How an Online Economics Degree Can Benefit a Pre-Law Student

So you’ve finally decided what to do with your life a few years from now: You want to be a lawyer and you’re going to law school. But going to law school requires a degree of preparation. Apart from the fact that you’d be required to take the Law School Admission Test before you are admitted to any institution that offers legal education in the United States, mastering the material once admitted won’t be a walk in the park either. While in college, then, it’s best to already pick a degree that will prepare you for what lies ahead. 

Here’s how an online economics degree can benefit a pre-law student:

1. Economics Helps Hone Your Analytical Skills

The thing about economics is that it is a very logical science. When you study economics, you necessarily study these two forms of logic that allow for a good economic analysis:

• Inductive Method: Under this method, a conclusion is derived from the particular to the general. An economist who employs this method is like a historian who observes events and applies these to more general occurrences. Ernst Engel’s Law of Family Expenditure, which states that the percentage of income allotted to food decreases as a household’s income rises, was derived through this method.
• Deductive Method: Under this method, which is also called the abstract or prior method, a conclusion is derived by applying generally accepted assumptions to specific events. David Ricardo’s theory on wages and profit, which states that the price of labor in the market will always tend to go towards the minimum, was derived using this method. 

In law school, there is such a thing as legal reasoning. While the inductive method is considered inconclusive reasoning in the study of law, the deductive method is key, as any specific conclusion is always conclusive and follows if one accepts the premises. The number of premises is usually more than one.  

In short, an economics degree gives you the training that you need in reasoning, which you will necessarily have to have mastered when in law school.

2. Some Subjects In Law Are Rooted In Economic Analyses And Principles

When you enter law school, you will have to master certain subjects that are somewhat complicated from a learner’s point of view. Several of these subjects are rooted in economics. Here are only some of them:

• Contract Theory: This is the study of how people and entities develop legal agreements. Contract theory is derived from financial principles and the principles of economic behavior, which lay down the assumption that different people are driven by different incentives.
• Antitrust Laws: These laws, also called competition laws, are those that primarily deal with businesses in the context of an existing free market. Antitrust laws ensure an equal playing field for all businesses that are primarily driven by profit, and ensure that consumers are protected from predatory business practices.
• Banking And Finance Law: This refers to the body of laws that governs the operations of banks, among others. Each country has its own set of regulations that ensure that the financial system, which operates based on economic principles, remains protected.

With an online Economics degree, you will have prior understanding of the economic principles behind these areas of study. That gives you an edge when you start studying these legal constructs, and ensures that you have a better grasp of them once you’re done with classes.

3. Economics Majors Fare Well In The LSAT

There is historical data to back up the claim that economics majors are among those that fare the best in the LSAT. According to 2017 to 2018 data from the Law Schools Admission Council, for instance, those majoring in Economics, 2,752 LSAT applicants at that time, had the highest average LSAT score at 159. For context, the LSAT is scored on a 120 to 180 scale, with the average score pegged at 150. 

The following rounded up the top five that performed the best in the LSAT of that period, but  trailed Economics majors in terms of average LSAT scores:

• Philosophy majors (2,238 applicants), with an average LSAT score of 157.2
• History majors (3,138 applicants), with an average LSAT score of 156.3
• English majors (3,151 applicants), with an average LSAT score of 154.8
• Arts and Humanities (1,947 applicants), with an average LSAT score of 154 

This data is not at all surprising, considering the fact that some of the areas that are tested in the LSAT are subjects that are studied and mastered by Economics majors:

• Analytical reasoning
• Logical reasoning
• Reading comprehension

It isn’t any wonder, too, then that of those who took the LSAT during that period, Economics majors also registered the highest percentage of test-takers accepted to at least one law school, at 86 percent. Admission to law school, after all, is primarily dependent on the LSAT score, apart from the GPA.

Conclusion

Becoming a lawyer is hard. It requires planning and preparation spanning years, including those years you would have to spend in college. When you do get admitted to law school, you should also get used to your life as a law student for you to survive. 

In other words, the key is to have a plan, stick to it, and study hard. And then hope that the rest will follow.