THE PRELAW COMPANION

Calculating the Odds

One reason to take courses outside of the "prelaw" majors is that, with the exception of economics, they’re simply not analytically-oriented enough, strictly speaking. Obviously, at the highest level in any field, one is doing "analysis." But for exposure to the kind of analysis which lends itself well to "legal thinking," history and political science are not the last word.

Thus we come onto the uncomfortable subject, alluded to earlier, of math and science. It was mentioned early on that anyone considering a legal practice in patent or computer law will have to be fluent in the substantive topics as well as law; so too with lawyers who deal in medical ethics (biology and philosophy), environmental law (chemistry, chemical engineering), or similar specialized fields. But this is obvious.

Everyone would be better off knowing more math. It is analytical reasoning in its purest form; it is a model of everything, and the language of all the sciences. Most colleges require at least a semester or two of science or math, because an educated person ought to know more than arithmetic.

Many people reading this book, though, aren’t good at math. They’re actually kind of bad at it. They don’t like it.

Let’s get to the point: Do the rest of us have to take calculus and physics in college?

No.

Everyone wants you to be as well-rounded as you can be, but there’s no sense in going overboard. Many mathematics majors and physics majors and engineers have become great lawyers. And many social science, history, and literature majors take a few semesters of math and science, and enjoy them.

But anyone asking whether she "has to" take courses in these subjects obviously doesn’t want to. Unless you can take hard-core quantitative courses and do well on them, or take them on a pass-fail basis (and pass!), they may cost you more than they’re worth. If math or science courses are going to throw your GPA for a loop, they’re not worth it.

Does that mean you shouldn’t take them? No. Law school admissions offices know that calculus and differential equations are harder subjects than Chinese pottery. If you get a C+ in math, you may be rewarded for your effort. It’s not a completely unjust world.

That C+, however, will have a different effect on your GPA than an A in that pottery class. The effect will be negative. Even though admissions offices know which courses are which, your transcript will almost surely be examined only if you make certain numerical cutoffs, as explained in chapter 10.

In sum, you can afford a few middling math grades, and in the long run they may pay off. Your hardiness will not go unappreciated by admissions officers, and, no less importantly, you’ll learn some math and improve your analytical skills. It is better to have loved and lost, even in calculus, than never to have loved at all.

But let’s not take this "well-rounded" thing too far. This isn’t premed.


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