In a 2001, Professor and Prelaw Advisor at Chicago State University Carol Leach compiled a list of the most common majors of law school applicants and found that political science is the most frequent. However, political science majors were also determined to have the 16th-highest acceptance rate to law school. Nevertheless, political science's intersection with other fields, such as public policy, economics and history, makes it an appropriate preparatory major for law school. Political science majors often study the US Constitution and also place a large emphasis on their writing skills, both of which are assets for any law school applicant.
The same 2001 Chicago State University study found that physics is not even in the Top 20 most common majors of law school applicants, but students who concentrate in this field had the highest acceptance rate. This finding speaks to the breadth of majors suitable for law school. In addition, physics majors focus heavily on problem solving and analytical skills, which factors into their highest average LSAT scoring.
In 2001, philosophy majors ranked as the 12th-most common major of law school applicants and had the second highest acceptance rate. Philosophy students focus heavily on critical reading and writing, which are prominent types of work in law school. Moreover, the analytical and writing skills of philosophy students historically help them score very high on the LSAT exam .
Economics is another common law school major as well as the concentration that had the second-best LSAT average. Economics majors emphasize data analysis and mathematical logic, which are excellent preparation for law school's analytical reading requirements. Furthermore, economics was the sixth most common law school applicant major and received the seventh-highest acceptance rate in 2001.