Law School and Major

[Grin98]

I'm not sure if this is the type of place to ask, but my dream is to be a lawyer in the disability area, so I would like to go to law school. The thing is I am unsure of what my major needs to be because it's right now political science, but with some benefits I get my adviser said that political science is too restraining if you decide not to go to law school. So my question is there another major that would be good to pursue if I do become a lawyer in the disability field?

 

[adjusterjack]

Probably doesn't matter much what you major. Political science is as good as any. It's the undergrad courses that matter.

Here's a partial list of suggested courses:

Political Science
History
Economics
Government
Finance
Philosophy
English
Psychology
Criminal Justice

See if your school has a pre-law advisor who can help you. If not, then contact the nearest law school and see if it has a pre-law advisor who can give you some guidance.

Read the following article on "Pre-law."

Pre-law - Wikipedia

my adviser said that political science is too restraining if you decide not to go to law school.

He's got that right. Back in my day (60s and 70s) poly sci classes were flooded with students. For most of them, they ended up in low paying jobs flipping burgers. Same with psych majors.

 

[mightymoose]

I'm not sure if this is the type of place to ask, but my dream is to be a lawyer in the disability area, so I would like to go to law school. The thing is I am unsure of what my major needs to be because it's right now political science, but with some benefits I get my adviser said that political science is too restraining if you decide not to go to law school. So my question is there another major that would be good to pursue if I do become a lawyer in the disability field?

Consider a business degree or accounting. That knowledge can be useful in many ways.

 

[army judge]

The thing is I am unsure of what my major needs to be

Most ABA accredited law schools simply require an undergrad degree, as in BA, BS, BSE. BBA, BSN, etc

Law school operates on the Socratic method of teaching.

You'll be asked thousands of questions over the three year ordeal, and be required to write millions of words.

I graduated from law school over 40 years ago.

I attended law school with people who had earned a PhD, MD, DDS, ED, MBA, MS, MSN, all manner and form of bachelors degrees; frankly, your undergrad matters NOT.

I had earned my BBA when I attended law school.

I suggest you take whatever undergrad degree interests you.

If you're well into the degree, don't change your major.

Changing your major is another way for the higher education scam team to extract more money from your pockets.

Stay the course, earn the degree, get into any law school, earn that JD, pass a bar eaxm, earn money, help others, live your life.

 

[zddoodah]

The thing is I am unsure of what my major needs to be because it's right now political science, but with some benefits I get my adviser said that political science is too restraining if you decide not to go to law school. So my question is there another major that would be good to pursue if I do become a lawyer in the disability field?

At the beginning of my first year of law school, they handed out a booklet with pictures of all of the first year students, their names, the undergrad institution they attended and their undergrad majors. Poli sci was by far the most common undergrad major, but majors were all over the place. There were some science majors, some business majors, some fine arts majors, etc., etc. More important than your undergrad major are your abilities to think logically and critically and to write well.

I'm fairly certain that you could get an undergrad degree in something related to disability studies (although that obviously depends on the school you're attending). I won't purport to speak for the value of any particular undergrad degree if you end up not going to law school.

 

[flyingron]

I've got three lawyers in my family. Their undergraduate degrees were Government, Philosophy, and Mathematics. Doing well at whatever major you did elect is important.

 

[Tax Counsel]

I'm not sure if this is the type of place to ask, but my dream is to be a lawyer in the disability area, so I would like to go to law school. The thing is I am unsure of what my major needs to be because it's right now political science, but with some benefits I get my adviser said that political science is too restraining if you decide not to go to law school. So my question is there another major that would be good to pursue if I do become a lawyer in the disability field?

The major is not all that important. What does matter is that you emphasize courses that help you with writing well, thinking logically, good judgment and persuasion. Those are key skills for most lawyers. There are all kinds of courses and majors that can give you that, from computer programming (great for logical reasoning), finance (which was my major, good for logic and judgment), creative writing, etc.

My law school class had students with a wide array of undergrad majors and most of them did just fine.

Two other considerations. First pick something you enjoy as you are likely to get better grades in something you like and your grades will be a significant factor in which law schools take you. Second, consider something that would be useful in case for whatever reason being a lawyer doesn't work out for you.