Welcome to LearnLawBetter. Wondering what is the best major for law school? Want to get a head start in college? Stay to the end, as I provide you with my
insights, having taught law students since the year 2000. Don’t forget to hit the like button if you
enjoy this episode, and click the subscribe button and bell if you don’t want to miss
any future episodes. Hi, this is Beau Baez, and today I want to
discuss the best major for law school. Law schools don’t have any specific course
of study requirements, which means anyone with any major can go to law school. So whether you majored in engineering, scuba
diving, Medieval history, or Chinese language, you can go to law school. Having taught thousands of law students, I’ve
observed certain college majors that make for stronger and weaker students. Before I go any further, what I am going to
provide you are general observations, as there are always exceptions. By working hard and being willing to learn,
you can overcome a major that did not prepare you for law school. First, let’s discuss some majors that can
create barriers for law school success. One: Journalism. Journalism majors are taught to provide short
and to-the-point conclusions. That skill hurts them when they go to law school because law school exams are all about fully explaining answers through the use of the IRAC method. My standard advice to the journalism major
is to be more verbose, and pretend they are writing to someone that needs a detailed explanation. Now don’t lose hope if you are a journalist. One of my best students, Ashley, was a journalist
and she is now teaching at a law school. Two: English majors. The problem here is that English majors often
believe they know how to write, so they don’t spend much time mastering law school exam
writing. The type of writing done in most English departments
does not include the technical writing required in law school. My advice to English majors is to pretend
they don’t know how to write, and practice writing law school practice exams early in
the semester. Three: Paralegals, Pre-Law, and Criminal Justice. These students come to law school believing
they have a huge advantage because they know how the law works. That’s just not true. They may understand how a law firm works,
or have some basic legal knowledge, but that is not useful when preparing for a law school
exam. This means that they usually don’t work
as hard, believing they already understand the law. My advice to them is to pretend they don’t
know the law, and to use the elaborative interrogation technique to test their knowledge. By the way, criminal justice majors have the
lowest average LSAT scores of any major. Now let’s look at the best law school majors. One: Philosophy. By far, the philosophy majors
are the best prepared for law school. This doesn’t mean they are all top students,
but they generally do well. Law school, like philosophy departments, use
the Socratic method. Also, both disciplines require students to
compare two positions. Finally, philosophy teaches some of the same
critical thinking skills that you need in law school. Two: Music. Not many music majors go to law school, but
they generally do well. This may be because of the discipline it requires
to be a music major, as they spend countless hours practicing their instruments. So its not the major per se that helps them,
but rather the discipline they bring to law school that is the reason for their success. Years ago, when I was in high school, I was playing in
a community orchestra, and there was the first violinist in the orchestra, who was an exceptionally successful partner in a large Miami law firm. Three: engineering. Engineers tend to be serious and work hard
at understanding. Like philosophy majors, they're not always
at the very top of their class, but they don’t flunk out. The main problem with engineering majors are
their undergraduate grades. It is very hard to get all A’s
as an engineering major, and lower grades keep them from getting into the top law schools. My final bit of advice. If you’re just starting your college journey
and you are 100% committed to going to law school, pick a major that you enjoy and one
where you can get top grades. This is because law school admission departments
primarily value high GPA’s and high LSAT scores. I knew I was going to law school back in high school, so I picked a major that I thought would get me top grades. I graduated from a lower ranked university
with a degree in Speech Communications and a 3.96 GPA with only two B’s in college. My GPA and high LSAT score got me into a top
10 law school. But be warned, if you pick a major like philosophy
and you don’t go to law school, you may find it difficult to get a job. If you enjoyed this material, hit the like
button. Also, to avoid missing any future episodes,
hit the subscribe and bell buttons. For more resources to help you get ahead,
including my blog and newsletter, check out LearnLawBetter.com. Thanks for watching.
