does it take to get into a great law school? Of those, 85 percent were admitted to law school. While law schools don’t require a certain degree, there are several majors that tend to get accepted at higher rates. As anyone who has attended law school wi…, LSAT Lessons from Legally Blonde (really!). The other most popular undergraduate degrees in our study are: Earnest’s data underscores advice from the American Bar Association, which recommends prospective law students take coursework in areas where they can gain experience in problem-solving, critical reading, writing, and editing, among other skills. by Derek T. Muller, an associate professor of law at Pepperdine University School of Law, showed just how well classics majors (with a high GPA) do on the road to law school. Earnest’s data underscores advice from the. No fees. The top 5 popular arts majors for pre-law are: While business and pre-law degrees are studied more often than sciences before earning a JD, students with science majors are still accepted into law school. Political Science. Ignore the ‘30% Rule’, Data Diving With a Student Loan Economist. Analysis from Earnest shows that those who earn a JD degree come from a wide range of prior backgrounds, with the majority having a background in the liberal arts. Political science is the most common major for law school applicants. There are, however, degrees that will better prepare the student. Any links provided to other sites are offered as a matter of convenience and are not intended to imply that Earnest or its writers endorse, sponsor, promote, and/or are affiliated with the owners of or participants in those sites, or endorses any information contained on those sites unless expressly stated otherwise. The Best Undergraduate Degrees to Prepare for Law School. Admitted Students: 9,612 So much of politics is high-quality legislation that it is no wonder this... 2. These two degree programs also help individuals to interpret and analyze complex data and solve very intricate and interconnected problems. Top 10 Most Popular Undergraduate Majors for Prospective Law Students 1. Top Feeders to Law School (JD Programs) Updated June 2020. Other top liberal arts majors included humanities, classics, history, economics, and English. Best undergraduate major for law school. Gaining admittance to law school can be a challenge, and many law schools are very competitive. Articles and other content posted by Earnest are provided for general informational purposes only and not intended to provide legal or tax advice. Earnest regularly publishes insights drawn from original analysis based on data from loan applications, surveys, and/or publicly available data sources. Personally, I think majoring in Criminology and minoring in Psychology is the best idea for Law School because then you can be … , science and engineering majors only made up a small portion of our typical law class at 5% of the total. ALL Rights Reserved. According to LSAC, who tracks these things, only 52% of criminal justice majors and 61% pre-law majors were accepted to law school. History is one good choice for the pre-law student. Good luck! The next highest LSAT scores came from those who studied policy, international relations, and art history respectively. Political science is a natural choice for students thinking about applying to law … … The LSAT is a registered trademark of the Law School Admission Council, Inc. (LSAC), which is unaffiliated, not a sponsor, or associated with this website. English majors have the opportunity to study argumentation and how to write a well-researched and well-thought-out argument. disadvantages: Not a lot of undergrad majors are taken with this. Students are admitted to law school from almost every academic … Political science is the study of government systems, political behavior, and how the judicial system works. The majors that seem to do best in preparing students for law school are those legitimately rigorous majors that involve much study, intense writing or reading and some analysis. Law school provides the opportunity for students to specialize in many different facets of law and, depending upon the individual student and his or her interests, any one of these majors (or possibly a different one) will be a good path to prepare for the law school experience and ultimately a career in the legal system. Both of these degrees provide a high level of understanding of contracts, negotiations, and how economic functions drive our country and impact various segments of society. That means: Study what you love and where you have an aptitude, and the grades—and the graduate school—will follow. I want to find a high-paying major… Download our new guide to get the information you need. Low rates. Thanks for signing up! Law school hopefuls should use their academic interests to guide their choice of major, says Kari VanSickle, the admissions director at Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School. The fundamentals of persuasion can help law students hone their skills in preparation for time that will be spent in the courtroom. Compare that with philosophy, economics, and … You may choose to major in subjects that are considered to be traditional preparation for law school, such as history, English, philosophy, political science, economics or business, or you may … A career in law starts with finding the school that fits you best. You often risk having a lower GPA, but it can be excused because of … Majors with scientific fields. You can learn more here. 4. Disclaimer: This blog post provides personal finance educational information, and it is not intended to provide legal, financial, or tax advice. … While, technically, individuals may apply to law school with any undergraduate degree, the fact remains that some undergrad majors will prepare entrants much better than others. In fact, a less law-centered undergraduate degree may actually improve your chances of getting accepted to law school. Psychology. Let's continue studying where you left off. According to data from 78,000 law school applicants in 2011-2012, provided to U.S. News & World Report by the Law School Admission Council, students who majored in pre-law were less likely to be admitted to law school than those who chose other degree programs. This doesn’t mean that law schools don’t look favorably on STEM majors—far from it—but rather that there are relatively few law school applicants with these backgrounds. Students enter law school from a wide array of disciplines, and law schools … Average LSAT Score: 153.8 Average GPA: 3.39 The most popular major of law school candidates is political science. Students in this fi… Those who studied Greek or Latin had the highest average LSAT score (159.8) and highest average GPA (3.477) of all majors who applied to law school.