Pre-Law FAQs & Resources
The best major for a prospective law student is the major in which the student will find the greatest enjoyment and earn the strongest grades. Law schools will teach their students everything they need them to know, so no preference is given to students based on their undergraduate major.
While there is no preferred major or set of required classes that pre-Law students need to take, it is important to focus on strengthening the reading, writing, and analytical skills that will help students to successfully apply for and complete law school. Because of this, it is helpful for students to take courses that will give them opportunities to grow these skills, both within their major and in general education and elective coursework.
This is going to depend on where you are in your undergraduate career. Every student has a unique academic journey, but here is some general guidance based on a 4-year undergraduate career ():
Freshman Year
- Keep a balanced schedule that will allow you to remain academically successful as you transition from high school to college.
- Revisit your study habits and make adjustments. Students who never had to study in high school will need to work on building these habits from scratch. There are resources to help with this.
- Familiarize yourself with and make use of campus resources such as the , the Writing Center, and tutoring services.
- Start doing some research on legal careers to get a sense of whether this is really something that will be a good fit for you.
Sophomore Year
- Start building your resume through involvement in extracurricular activities. Remember that it is better to have significant and meaningful involvement with one organization than to be an inactive member of five different organizations, so pick something that really interests you.
- Focus on building relationships with at least a couple of faculty members whom you may want to ask for letters of recommendation when you are applying to law schools. The best way to do this is to participate actively in class, bring good questions to office hours, and take multiple classes with the same instructors, if possible.
- Take classes that will help you to strengthen your writing and analytical skills -