A common question law school applicants ask is “which college major should you choose if you want to go to law school?” In reality, it does not matter which major you choose; all majors are welcome in law school.

When I was an undergraduate, I studied applied math. After taking a few Constitutional Law classes, I grew to love legal analysis. This substantially influenced my decision to go to law school. I remember telling friends about my decision to apply to law school. Some were very supportive, but others would ask: “Why did you bother studying math, then?” or “I guess your math degree is now kind of a waste, huh?” or “why don’t you use your math degree and do something like banking or consulting.” It was honestly hard to come up with a response. I truly felt more passionate about the law than math. But I was also certain that the logic and problem solving skills I had spent four years developing would be helpful.

After three semesters in law school, I think that those problem-solving skills have definitely come in handy. But having a math background is not necessary in law school, just as having an English background does not guarantee fluency with legal writing. Law school is its own unique pursuit. It requires both logic and eloquence. Depending on the case or the situation, the answer will sometimes be as clear as a math problem, or as complicated as a sociology thesis. For example, within the first two weeks of legal writing, our professor told us that writing a memo is like methodically solving a math problem. I breathed a sigh of relief. That was an analogy I could relate to! In contrast, the amount of time we spent discussing Bentham and Kant in Constitutional Law and Locke in Property law made me wish I knew a bit more philosophy.

In truth, any major will work for law school. Everyone enters with different strengths and weaknesses. I cannot think of a skill or subject matter that someone has pursued prior to law school that would not be useful during law school and during your legal career. The true correlation that I have noticed with success in law school is hard work and a good attitude. If you truly try to enjoy everything that you are learning, and you are willing to put in the hours it takes to master it, then you can definitely succeed.
So if your undergraduate major, or preparation level in other respects, has made you nervous about law school, don’t be nervous any longer. At BC Law, all majors are welcome. I don’t receive questions about why I am in law school now that I am here, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision.