Pre-law majors less likely to make it into law school

The undergraduate degree in pre-law may not be a sure path to a legal career, as students who major in it are less likely to get into law school than philosophy majors. Criminal justice majors have it even worse, according to data from the Law School Admission Council.

U.S. News and World Report recently took a look at the majors of students admitted to law schools and found just 61 percent of pre-law majors were admitted; only 52 percent of criminal justice majors were accepted to law school.

The article looks at reasons why this is the case. Pre-law may not prepare students for the rigors of studying for the LSAT and pre-law and criminal justice may not offer as challenging curriculums as philosophy, economics, or journalism – majors cited with higher acceptance rates.

One student quoted in the story says his English minor better prepared him for law school than his political science major.

Did you pick your undergraduate major because you thought it would help you in getting into law school? How well did your major prepare you? Do you think pre-law and criminal justices majors are getting a bad rap in the story?