Law school...becoming a lawyer...HOW?

[hellfreeze]

I'm thinking of becoming a lawyer. I know there's a lot of work involved. Question is, how do you go about doing it? My bro said you have to get a BS in something before you can apply to law school....but i'm confused....can someone please help me out? If I have to get a BS, what should I get my BS in? Thanks for all the help

 

[Lager]

Go to grad school or law school?

You should complete college first though in majors like Economics, Political Science or Philosophy I think.

 

[StageLeft]

Your brother sucks. You need an undergrad degree in anything from music to chemistry. Then, with good grades, and a good GRE score at the least, you apply to a law school.

I'm guessing you're at most into first year university with this question, so for the time being just get as gooda GPA as you can.

 

[TommyVercetti]

You need a bachelor's degree in anything to apply for lawschool. It doesn't matter what, as long as you did good in it. But I think law schools get too many applicants with majors like Economics and English. So more diverse the major the better. You also need to take the LSAT.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: TommyVercetti
You need a bachelor's degree in anything to apply for lawschool. It doesn't matter what, as long as you did good in it. But I think law schools get too many applicants with majors like Economics and English. So more diverse the major the better. You also need to take the LSAT.

Oh yeah the lsat, not the gre

 

[hellfreeze]

i think imma take up the philosophy classes, as well as the political science. do you think that i should take any forensic/law enforcement classes while i am at it? you know...to brush me up on what cops look for and the sort...

 

[Whisper]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Your brother sucks. You need an undergrad degree in anything from music to chemistry. Then, with good grades, and a good GRE score at the least, you apply to a law school.

I'm guessing you're at most into first year university with this question, so for the time being just get as gooda GPA as you can.

Part of this post is correct. You do need a bachelor's before you can apply to law school. Most pre-law students seem to major in either political science or philosophy, though you can technically major in whatever you want. There are no course requirements for law school. The only prereq is that you take the LSAT (not the GRE), and do fairly well.

 

[hellfreeze]

umm....excuse my ignorance, but WTF is the LSAT? I took my SAT, but that's about it. is the LSAT the SAT II?

 

[TommyVercetti]

Originally posted by: hellfreeze
i think imma take up the philosophy classes, as well as the political science. do you think that i should take any forensic/law enforcement classes while i am at it? you know...to brush me up on what cops look for and the sort...

Read what I said about diversity. Law schools have too many applicants with those majors you mentioned. Your idea of a lawyer seems to come from watching TV. A whole lot of lawyers don't even go to court, they work behind the scenes, cooking up strategies, reading up on new laws and just general consulatation.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: hellfreeze
umm....excuse my ignorance, but WTF is the LSAT? I took my SAT, but that's about it. is the LSAT the SAT II?

Law SAT. Of course I was wrong earlier, so the L probably doesn't stand for that, but the LSAT is what you need to get into law school (it's all coming back to me!). Taking the SAT doesn't excuse you from it.

 

[tk149]

Undergraduate major = Anything. I double-majored in Neurobiology & Psychology.

LSAT = Law School Admission Test Link

Take this your Senior year in college or after graduation.

BTW, you really need to learn a LOT more about lawyering before making a major life decision like this. The $100,000 tuition should be your first clue.

 

[axelfox]

Take Constitutional Law during undergrad if you can. It will help out alot when you take it in law school.

 

[Ranger X]

You can get a BA or a BS. It doesn't have to be law related either as grad schools are willing to accept a rather diverse group. Graduate with a good GPA and do well on your LSAT. That will get you into the school.

 

[shopbruin]

Originally posted by: axelfox
Take Constitutional Law during undergrad if you can. It will help out alot when you take it in law school.

never have truer words been spoken. i took constitutional law, focusing on separation of powers.

thoroughly kicked my ass. the book was the same that's used in actual law school classes to boot. the professor didn't teach it quite like a law school class would be - he had volunteers for each lecture to discuss the cases, whereas in law school they will randomly call on you.

you must have a bachelor's degree. you MUST take the LSAT (law school admissions test.) if you want to go anywhere good, you must have a good gpa along with a good lsat score. add in some good letters of rec and an excellent personal statement.

law school is not a joke. you can't just pick up and go "i wanna be a lawyer." do a lot of research. think about what kind of law you would want to do. think if this is the commitment you want to take. private schools are easier to get into public schools, but the tuition is at least twice as high. this is possible a 120k investment you will be making. you don't want to spend all that money and find out you either suck at it or you hate it.

and you will NOT be making bank once you come out unless you work for a huge ass corporate firm, signing your soul away as you work you 100+ hour weeks coupled with going to only the top tier schools.

the BS will make you stand out a BIT as a lot of people are poli sci/history/english/some econ majors.

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: hellfreeze
I'm thinking of becoming a lawyer. I know there's a lot of work involved. Question is, how do you go about doing it? My bro said you have to get a BS in something before you can apply to law school....but i'm confused....can someone please help me out? If I have to get a BS, what should I get my BS in? Thanks for all the help

Like a lot of other people said, you can get your bachelors in anything. However, there are some types of lawyers that require certain degrees, so you might want to check to see what you're interested in.