Aleks Petrovich, ’14, reports a lawyer friend noting that the only group he was jealous of in law school was philosophy majors, since they were so well prepared.
Read more about Aleks’ story.
GRAD AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL ADMISSION TEST DATA
If more evidence of the broad value of philosophy were needed, consider the ranking of Philosophy majors on various professional and graduate admissions tests.
LSAT (Law Schools): Philosophy majors regularly rank in the top six, often in the top three, and tied for the top slot in 2011-12.
GMAT (Business Schools): Philosophy majors averaged 5th of all reported, the highest ranking for any Humanities or Social Science major Include link.
GRE (Humanities and Social Science programs): Those intending to study philosophy in graduate school have been at the top of the scale in verbal reasoning and analytical writing.
MCAT (Medical Schools): For 2014, Humanities majors averaged 29.5, slightly higher than the average 28.6—and than biological science majors: 28.5.
Law schools and business schools welcome students with diverse majors, but the admission test data suggests that philosophy is especially helpful in developing essential skills for these fields.
A “degree in philosophy prepares the student to enter law school by teaching students how to understand and analyze situations and flesh out details. They will learn how to define and interpret complicated situations. They are also taught how to examine evidence and create compelling arguments that are cohesive and logical. Arguing a case in court also requires the ability to see all sides of the argument.
[Students] will discover how humans think and be exposed to a variety of worldviews. By understanding how others think and believe, the student is able to prepare for opposing arguments in advance. The philosophy student will also have ample opportunity to unravel complex situations and speak with a strong degree of confidence.” LawyerEdu.org
On the other hand, though it may be surprising, humanities majors, like philosophy, also perform well on the medical school admission test. And philosophy majors have been admitted to medical school at relatively high rates. Of course, they need the the required science courses, and some may double major in a field like biology.
Philosophy majors also attend other graduate programs, such as communication and media or cinema studies. Here, the GRE can be a requirement for admission. And remember that philosophy majors regularly score highest of all majors on the Verbal and Writing tests, while scoring best of all humanities majors on the Quantitative section.
Resources on Professional Schools
Law School: Link to Prelaw page. One of the College’s prelaw advisors is Chad McCracken, a member of the Philosophy Department. Prof. McCracken was a practicing lawyer and taught LSAT prep courses. He is a valuable resource for students considering law school.
Medical School and other Health Careers: Links to basic information and the Health Professions Advisory Committee
Business School (MBA): Contact the Career Advancement Center