There is no Pre-Law major
Advice on studies for becoming a lawyer
Researching various law school programs
Just as there is no official ‘pre-med’ major, there is no ‘pre-law’ major. Some schools, such as Northwestern University (NU), however, have Legal Studies as an ‘adjunct major’. Yet, this means it cannot be a sole major; it must be taken in conjunction with another departmental major, which can be anything from history of art to physics.
As the Northwestern website notes, “What you must do to prepare for law school…is to train your brain…you must develop the ability to write cogently…, to analyze carefully…, to reason logically, and to speak…articulately. These are the skills which will take you farthest in law school and in the practice of law…It doesn't matter so much whether you develop these skills in analyzing political institutions (as a political science major), metaphysical arguments (as a philosophy major)… or molecular structures (as a chemistry major); what matters is that you learn to use your mind effectively in a range of intellectual domains. Look for a major that demands a considerable amount of challenging reading and writing and that gives you some opportunities for small classes and seminars in which you can develop your speaking ability and in which faculty may get to know you better than they can in large lecture classes.” (http://www.weinberg.northwestern.edu/advising/preprof/law/info.html, 12 January 2011)
While you ‘train your brain,’ you will also need to perfect your test-taking skills. To get into a good law school (and you probably want to go to the best law school you can) you’ll need, in addition to top grades, very solid LSAT scores. LSAT scores are curved on a scale of 120-180, with a 170 considered fairly exceptional. Additionally, once in law school, each semester you’ll be taking a full set of finals. Then, of course, you’ll need to pass the Bar, which is no small feat in itself.
One other component that you’ll need is to gain the internship experience so that you have a solid sense of what a lawyer does. Northwestern is one university that is a steadfast believer in encouraging, to the point of insisting, that its students in virtually all disciplines (pre-med, and journalism included) gain experience to mix with classroom theory. For aspiring lawyers, Northwestern has the NEXT (Northwestern Extern) program that connects you with NU alumni lawyers who are willing to let you job shadow. It’s also important to do summer internships to gain a true sense of legal practice. In addition, joining the Mock Trial Association, on whichever campus you plan to attend is yet another way to prepare yourself for the rigors of law.
Next, you might want to do some research to determine which law schools might be good matches. There are several places where you can conduct your due diligence. The first is at the US News and World Report listing of the top law schools: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/rankings. Not only is US News ranking law schools, it’s also ranking law firms (something new this year). It also divvies up schools by legal specialties such as international, intellectual property and healthcare. Then, if you wish to take your research just one more step farther along, you might research an individual law school to gain a sense of admissions rates, GPA requirements, LSAT score averages etc. at The ABA-LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools., It has a free on-line component: http://officialguide.lsac.org/release/OfficialGuide_Default.aspx which gives you the admission and curriculum details of most of the top law schools.
After reviewing all this, ask yourself honestly if you’re ready to commit to a legal career. It is a huge commitment of money (costs vary depending upon whether you enter a public or private law school), and three years of stress and often brutal competition. To gain a sense of just how competitive, dip into Scott Turow’s One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School. After your research is complete and your commitment confirmed, I’ll rest my case.