Know How to Promote Your Major on Law School Applications

Whether you are choosing a college major or have recently graduated, it's important to leverage your course work in the law school application process. Unlike fields such as medicine, there are no prerequisites other than a bachelor's degree for law school. Thus, you are free to select whichever major interests you most and there is no right course of study.

Additionally, because legal studies are broad and there are uses for law degrees across diverse fields, most academic backgrounds can prime an individual for law school. The key is to elaborate on your studies in your law school applications so that you stand out from other candidates.

Below, I outline some of the major areas that law school applicants may have studied, detailing the core skills and applicability of each in regards to legal studies. Applicants can use this information to brainstorm their own personal anecdotes for their applications and essays.

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Humanities

Majors within the humanities are popular among law school hopefuls. Studying English, history or psychology prepare students well for legal studies. However, the drawback is that these majors are rather common among candidates, so be sure to add unique stories to your applications if you come from a humanities background.

You should emphasize skills including critical thinking, research, composition and reasoning. I hope you remember and enjoyed all those heavy books you read and elaborate essays you constructed, because law school course work will be similar.

In countless essays you produced an argument, and then you proved it with concrete detail and credible sources. Use that experience to demonstrate your potential in law school.

[Get tips to buff up your college profile as a prospective law student.]

Quantitative

Majors that focus on quantitative subjects, such a mathematics or economics, are also very applicable to the life of a law student. The skills you should emphasize are your ability to approach and solve a problem and your ability to comprehend dense material.

These are invaluable capabilities for a law student because legal course work focuses on logic and problem-solving, and you will be required to read a surfeit of complex material. Be sure to discuss how you have applied your skills in the past, whether to solve a problem in your personal life or to work on a project for school.

Technical

Technical majors aren't as popular among law school applicants because they are known to drag down GPAs. Because GPA is one of the first data points that admissions readers review, it's understandable that students want to make a good first impression.

However, if you believe you have the time and passion to dedicate to achieving good grades in the hard sciences, then you could benefit from studying engineering or science because they are appealing to law schools for several reasons.

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First, as I mentioned, these majors aren't as common among applicants and law schools seek students from diverse academic backgrounds. Second, as technology continues to advance, there is increased demand for lawyers who can comprehend their complexity. This could lead to more job opportunities and higher pay after graduation.

You should emphasize your ability to excel in a competitive, challenging field and an understanding and passion for new technology. You should mention research projects you worked on and how you implemented your studies.

As you can see, there are advantages and disadvantages to any area of study when purposed for law school preparation. If you are starting your law school applications, keep the above skills in mind when applying and be sure to brainstorm how you gained and implemented such skills. Remember, you should not merely list skills or achievements, but craft a compelling story that demonstrates who you are as an individual.

How does your major apply to law school? Let me know in the comments, email me or contact me via Twitter.