Econ is the Best Prep for Law School
The B.A. in Economics is the best preparation for Graduate and Law School
The score on the LSAT exam is the primary statistic that Law Schools use to determine admission into their schools and when deciding on Financial Aid awards. To prepare for Law School, advisors often suggest a number of various undergraduate degrees that provide students with a sound background necessary for their later studies in Law School. The relevant question is which undergraduate degree best prepares students for admission into Law School and for top consideration for financial assistance in such schools.
Asthe table below indicates, first obtaining an undergraduate degree in Economics
is the best preparation for those students interested in study
Law. What is the explanation for why first studying Economics is the best preparation
for Law School? It may be that, unlike other disciplines,
studying Economics does not teach you particular answers to a given question, but
rather Economics teaches you how to approach a question and
reasonable and rational methods of obtaining an answer. The importance of this is
that in an ever changing world, it is far better to understand
how to answer a question instead of remembering particular answers. And if there is
one thing Economics is famous for, it is for teaching
students how to analyze a problem.
Average LSAT Scores* |
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| Current Rank | Major | Average Score | Number of Students | Previous Rank | Average Score | Number of Students |
| 1 | Economics | 155.3 | 2,916 | 1 | 155.7 | 4,157 |
| 2 | History | 154.0 | 5,819 | 3 | 154.4 | 5,080 |
| 3 | English | 153.7 | 6,324 | 4 | 153.9 | 5,698 |
| 4 | Engineering | 152.7 | 2,656 | 2 | 154.7 | 2,536 |
| 5 | Journalism & Languages |
152.5 | 2,002 | 7 | 152.3 | 2,042 |
| 6 | Finance | 152.2 | 2,009 | 5 | 153.1 | 2,756 |
| 7 | Psychology | 151.9 | 3,977 | 8 | 152.0 | 3,522 |
| 8 | Accounting | 151.8 | 2,340 | 6 | 152.6 | 2,855 |
| 9 | Political Science | 151.6 | 15,388 | 9 | 151.8 | 13,628 |
| 10 | Communication & Arts |
150.7 | 3,898 | 10 | 150.8 | 3,909 |
| 11 | Management | 149.4 | 2,735 | 11 | 149.9 | 3,294 |
| 12 | Sociology & Social Work |
149.3 | 3,129 | 13 | 149.2 | 2,550 |
| 13 | Business Administration |
148.6 | 2,111 | 12 | 149.6 | 2,454 |
| 14 | Criminology | 145.8 | 3,960 | 14 | 145.9 | 2,928 |
| * Source: Nieswiadomy, Michael (1998), "LSAT Scores of Economics Majors," Journal of Economics Education, Volume 29, Number 4, Fall, pp. 377-379. | ||||||
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