Masters' degrees may not help in gaining admission to law school.
Law school is difficult to get into and applicants often will try different avenues in order to boost their chances for admission. Some students will have a master's degree to list on their law school application, as opposed to just the required bachelor's degree, but that does not necessarily mean that any more weight will be given to the application. More than anything, it is the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) score that is given the most weight.
Review Admissions
In 2010, a review by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and the Institute of Legal Executives Professional Standards (IPS) was set up in order to study the avenues used to qualify for law school, including possessing additional undergraduate degrees. This review was created to address the overpopulation of students who were engaged in going for a law degree.
Requirements
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, upon graduation from high school, it takes seven years to become a lawyer. In order to get accepted into a law school, an applicant needs a bachelor's degree. One of the things that law school admissions staff studies is the nature of the undergraduate degree. For example, having a bachelor's degree in computer animation might not prove as useful as having a bachelor's degree in subjects such as engineering or history, both of which emphasize critical thinking, writing and researching skills.
Joint Degrees
Individuals who want to combine law school with a master's degree might be inclined to enroll in a joint degree program. For example, Harvard Law School, in conjunction with the Harvard Business School, offers a joint Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. Applicants apply for admission to both programs. If they are accepted, they spend their first year studying for their law degree; the second year is spent studying for the business degree, and the last two years are a combination of the two. The joint JD/MBA program is designed for those looking to make a specialty of business law.
Preferences
Each law school has a different emphasis on the various aspects of what it looks for when accepting an applicant. For example, a college like Fordham might rely very heavily upon the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). The highest score that can be attained on the LSAT is 180 and the lowest score is 120. Fordham University accepted 100 percent of students who scored the highest on the LSAT and maintained a grade point average in college of 3.5 or better. Some law schools might factor in a master's degree to a greater extent than others, while other law schools might look upon job experience in a law office as being more valuable.
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