What Courses Should You Take To Prepare For Law School?

This topic is for freshmen and sophomores who may not have decided what to major in or what courses should you take that will help prepare for law school. As you may already know, there is no specific major that is better than the other or will give you an advantage when applying to law school. As I said previously in an earlier post, find something you like and excel. However, you should choose a major that will enhance your public speaking, research, writing, critical thinking, and critical analysis abilities--as these are some of the essential skills you will need in order to be successful in law school.

DO NOT TAKE JUST THE EASY COURSES *Warning*
I know everyone wants the 4.0 GPA, but it would look a lot better on your transcript if you took challenging courses than several easy courses. Do not get discourage, the difficult courses are the ones that will prepare you most for law school---law school will not be easy, so don't get in the habit of taking the easy road. Law schools want to see that you performed well at a rigorous level. That said, next semester, challenge yourself.

What courses are you taking? Thus far, most of my courses consist of a lot of public speaking exercises and projects. I also have a lot of reading every night (tons!). I am taking a Constitutional Law course this semester, and believe me when I say it is difficult. We are constantly writing briefs for Supreme Court cases and discussing the ambiguities of each case. Taking these cases apart and analyzing them is not an easy task--but I am learning. My point here is that I am challenging myself now in order to be better prepared for law school. I could have easily dropped the course and registered for an easier course, but I decided not to take the easier route--and I hope you will do the same.