What is Pre Law Studies ?

Pre-law refers to a course of study that prepares students for law school. Although pre-law schools are not officially announced every year, however students prefer to take part in a pre-law school to get themselves prepared for a reputed law college admission. This can be either an undergraduate major or a declaration of plans to enter best law schools especially in united states or any other country, after earning your bachelor’s degree. Many universities require students to choose a major, such as political science or English, and reserve pre-law as a separate track where students meet with a law advisor to ensure they have the correct courses and grades to apply for law school. Here another very important question arises in new generation’s mind that why study law? Law helps us in every field of life and it is the most essential tool to survive in society. Specialized colleges that focus on sending their students to law school Some colleges may offer a specific pre-law undergraduate degree that allows students to focus on the rigorous coursework required for the area of law they intend to study.

Law schools typically do not have specific undergraduate major requirements, so students are encouraged to study a field that interests them and take the recommended law preparatory classes. These preparatory law, debate and policy focused classes teach students important research, writing, analytical and persuasion skills. Possessing these skills helps prepare students for a range of careers in law, business and public policy.

Is Pre law necessary for law school ?

Most law Universities of the world do not consider pre-law as an actual major, so there is no official pre-law consultation available to the students. It becomes difficult for the law students to decide either they should go to pre-law school or not even they don’t know which pre-law school is the best.

In fact, the pre-law refers to any course of study taken by an undergraduate in preparation for study at a law school. The American Bar Association requires law schools to admit only students with an accredited Bachelor’s Degree or its equivalent depending on the student’s country of origin.

An undergraduate degree in business will serve the pre-law student well because it prepares the student in many facets of the legal system. The business major will have a strong understanding of issues such as contracts, negotiations, and corporate structure.

Most people who pursue a career as a lawyer generally take the traditional path of earning a bachelor’s degree followed by three years of law school. The amount of time this actually will take you depends on whether you attend school full-time and pass the bar exam on the first try.

What are the best Pre-law majors?

There’s no undergraduate major that will guarantee entry into OR rejection from law school, nor ensure your success once you get in. Your choice of major will not improve performance on the LSAT, the bar exam, or in a courtroom. According to a recent case study conducted among law students of united states, the most popular pre-law majors are as follows:

1. Political Science

Political Science is the not-at-all-surprisingly undisputed top pre-law major. 18% of all applicants admitted were from this major.

2. Psychology

A Psychology degree can be very helpful for prospective attorneys, since practicing law is as much about the people involved as it is about the law itself.

3. Others

The second highest number of admitted law students majored in “Other” – topics that did not fall under the other 144 majors listed. 7% of all applicants were admitted from these majors.

4. Criminal Justice

The Criminal Justice major tends to have a lower percentage of applicants admitted than other majors. English, History, and Economics all had more admitted applicants than Criminal Justice.

5. English

Practicing law also requires strong oral and written language skills for things like case briefs, reports, and analyzing & presenting a case. You’ll be expected to use these skills in law school as well as in practice.

6. History

Law is tightly entwined with History, as it requires knowledge of legal precedents and origins of laws.

7. Economics

If you’re interested in corporate or tax law, an Economics major is a good foundation. Economics is also broadly applicable to other areas of law, such as intellectual property.

8. Philosophy

Law and Philosophy are like the positive and negative poles of a magnet. Very different, but inseparable. At their foundation, the law must consider ethics, human nature, common sense, and other philosophical topics to be effective.

9. Liberal Arts

This major may include concentrations like language, religion, and design.

10. Sociology

Sociology is the study of people in groups. Laws are guidelines for how people are expected to act in groups.

What are the best Pre-law Schools ? 

Many enthusiastic college students have their heart set on attending law school. In order to feel fully “prepared” for the rigors ahead, many undergrads will declare themselves pre-law and try to customize their courses to get a jump start of the legal curriculum. In reality, there’s no clear course of study for pre-law students, nor is there a specific major.

Taking a few classes to prepare a bit academically, however, is a wise decision. Below is our list of the specific classes that will best help college students prepare for law school. Followings are the most best pre-law schools according to popularity:

Top 10 Best Pre-law Schools in 2021

What are best Pre-law courses

1. Public speaking or debate
2. Business courses
3. Literature/ history & writing
4. History/ political science & government

1. Public speaking or debate

Not everyone attends law school to be a litigator, and many law school candidates have no interest in leading a trial. Nevertheless, law school leaves little opportunity for you to avoid public speaking. The Socratic Method alone requires a law student to feel comfortable presenting in a lecture hall. Furthermore, trial prep courses are often required and moot court or trial team are strong resume boosters. As a result, if speaking in front of a crowd isn’t your thing, you should probably get some practice as an undergrad.

Public speaking and debate courses are among the best legal confidence boosting classes you can take. These courses typically force you to pick a side of an assigned topic and then present your argument to the class. In truth, you can’t get much closer to a trial than that, so it’s a great chance to practice your speaking skills.

2. Business courses

Business courses may be shunned by many pre-law college students as they seem irrelevant at first glance. Many practice areas have nothing to do with business, so you may think you can skip these classes altogether.

It surprises many students to learn then that a large chunk of their law school curriculum is connected to business classes. Contract law is guaranteed to fill 1 or 2 slots in your first-year curriculum, and many law schools require at least one additional business law course. These topics will also appear on the bar exam.

College business courses are a bit more user-friendly than law school courses. Rather than learn a concept by analyzing a case, a college professor and/or your textbook will map out the subject matter for you. As a result, the terminology will be solidified in your head when you need to re-learn this material later in law school. At the very least, you can keep these notes and PowerPoint presentations to use them as a refresher in the future. Business law is arguably the best pre-law class you can take, but courses on sales and contract law will also benefit you greatly.

3. Literature/ history & writing

Many an English major comes to law school and is horrified to receive a C or lower on their first writing assignment. The indignation is high, and students are quick to blame a professor for their low grade. Legal writing, however, is unlike any collegiate style of writing. It’s a very specific skill, which is why many law schools typically require 1L students to take at least 2 courses devoted to legal research and writing.

Nevertheless, there’s significant value to having taken undergraduate courses in the humanities and social sciences, such as English or History. Law school and the legal field require a lot of research and writing. Whether you’re writing a memo to a partner or submitting a motion to a judge, you’ll be combing through legal texts for applicable laws and cases, and then need to compile your findings into one coherent and concise paper.

Though the writing styles and citations will be different, English and History majors will have a leg up on students who may have had less experience with research papers. Science majors also have experience with research and writing, but a free-flowing paper with a decisive theme or argument may stray too far from what these undergrads are used to. Thus, all college students are encouraging to take at least one course that culminates in a research paper that presents a theme or argument rather than a summary of findings. 

4. History/ political science & government

The last suggested courses have to do with the US government itself. History is the suggested department, but these classes vary by university in terms of which department offers them. A class identifying how the government operates is fairly important to understand how laws are passed and the interactions between the Supreme Court and the other branches of government.

The most important course, however, is one that teaches the landmark Constitutional Law courses (Roe v. Wade, Brown v. Board of Education, Bush v. Gore, etc.). Law schools require students to take a one or two-part course discussing Constitutional law, so get the leg up while you can and take this class as an undergrad. Forgetting law school curriculum, knowing these cases is important in any legal setting, so you really can’t go wrong with this course.

There’s no denying law school is tough. As there is no tried and true preparation for it, it will probably feel like a whole new world. Nevertheless, we encourage you to take the courses above and ask the law schools you’re interested in to suggest additional classes for you to take. It won’t guarantee acceptance by talking to the law schools as an undergrad, but at least it’ll put you on their radar!

Conclusion

Is is understood that getting admission in top law colleges is not easy. You have to be prepared for it and best way of getting yourself prepared is per-law school. So it is obvious that if you choose a better pre-law school, the chances will become higher to get admission in the top law school of the world. This Article has explained everything about law schools, law majors and law courses. Selecting a pre-law institute and taking admission in it is purely your decision.