hey there! i guess you must have answered this type of question plenty of times, but i really need your help. what is really the best pre-law course in ateneo? :confused:

No such thing as "the best pre-law course."

No one course provides a substantial advantage. Legal Management grads may enjoy some degree of familiarity with a few law subjects; but if there is any advantage with mere familiarity, the advantage only lasts a few weeks at best.

There is not even any undergraduate university that could provide a particular advantage. Ateneans who study at the Ateneo Law School do not always perform better than graduates of other universities.

One well-respected alumnus of the Ateneo Law School who topped both the bar and the CPA board exams, earned a Master of Laws degree from Harvard, and is now a top corporate lawyer and law professor, earned his undergrad degree from a university in Pampanga called Holy Angels University. Holy Angels is a decent school; but it does not enjoy the same reputation as the top universities in Manila.

In my batch, we had a very good mix of students. We had graduates of accounting, business (management, management engineering, etc.), different areas of liberal arts (poli sci, economics, asian studies, history, etc.), engineering, physics, etc.--you name it we have it. We even had a nurse and an ex-seminarian. There was also a nun, but she dropped out after a while.

I think the more important focus for undergrads (planning to enter law school) is to acquire the discipline for serious academic work -- in any field. Discipline is essentially what you need to succeed in law school -- not any particular body of knowledge or training in other fields.

It may also help to earn very good grades in college, as your grades are among the criteria used in the screening process in some (but not all) law schools.

[ November 08, 2002: Message edited by: the Boss ]

Hey there Perplexed! Listen to the Boss. He knows what he's talking about. My undergrad was LM but my "advantage" disappeared in a matter of weeks. I think it would be helpful to tell you what our management head back in Loyola told us on the very first day: "If you're absolutely sure you want to go to law school, shift out now!" Since I wasn's sure whether I really wanted to go to law school, I stayed. If you are (I guess you are), my advice is to go for a course you're interested in. At least you'll know other things aside from law.

As the Boss mentioned, you could follow the footsteps of our revered professor from Pampanga and become a CPA-lawyer. I hear it's an advantage in corporate law... that is if you want to enter corporate law someday.

Bottomline is there's really no "best" pre-law course. If you already know what field you want to specialize in (corporate law, international law, etc.) you could go for an undergrad course to "complement" your law degree (accounting - helpful for corporate law, international studies - can be helpful for international law). I think you get my point. Just remember to relax and enjoy your undergrad course. Good luck.

thanks a lot for the advice! they really helped! well, considering that I'm not really sure if I'll go to law school, i might as well stay in lm. i just hope i made the right decision. :cool:

by the way, there is no accounting course in ateneo and transferring to another school school is out of the question (i don't want to retake some of my subjects and i don't want my tuition fee for freshman year to go to waste.) so it really is lm for me. :cool:

so you're stuck in lm huh? Don't worry, it's not that bad. Personally, I had a hard time shifting from management mode and law mode... but it's something you have to live with in lm.

btw, don't judge law school from the way your lm teachers discuss law subjects. They're told "college is not law school." The law subjects in lm are really easy compared to law school... although when i was in lm, they seemed hard enough Just don't expect law school to be that easy. Good luck. See you in law school if you eventually decide to enter Ateneo Law.

How about Social Sciences? Are there students in ALS who have taken this?

The student who graduated at the top of the ALS class last year was a Political Science major. The truth is that ALS is filled with students who came from a wide array of majors and undergrad schools. A few years ago, a biology major from DLSU topped his ALS class and the bar to boot.

Trivia lang, this graduation (batch 2003), the valedictorian, salutatorian, and the #3 and #5 are all LM majors. So to perplexed, maybe LM isn't that bad.

Lawko, sira na ulo ko with thesis writing!

[ May 12, 2003: Message edited by: 8210 ]

i think the SOM is offering a minor degree in accounting.maybe you could minor instead.check their website.

would you guys recommend ab psych? i'm planning to take that up eh. i'm also looking into business ad/mgt. thanks!

Unless you're really sure that you'll be proceeding to law school, I personally think it's better to choose a course that would enable you to find a job IN CASE you decide not no become a lawyer in the future, or if something should happen (we'll never know...) that would prevent you...

Umm....hello guys just want your information about taking law school. Im a hs graduate of 2004 and can you give me some insights about pre-law and taking this course. How many years of studies will I do and stuff!

Thanks!
Still haven't decided what Im going to do!

ei just wanna ask something.... is there any pre-law courses na let's say... nagbago isip ko i can stop and still get a job... prang a pre-law na kahit na di ako magpatuloy sa law e may natapos naman me na i can use. besides psychology... please.... I just wanna play safe...

BS Legal Management, AB Political Science, AB European Studies, and even BS Business Management are good options.

hello. Im the moderator of this forum and im also the EVP of the Ateneo Law Student Council.

anyway, about your question, there is no recommended pre-law course for Ateneo Law, or for that matter, any law school. I have classmates with backgrounds as diverse as medicine, military, management engineering, psychology, English literature, philosophy, legal management, political science, biology and engineering.