Preparing for Law School While in High School

Lately I've been getting emails from high school juniors/seniors who are already setting up their 5 year plans which includes law school as the end goal. Good for you! I really can't stand the people who tell teenagers "oh you'll probably change you mind about being a lawyer.'' Sure, there's a chance that you might end up realizing that law school is for you, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared in case *gasp* you actually do end up applying to law school. So pause the How to Get Away With Murder or the Law & Order because I'm going to show you things you can do that will actually help you, right now, as a high schooler to prepare for law school.

Related: What to consider before deciding to go to law school

Take AP (or any advanced) research/writing classes

A very, very important part of law school (and being a lawyer) is researching and writing. If you want to be successful in law school and eventually get a high paying lawyer job, you're going to need to be excellent in research and writing. By starting in high school, you'll be ready to take on researching or formal/business writing classes each semester in college. Then by the time you get to law school you'll have a really strong foundation to build upon. Look for classes that have you learning how to use a research database and have a persuasive writing aspect listed in the syllabus. Your 1L self will be so grateful if you show up on day 1 already knowing the basic components of how to write a memo.

Related: College majors that are helpful for law school

Get help with test taking skills

The great thing about high school is that a lot have a testing counselor available for you for free. Even if you have a 4.0 GPA, it's still worth it to go here. College is harder than high school so if you are already improving how this skill now, you'll be setting yourself up to get great grades in college (which are necessary to get into law school). Always strive to be improving yourself academically.

While we're on the subject, get really really good at standardized tests. I thought the ACT and SAT weren't fun, but they also didn't seem like this huge challenge to me. The LSAT is much harder than the ACT/SAT, costs way more, and LSAT prep takes a lot of money and time. Take advantage of any free standardized testing help that your school offers. Even if it's not free, it's still probably a lot cheaper than standardized testing help you can find after high school. Oh and remember that you'll have one last standardized test- the Bar. And if you don't pass this one, you don't become a lawyer. 

Related: What I wish I knew before taking the LSAT

Be involved

Not only will this help your college applications go smoother, it will prepare you for law school. You need to learn prioritizing and time management skills now so that you'll already know how to get good grades while having a busy schedule before you get to college and then eventually law school. Your 1L year will have you so busy at times you don't seem to have a moment to yourself. This can be very overwhelming if you're not used to it and has been the downfall for more than one 1L. 

A lot of people try to join debate teams or mock trial teams at their high school because they think it's necessary to be a law school contender, but it just isn't. If you're interested in that then definitely go for it, but don't waste your time doing something you're not interested in just because you think it'll help. It's better to do something you're passionate about and form hobbies than to sign up for something just because you think you should.

Related: What you'll want to put on a law school application resumé

Shadow as many lawyers as possible 

Judges, practicing attorneys, non-practicing attorneys, criminal, civil, private, government. There's so many different areas of the law and the best thing you do is exposure yourself to as many legal fields as possible before law school, starting now. Hopefully you have a family friend or distant relative or even just that one person who graduated in the same grade with your older sister years ago who you don't really know but somehow are Facebook friends, reach out to these people and I'm pretty sure they'd be flattered to let you shadow them for a day. If you don't know anyone, just Google for lawyers in your city and start cold emailing them explaining that you're in high school interested in becoming a lawyer and want to learn more about it. 

Pay attention to questions you've started getting ever since you started talking about going to law school: what made you want to be a lawyer? what kind of law are you interested in? why law school? Ask these questions to those you shadow! This will help you realize your own answers to these questions you'll be getting a lot and will give you sample answers of how to explain yourself and your goals. Other questions to ask them: what they do/don't like about being a lawyer, why they got in to their particular area of the law, how law school/being a lawyer is different than what they expected, what do they wish they would've known before law school, etc. Knowing this can maybe help you decide what kind of law you're interested in and can help you make sure that you're making an informed decision regarding your future career.

Take notes about what kind of law you're shadowing and things that stand out to you. This will help you later on when you try to talk about your legal interests and goals in your personal statement. And learn the magic word of the legal profession— networking. Meeting tons of lawyers will help you when you want to try to find a summer job while in high school and college, a clerking job while in law school, and a post-graduation job. Speaking of...

Get a job

If you can, try to find a legal job. This can be legal assistant, legal secretary, or even a receptionist at a law firm. This exposure and experience will help you so much during the next 7 years when you need a legal job. However, I know a paid legal job can be hard to find if you only have a high school diploma (or not even that yet). Now is a great time to suck it up and take an unpaid internship (or offer to help out in an office for free) because you still live at home with your parents so concerns like rent or groceries aren't really on your radar yet. Taking these unpaid internships now might help you out later when you do have bills and need a paid internship.

Related: Where to find legal internship opportunities 

Alternatively, just take any old high school job. Getting a paycheck is really nice so you can go to the movies or mall with your friends, but it's better to be boring responsible and save up as much as you can. Having a few thousand dollars saved up from years of working while in high school will really help out future you. This can mean you'll end up taking out less student loans for college (or if you get help with college, less student loans for law school). Remember tuition for law school is about double that of college, and all together someone's going to have to pay for 7 years of schooling. This is how many law school grads end up with $100-200k in student loan debt.

Related: How to get a scholarship to law school

Volunteer

This is another thing that will look good on your college applications and also will really help you out. When people come to lawyers, usually they're at the lowest point in their lives— whether it be because they've been arrested, their house is getting foreclosed on, the need a divorce, their personal company is going bankrupt, they've been severally injured... the list goes on and on. You have to be compassionate to be a lawyer (despite what TV might tell you) but you also have to be strong for those who come to you at their worst. Almost anywhere you volunteer, you're going to build these skills.

Want a good place to start volunteering? Google [your city] legal aid center or [your city] free legal help. Then call those places, let them know you're in high school and interested in the law, and ask how you can help. It might just be handing out intake forms to a crowded waiting room, but this kind of volunteering will expose you to the real challenges that lawyers face every day. Then when it's your turn to be a lawyer, you'll be ready to spring in to action helping people in ways that you've been watching other lawyers do for years.

Related: Where to find legal volunteering opportunities

Make college choices wisely

Remember how I was talking about the crazy amount of debt that most law grads are in? I could have a lambo for the amount I've paid for schools! The best way to minimize your post-law school debt is to have little to no college debt. How do you do that? Work really, really hard on getting scholarships for college. Do this by having the highest grades possible, being close to your teachers for scholarship recommendation letters, and applying for every scholarship you can find. Even if your parents are going to pay for all of your college, the more you save them in college tuition the more they'll have still in that college fund leftover to pay for your law school. 

Related: How to ask a teacher for a rec letter

Also, put some thought into the colleges you'll be applying for. Don't go to a college that you don't think you can succeed at. Remember, the closer to a 4.0 college GPA you have, the easier literally everything about the law school application process will be for you. Law schools don't really care where you went to college so they'd be much more likely to admit someone who got a 4.0 from a Division II state school than a 2.9 from a prestigious private school. And if your parents can't pay for your college, consider going to a cheaper college so you'll have less debt. Because remember, law schools don't care where you got your college degree from so it's a smarter move financially to go to a cheaper state school and also load up on summer classes from a community college.

Related: My 5 biggest college mistakes

I guess to sum up this post, the way to prepare for law school while still in high school is to just start being intentional about the choices you're making. Yeah you have 8 years from freshman year of high school until your first year of law school and this may sound a long ways off, but by planning ahead you can make things a little easier down the road. Once you're a senior and you're getting ready to go to college, come back to this blog and I'll help you with Phase 2 of Operation Go To Law School. Lastly, enjoy high school and don't try to grow up too fast because you have your whole life to be an adult!

Related: How to Prepare for Law School in College

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How to Ask a Professor for a Law School Application Recommendation Letter

Hellooooo! To all you 0L's out there, application time is coming up! I have actually had to ask for application rec letters twice since I had to get some for when I originally applied and then again when I transferred and I know they can be a pain, but you have to do them for your application. Today I'm walking you through a step-by-step process of how to get a great rec letter.

Related: Law school admissions timeline

Freshman - Junior year

Ideally you'll start on this sooner rather than later because it just makes it easier on yourself. I wouldn't really worry too much about this your freshman year because you're still adjusting from high school and usually end up taking lots of basics your first year of college, but if the opportunity presents itself definitely take it! If you're like me and like to overthink and have a game plan, here's what I would do. Obviously you want to be aiming for B's and A's in all of your college classes because you're going to want a good GPA when you apply to law school so step one would be the obvious of plan on doing great in all of your classes. 

About once a month, visit your professors office hours so he/she can get to know you. A head's up email to them is always polite but you definitely can just drop by during their office hours. If you have class or our busy during their office hours, you can instead email them and set up a time. This is a great time to make sure you're fully caught up and understanding what's going on in class to help you get those good grades, but it doesn't have to be a full-on study session. A quick 10-minute drop by just to ask a question or get clarification is enough to get a rapport going with your professor. During these office hour times, it is great to casually mention something like how you especially want to do good in their class because you hope to go to law school or somehow find a way to plug in law school.

As the semester progresses, you might notice that some professors are just not a perfect fit for you that probably wouldn't be your best bet to ask for a rec letter, and that's okay. Hopefully you'll find at least one professor who you really click with, are doing great in their class, and you think they would have the time eventually to write you a fabulous rec letter. At the end of the semester you could sign up to take another one of their classes so you can continue on building this relationship (if it works with your schedule) or if you don't think you'll be seeing them in class again then you can go ahead and ask them if in a year or two they'd be willing to write you a letter.

Keep repeating every semester until you graduate! Number 1 this will help you have great grades because you're putting in more-than-average effort into this class. And number 2 it's always great to have a stash of available professors for rec letters! Some may be willing to now but then get busy or move before you need them (or even say no) so it's best to have more than you need. Plus you can always use these recommenders for things like scholarships or program applications too!

Related: How to find scholarships for law school

Senior year

If you waited until the last minute to ask for rec letters, don't worry you're not totally screwed!  Sit down with a copy of your transcript and look back on what classes you did the best in. Remember that law school is a graduate school so ideally your rec letter will sing your praises as a law student, and someone can't exactly do that if you barely got a C in their class. Then go through this list and think back to your relationship with your professors and pick the top 6 (remember it's always better to have more for backups) that you really got along with and schedule a time to come visit their office hours. Some people to look at our professors from classes where you participated in a lot (for me these tended to be smaller classes) or people who were a faculty advisor for something that you were involved in.

One important thing for finding a recommender no matter what year of college you ask for it— choose the person not the class! I mean obviously if you did well in business law or any college class that was taught by a lawyer then they will really be able to know if you're law school material or not and talk on that. But seriously, if you got along way better with your Anthropology professor than you did with your PoliSci professor, pick the Anthropology one! Law schools won't weight one professor over another just because of what class it was. They're looking for some reassurance that you're a great learner who will be able to survive a studious workload, and they don't really care which professor is saying so. 

Anyways, stop by as soon as possible for a little reunion. Since some professors have literally hundreds of students each semester, you're probably going to have to remind them of who you are. Remind them what class you took with them and in what year, and what grade you got. It would be helpful if you had a graded paper or test by them to bring with you to help jog their memory or at least show how you performed in their class so they don't feel like you want them to make up parts of their letter. Ask them if they'd be okay with writing a letter and then schedule a follow-up meeting to discuss the rec letter if you're running out of time or go in to your request right then and there.

Asking for the rec letter

First off, make an appointment with your professor for when you ask them to write a rec letter for you. I think it's much more polite and professional to ask for a rec in person rather than in email. Do this ideally at least a month before you need the letter because you don't want to be cut-off halfway because they already had plans with another student or professor. Take this time to make sure that they understand 1) that they're writing this rec letter for law school; 2) why you want to go to law school; 3) why you want them in particular to write a letter for you; 4) how they will have to go to LSAC and upload their rec letter; and 5) a due date 2 weeks before you actually want to have the letter in (because they get busy).

On the day you go to ask your professor with a rec letter, make sure you bring a copy of your law school application resumé with you! It'll help your recommender know even more about you and why you would make a great law student so they can mention some of that in their letter. This can be longer than your law school resumé if you have even more involvement, accomplishments, or anything else that you think might be helpful for them to think about as they're writing your rec letter. Oh, and definitely make sure you have your GPA on it because at first I didn't have that but then had a professor ask for it.

Related: What to put in a law school resumé

If you have good grades and feel comfortable showing these to your professor, it's okay to print off a copy of your transcript. This way you can talk to your professor and point out some of your other strong areas. So if in my example above you're asking your Anthropology professor to write a rec letter but all your work in that class was multiple choice quizzes and tests, you could point out if you've been getting good grades in writing classes so that they know you're also a good writer. They might not end up needing/using this information, but it's nice to have a little packet all ready for them to make it easier on them to write a great and compelling letter for you.

Last tips

One tip I have for all law school applicants is choose quality over status! I know this post has been all about professors, but really you can ask a wider variety of people for rec letters. But I have heard over and over again about how political figures in your community or who you have interned for tend to have a rec letter template that is completely generic and used for you and the 3 people who also asked for a rec letter that same day. And partners at a big law firm that you interned for over the summer are usually just as busy and sometimes have a member of their staff write something about you for them, which again will probably a little generic. If this person did not get to personally know you, don't waste your time. The ideal rec letter would be enough that it could convince the ad com committee that they just have to admit you to their school. Sure, they probably won't based off only this one letter, but it definitely won't help.

Don't procrastinate and stay on top of your due dates! Remember that these people have full-time jobs and most likely a family, too. They're busy and have papers to grade, conferences to attend... you get the point. You want to be able to give them enough time to write the rec letter because it's just really rude to ask them to do you a favor, but then be demanding that they set aside their entire life to do you this favor right now since you waited until the last minute. If you haven't heard back from them for a few weeks after you asked, you might want to send a follow-up email reminding them of your highlight points and due dates. Basically enough information that they could quickly type something out on their phone right then before they go to bed.

Do as much work for them as possible! After you leave their office, go to LSAC and register them as a recommender (here's how to do that). Fill out as much as you can and have it all ready for them just in case they decided to upload your letter that day. You probably still can't navigate around LSAC that easily, so imagine how confusing and frustrating it would be for someone who has maybe never even heard of LSAC. Remember that you're the one asking them for the favor, so try to make to make it as easy as possible for them so they don't end up regretting it. Especially because you never know if you'll need them to write you another rec letter in the future.

Related: Law school application checklist

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What I Wish I Knew Before Taking the LSAT

Hi friends! Sorry I've been gone for a hot second but that's life. Speaking of which, as a programming note, I've decided that at least for now I'm only going to put up a new post on Mondays instead of M/W/F. Just because I don't want to be posting for the sake of posts and end up making this blog oversaturated with too many posts that a 0L wouldn't have time to read before starting law school. Plus, now that school has started obviously y'all are busy busy so I'm assuming that no one will view this as an absolute tragedy.

Anyways, back to the purpose of today's post. I know a good majority of y'all have recently taken the LSAT and either have your scores back already or are currently waiting on that, and another good chunk of y'all are gearing up for an upcoming LSAT. I always get asked about LSAT advice so let me just forewarn you that while I consider this some of my honest advice about the LSAT, don't get too hyped thinking that I'm going to magically make logic games easy for you in this post. Now that I've actually graduated from law school and taken the Bar, I've had some time to reflect back on the LSAT.  So grab some wine (I'm one step ahead of you), because I have some truths about the LSAT that I think need to be told. 

Don't underestimate the LSAT

I truly love Legally Blonde and will probably never get tired of the movie, but the one thing it get's wrong (besides alcohol being allowed so casually at a sorority house) is the LSAT. Elle studies for a few weeks and brings her grade up to a 179. Let me tell you right now that a 179 is dang near impossible to get. Heck, even the guy who created LawSchooli.com even brags about getting a 172, which is also really hard to get. I mean really even in the 160 range is a struggle for almost everyone. I don't say this to be a Debbie Downer, but to prepare any of you who haven't taken the LSAT yet (if you have, don't stop reading yet because the rest of this post is for you too). I say this because I underestimated the LSAT and got a rude wake up call. It takes more studying than just squeezing in time in the evenings and weekends. 

Oh, and don't fall into the whole "I'm sure I'll do better on the real test than I have been on practice tests because it'll be go-time that day" mentality. Truth is, you've probably put a ton of weight on this test which will add some test anxiety and from literally everyone I've ever talked to about the LSAT has told me that it was harder than their practice tests, even the old official LSATs they've taken. I don't want to stress you out more than you already are, but I do think it's my job to help you go in to this thing with realistic goals in mind.

Related: When to study for and take the LSAT

The LSAT isn't that important

I'll admit that I do agree that the LSAT/GPA combo is what gets you through some major "cuts" with the admissions committees. And it does make sense when people mention how it takes 4 years to earn a GPA but only 4 hours to earn an LSAT score, so it makes sense to push really hard for something there at the end. But that's all it is. 

I see so much emphasis and unnecessary stress put on it. Remember, all the LSAT does is help you get in to law school. That's it. I've never seen so many companies offering services for things like helping you get your GPA up for law school admissions, helping you find and request rec letters, or helping you brainstorm, draft, and edit your personal statement like there are for the LSAT. Sure, having a good score really can help seal the deal on getting you in to your dream score and save you thousands of dollars through a scholarship, but after that it's all you to keep up the good study habits and keep earning great scores for the next 3 years. 

Here is an interesting article on the importance of not overthinking or overstudying the LSAT.

The LSAT doesn't predict law school

Okay, yes, there is a correlation between high LSAT scores and law school graduation rates and Bar passage rates so it does show some insight, but not all. I think of the LSAT as a way to test your dedication to studying something you've never even heard of before and trying to figure it out for yourself, which is a lot like what you have to do when you hear the term res judicata for the first time and can't remember how that's different from collateral estoppel (if you don't know what I'm talking about yet just trust that you will soon). 

But remember, the LSAT is not what you learn in law school. Instead questions like "which of the following is most likely the principal's argument for changing the school's dress code" or "which student received the most books and how many books did he/she receive," you get questions like "explain all relevant legal facts presented in the following story." There are literally no laws to learn for the LSAT and literally all you learn in law school are laws (surprise!), so it's just not a fair prediction. 

Look I'll just say this, I personally know people who scored really well on the LSAT and did average in law school, people who scored average on the LSAT and did really well in law school, and obviously the people who did great in both because they're just really, really, really good looking smart. Why all the different outcomes? Because LSAT ≠ law school.

No one cares what you scored*

*Obviously the Dean of Admissions is interested in this and yes, during orientation and the first few weeks of law school it's common for 1L's to brag about their score or use it as a measuring stick ("the girl next to me got a 165 so I bet she'll get the A in our class"). 

But by the second semester of 1L and for the rest of law school, you'll have a much more accurate measuring stick, grades and rank. I mean, getting a 172 means nothing if you never learned the difference between intentional and negligent torts, got half the questions wrong on your final, and are sitting at a C- in torts.

Literally I have never heard of 2Ls or 3Ls talking about their own or classmate's scores because that's just not important anymore. Oh, and your professors won't know nor care what you scored and no hiring lawyer really gives a damn either. So if you got an amazing score, don't waste too much time bragging and if you got a terrible score, don't waste too much time being embarrassed. All that score does is help you get in to law school. And like I just mentioned above, by week 3 of law school it won't matter what you scored at all.

You can still be a great lawyer with a low LSAT

First off, I'd like to use my personal story as an option for those of you who just can't seem to get your score up. LSAT companies will tell you that you have to get a great LSAT or your dream school is out of the question. Not necessarily true. Sure maybe you won't get to go there your first year but a do-able workaround is to work hard your first year and then transfer and graduate from your dream school. I understand this isn't necessarily feasible for absolutely everyone, but it definitely is a legitimate option.

Related: How I transferred law schools

Second, LSAT companies will tell your only two options are get a great LSAT score and go to a high ranked school with a scholarship so you can graduate debt-free with a $100k/year starting offer, or just not go to law school at all. Yes, you probably will have to take on debt if you don't get a 180, and yeah you might not get accepted into a school that is known for it's grads getting high-paying jobs right off the bat, but that's okay! Everyone (even the LSAT companies) will tell you not to go to law school unless you want to be a lawyer and don't go to law school just to be rich, but then the LSAT companies tell you that if you can't be rich by 30 don't even bother going to law school/it'd be a waste of time and money.

My favorite rebuttal to this is a story I heard my 2L year at Tech about a lawyer who graduated from my 1L school St. Mary's (here's a story on him). He barely got in to a lower-ranked law school, graduated at the bottom of his class, took several attempts to even pass the Bar and even then it was only by 1 point, but guess what. Now he's a successful prosecutor doing what he loves! Isn't that the end goal?? You don't have to end up with the big fancy office and money like Harvey Spectre in Suits to be "successful." 

It's all about perspective

Okay I'm going to get off my soap box now, but I really do wish I would've known and thought about these things before I took the LSAT. If anything, I just wish I would've put it in to perspective and acknowledged how hard it is but also how it shouldn't be put on this pedestal. If you're studying for the LSAT, my biggest advice is pay attention to what does and doesn't work for you. Figuring this out won't only help you get a great LSAT score, but it will lead to you getting a better law school GPA and eventually when you have to take the BAR.

Related: The top reasons why you should and shouldn't retake the LSAT

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How to Choose a Pre-Law Major

Hello, hello everyone! Today's post is for those of y'all who are still in college and are starting to think about going to law school. A lot of future law students aren't quite sure what to major in, so I thought now would be a great time for this post since the school year has just started as it's not to late to change your major. 

Related: Should you go to law school?

The good news for you is that unlike most other post-grad paths, there's no official major required to get in to law school! I remember way back when I was pre-med when my guidance counselor handed me a list of requirements to get in to med school and there were so many biology classes, chem classes, and other science-heavy classes that I had to take to apply to med school. But with law school, not only is any particular major required, there's no one class that is required! 

The bad news is that this leaves you with limitless opportunities to choose a "pre law" major, and sometimes that can be overwhelming. Here's just a few things you can consider when choosing the right major for you.

Choose a relatively easy major

While engineering students are statistically the top-scorerers on the LSAT, don't just choose the hardest major out there. First off, it's hard for an ad comm committee to weight all the different majors so don't just pick a major to sound impressive or smart. Ad comms pay way more attention to your GPA and a solid GPA can be the difference between being waitlisted or accepted in the first round, and for sure comes in to play when scholarships are being awarded. 

Related: How to get a law school scholarship 

You'll also want a major that's light enough to give you time to be involved on campus so you can build up your resume and will later allow you the flexibility to study for the LSAT. Most importantly, don't kill yourself for 4 years if you don't have to. Choose a major that you are actually interested in and it will be so much easier for you than trying to stick it out in a major that you think you should have. However, don't just choose the absolute easiest major you can find because remember, if you end up not liking law school then this will be your fallback plan.

Related: What to put on a law school resume

Choose a major that can challenge you 

Okay this is the exact opposite of what I just said, but hear me out. A too-easy major will set you up for failure. Not only are the "easy" majors known for getting low LSAT scores, they also don't prepare you for how to research for and write a 25-page paper and sound intelligent or how to read 150 pages in one night. So while you don't want to pick the hardest major, also don't pick the easiest option either or else you probably won't be as prepared for law school as you should be.

Like I mentioned, ideally you're going to want to improve on your reading, writing, and researching skills. You'll also want something that will help you improve your analytical skills, because that's the main part of being a lawyer. But just overall, look for a major that will better you. If you go to college for 4 years and you haven't improved much from when you graduated law school, you're going to start off behind your classmates who have been learning how to face challenging classes.

Related: How to prepare for law school while in college

Choose a major that interests you

This is my most important piece of advice when choosing a pre-law major! Don't just pick a major because you think you should pick it because I'm betting you'll regret it. Remember what I've already mentioned how you'll do better in a major that you like because you'll want to put more effort in. Also, don't forget that almost every interview you go to for the first few years of your legal journey will ask you why you picked your major. "I'm passionate about X" is a much better answer than "I heard X would get me in to law school." 

It also wouldn't be a terrible idea to use your major as a preview of what kind of lawyer you want to be. If you're dead set in being a lawyer like Law & Order SVU, maybe taking a criminal justice class or two will help you decide if this is what you expected it to be. A business class could help you determine whether being an in-house counselor is for you or not. Remember there's no ideal pre-law major, so have fun deciding what to do for 4 years.

Related: Why I regret my college major

Stereotypical pre-law majors

First off, just know that a great majority of schools don't even have a "pre law" major, so don't automatically have that as your plan since it's likely not even offered at your school. Even if it is offered, don't just assume that you have to pick that major. What if your senior year you tour law schools and realize that law school is definitely not for you? What are you going to do after graduation if you're a pre-law major who isn't going to law school?? 

Another cliché of a pre-law major is political science. Trust me, polisci was one of my minors because I wanted to go to law school and for the most part it was more of a waste than a help. See polisci classes tend to lean pretty heavily on the legislative side or (shocker!) politics; yet law school classes tend to lean pretty heavily on the judicial side. So there's actually not as much overlap as you'd anticipate. Unless you would like a future in political campaigns or being on the legislature, it's probably not the best use of your time.

Philosophy actually isn't a terrible pre-law major. I also minored in pre-law which required me to take several philosophy classes, and I think they helped. Philosophy gets you to think big picture and be okay with gray spaces and no right answers, which is what a lot of law school is. And logic, a philosophy/math class, actually helps you with what's on the LSAT. But if you pick this major, just don't be that one annoying kid in class who tries to get too philosophical with your law school professor and be a total douche.

English/Foreign languages isn't too bad, in my opinion either. Getting used to doing a lot of reading and properly putting a sentence together is basically what your 1L year is all about, so this actually does set you up for success. I was a Spanish major and I felt it helped me because sometimes your casebook might as well be in a foreign language because you have no clue what half the words mean and have to spend so much time reading slowly and looking up words. 

History is another pretty decent major because again you are doing a lot of reading and writing and, just like law school, there's a lot of little details like dates and places to remember. And while most of history is pretty exciting, it can get a little boring sometimes. Law school cases are usually exciting but sometimes you have to bribe yourself to get through the readings.

STEM majors are becoming super popular pre-law majors because they help you stand out from the English/philosophy and polisci majors, they almost always score really high on the LSAT, and a STEM background opens up some money-making doors in specialized, technical legal fields. Just make sure you're up for this because STEM majors are notoriously hard and you don't want to pick this for the wrong reasons and end up struggling for 4 years just to end up with a meh GPA.

Criminal justice is one major that I've seen warnings over and over again to not major in. This major tends to score the lowest on the LSAT, on average, and tend to have lower acceptance rates. I think it's because it's preparing you for a different area of the law so you're not getting prepared how you need to be. Don't think you have to be in criminal justice if you want to be a prosecutor or public defender. You're better off choosing a different major and then getting first-hand experience by volunteering or interning with a judge.

Personally if I could do it all over again, I wish I would've been a business or HR major because a lot of it applies to being a lawyer! Most people have a goal of being a partner in a law firm, which means you'll be involved in running a business. Some people have a goal of opening their own firm, which means you'll have to start your own business. And a lot of people have a goal of working for a company, which means your job is to keep the business going. There's just been some instances where I wish I would've known a little more about business/HR matters and I think it's a good fallback major.

If you have an idea of what kind of law you're interested in practicing in, my school has an interactive page where you choose that area of law and it suggests relevant majors. It also has a list of what schools have programs for that kind of law with links to them so you can do some more research on choosing a law school. Here's the link for that.

Related: How to choose a law school

Remember that you can also minor in something that will help you on your path to law school! You know how there's contrasting colors? Try to choose contrasting majors and minors so you're a well-rounded applicant. If you want to be an English major improving on your reading/writing skills, try minoring in something like STEM  hat will have you improving on your analytical skills; if you're a economics major, try to take an communications class. Feel free to mix and match to get the right combo for you of good grades yet preparing you for your future.

Lastly, try to take some business writing classes! I took 2 in undergrad so I already knew how to write a professional memo. Sure it wasn't exactly a legal memo and I did have to learn a few things, but starting off my 1L year in my legal writing class I was already ahead of most of my classmates because I already knew the fundamentals. This meant that I wasn't stressing out trying to re-learn how to write a fake email and instead could focus on other classes. And in my opinion, legal writing is one of the easiest classes to prepare for before law school.

I'd love to know what y'all majored/minored in and whether you think that helped you get in or do well in law school! Let me know in the comments below :) 

let's be friends!

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5 College Regrets

It is absolutely crazy to me that I’m about to graduate law school! High school went by fast, college even faster, and somehow law school went by the fastest of them all. Since I’m about to finally be done with school after 22 years straight of it, I’ve suddenly become very nostalgic. And with that, I got to thinking about things I’d do differently if I could go back and do it all over again. For time’s sake, I’ve narrowed it down just to 5 regrets I have about college. Hopefully this will give some insight to some bright-eyed freshmen and a wakeup call to any upperclassmen so you can have less regrets than I do. Although that isn’t to say that I don’t love looking back on my times in college and high school!

1. Set goals for myself

I came into college flying by the seat of my pants and while that definitely came in handy several times, it did have its downsides. If you know me then you know that I’m a big fan of making a goal and then having lots of little milestones to get me that goal. Once I realized that med school wasn’t for me, I knew in general that I kinda wanted to be a lawyer but I actually didn’t do much about that until the summer before my senior year (why I’m not surprised I had such bad luck applying to law schools). Honestly I think part of the problem was that getting in to college was pretty easy for me so I greatly underestimated the effort that it takes to get in to law school. I wish I had taken the time to figure out all of the little pieces that it takes to get in to law school and all of the little steps that I’d need to do along the way to get me there. I’m happy where I’ve ended up, but I do think I could’ve done a little more work in college to make the journey here way less bumpy. 

What you can do is to sit down and make a 5 year professional plan. Think of everything you would do if you can! It’s okay if some of this is a wish list and something that honestly might not happen. Then take that and figure out what’s most important to you and organize your list. Then try to come up with at least 5 things you need to do to make each thing happen (so if you want to go to law school, think like good LSAT score). Then look at those 5 things and think of any steps you need to make that happen. In the end, you’ll end up with your big goals broken up into small goals, and those small goals broken up into steps to do. Then give yourself a timeline or due dates to keep you on track. I actually really like the Passion Planner for doing this! If you do this at the beginning of every school year or semester, you’ll feel much more in control of chasing after your dreams.

Related: What to do every year of college to prepare for law school

2. Taken attendance more seriously

My attendance my freshman and sophomore years of college were so stereotypically terrible. Even for the easy classes that I could skip a lot, I wish I still would have gone more. First off, it’s just a bad habit and then was a huge adjustment for me when I got to law school and basically couldn’t miss any class (I had perfect attendance in some classes!). Law school really helped me see the obvious in that if you actually go to class and actually pay attention in class, the tests are so much easier! I mean my 1L year I was getting a little paranoid that it was too easy when my “studying” for finals was mostly just a review for once instead of me trying to last minute teach myself an entire subject. Not only that, but regularly showing up in class is a great way to make a good impression on a professor so that when you do come to them for a letter of recommendation they won’t be like “who are you??”

Before I got here, I had heard that the best way to success in law school is to treat it like I job and that’s one thing that I’ve learned is spot on! Now I know this is easier said than done because it’s not the norm in college, but try to at least try to be a good student. Learn how to convince yourself to go to class even though you have 10 other reasons not to go. Learn how to take your laptop and only take notes on it, completely muting iMessage and avoiding Facebook/Pinterest/online shopping. At least read the summaries of the assigned chapter before you go to class so you’ll actually know what’s going on. I promise you that you will be so grateful that you did.

Related: The difference between college and law school

3. Do a degree audit earlier

Here’s the thing: I actually regret my degree. Not because I don’t like Spanish or anything, but because of how I ended up being a Spanish major. The truth is, I was in the honors college working to get one of their degrees, when I submitted my intent to graduate my junior year just like everyone else. I got an email back from my advisor letting me know that I was at least 3 semesters away from graduating since I was behind on my honors classes and there’s only so many offered each semester. At that point, my options were either drag out graduating for a year and a half or bump my minor up to my major. Basically it was a hot mess. All of this could have been avoided if I did a degree audit earlier and kept up with that better. I even have friends who have had the same problem and ended up graduating in August after they had already assumed they were graduating in May. Go to your advisors office often and make sure you stay on top of this. Even if it’s not required, still go visit your advisor and talk to them. When I went to see my advisor about switching my major, she was so helpful and even told me which professors to take because they were easier!

At the time, I didn’t really feel like it mattered because even though you have to have a science degree to get in to med or dental or vet school, there is no degree requirement to go to law school. But now that I’m semi out here in the real world, I realize that this was the wrong way to look at it! Sure you can have a degree in underwater basket weaving and still get in to law school, but that’s still going to show up on your resume. So imagine you’re sitting in an interview trying to tie together your random degree with the job you’re applying for. I’ve definitely already ran in to that because I’ve lost a lot of my fluency since graduating so my degree is kinda worthless now. Now that I know I want to work in in-house or employment law, I wish I would have taken more business and HR classes. I also really wish I would’ve taken a tax class so that I actually knew what “basis” and “the line” was before I was struggling in my tax law class. My point is, don’t just do a degree audit with your school for graduation; do one with yourself for your future as well! (conveniently, this also goes along really well with that I was saying in #1)

Related: How to Choose a Pre-Law Major

4. Hustled a little harder for a real job

I only had two jobs in college, and both of those were minimum wage retail associate positions. They helped me to have spending money, but that’s about it. Do you know how hard it was for me my 1L year to apply for jobs with no real job experience? I mean, I couldn’t exactly connect being a teller with being a summer associate because they didn’t have much in common besides “excellent people skills” and “trustworthiness around money.” I fully understand that everyone has to start somewhere and that I probably would have had these jobs anyways, but I wish I would’ve used what little experience I did have at these jobs to move on up in the world. I can’t explain how jealous you feel when you’re sitting in class and someone is talking about how they totally understand the foreign concept your professor is talking about because they had some experience with that in some way at their job. Remember, law school is a game and one way to get ahead is to come in with some life knowledge beyond just how to neatly fold and stack shirts.

If I could, I would go back and tell myself to always be on the job hunt. I know job hunting is miserable but I missed up opportunities by being complacent with my boring job. Even if it’s still a typical part-time job, look for jobs where you can possible find a mentor (and hey maybe a rec letter on your worth ethic too). Look for jobs that will give you an opportunity to grow and gain some experience. Springboard what you have into moving up in the world and set yourself up for success once you get to law school and you’ll be so grateful that you did!

Related: How to find an internship

5. Be more involved with the law

I thought I had a good idea about what to generally expect working in the law through hearing law students and lawyers come and talk to my pre-law chapter of Phi Alpha Delta when I was in college, but at the time I didn’t realize how that was just the tip of the iceberg. There’s actually a lot of stuff about the law that I didn’t even know about until I went to orientation as a 1L! I wish I would’ve hung out in a courtroom, shadowed a lawyer, seek out an unpaid internship, really just anything to give me some fist-hand experience before I went in to law school! It was really hard my 1L and 2L year when I’d get asked “what kind of law do you want to practice” in a job interview and all I had for them was a doe-in-the-headlights look (as you can imagine, this didn’t exactly impress them). Even when I was interviewing for my externship, they asked why I wanted to do in-house law and I had no real good answer for them! Now in interviews, I’ve experienced enough to say that I know that criminal isn’t for me because I sat through a few trials and I know that I like employment law because I’ve had a few assignments with that and I know I like commercial real estate law because I’ve looked over dozens of real estate agreements. Having these experiences to tie in to why I want to work somewhere is a much better answer than just “oh I liked this one class that’s relevant to this so I think I’ll like this job.”

I didn’t bother to get involved in the legal field before law school because I knew that I would figure it out on my own, but I wish I would have had some real life experience before I came so I could have some kind of idea about what classes would interest me and what jobs would be good to apply to. Make it your mission to learn about as many different areas of the law as you can so you’ll know more going in! Even if you do have to spend all summer working a paid part-time job for money and an unpaid part-time internship, you won’t regret doing it. And absolutely try to go hang out in a courthouse as much as you can! It sounds little, but you’d be amazed at what you learn. Trials are open to the public by law and if you tell them you’re a prospective or current law student, you’d be amazed at how the help give you a behind-the-scenes look. And all of these experiences are great to touch on in your personal statement to connect your own story and the law.

Related: 5 things to do before law school 

I feel like such a big sister out here pushing y’all to learn from my mistakes haha! But I do hope that some of what I’ve said today will resonate with you and help you get your life just a little bit more together before you head off to become the Next Elle Woods. If you’re brave enough, I’d love to read what mistakes you realized that you made after graduating college!