Prospective Lawyer Tips
Prospective Lawyer Tips
Almost every year students enroll in undergraduate studies in hopes of becoming a respectable attorney someday. It can be a daunting task to begin climbing to the summit of education’s ivory tower. However, armed with a few simple tips, the quest should be far from daunting.
What’s your Major?
This is a famous line from Goodwill Hunting – and it is also a legitimate concern for all undergraduates. The answer is clear as day: anything except pre-law. It has been shown that prelaw students score lower on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) than any other major. Statistically, Classics (Latin and Greek), English, Chemistry, Physics, and Philosophy majors score the highest on the test most likely because these majors teach close reading and analytical reasoning. It’s worth noting that Science majors are given a GPA boost by Law School Admissions Counsel and they can sit for the patent bar later down the road.
Taking the LSAT
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is the most important component of your application. It is equivalent to an SAT. However, the test is learnable and scores can be increased. Some claim they have jumped from the 50th percentile to 99th percentile just by studying.
Choosing a School
After taking the LSAT you should assess what your options are for school. Schools can generally be broken up into three categories: third tier, regional schools, and ivy leagues. Third tier schools cost as much as an Ivy League education but yield far inferior job prospects out of law school. The matriculates of these schools tend to score low on the LSAT. The next option is your regional University which will allow you to pretty much do whatever you want within the confines of your state. Lastly, the Ivy League schools offer the unique opportunity to practice Big Law (as it’s referred to by the community), where starting salaries clock in around $160,000 dollars a year.