How well does Williams prepare you for business/law schools?

bnguyen · 01-04-2009, 08:27 PM

Does Williams prepare people well for business/law schools? Maybe top fifteen business/ law schools.

If possible, could you give me a rough comparison between Williams vs Dartmouth and Brown?

crnchycereal · 01-05-2009, 12:20 PM

This question is difficult to answer without knowing more specifically what you mean by being "prepared" for business or law school. I'll break this down into two answers.

If your question refers to how well does Williams prepare one for business/law school in terms of being able to think analytically and with sophistication, being able to handle heavy work loads, and being able to manage time effectively, then sure, Williams will do just fine. Williams is an elite LAC, and the academic environment there is no joke. If you want to succeed there, you won't be slacking off.

If your question refers to how well Williams prepares you in terms of applying to and gaining admission to top business and law schools, then Williams is also a fine place. But you should keep something in mind here. The reputation of your undergraduate school has very little to do with admission to top business and law schools. For the former, what matter most are your grades, your recommendations, and your work experience (the GMAT is really more of a secondary concern). For the latter, two things matter the most: your GPA and your LSAT. Williams would be no different from Dartmouth or Brown in this regard; all three are excellent, top schools. But don't go to Williams just because you think it will give you some edge over a public state school graduate. It won't. For that matter, it wouldn't matter if you came from Harvard or Yale (though some people would debate those schools give a small boost). For instance, a Williams graduate with a 3.4 GPA and a 164 LSAT is still not going to get into a Harvard Law or a Stanford Law, no matter how excellent his recommendations or personal statement (assuming the applicant is not an under-represented minority or hasn't done something truly, truly extraordinary with her life). On the other hand, some random graduate from FSU with a 4.0 GPA and a 177 LSAT WILL get into a Harvard Law or a Stanford Law.

Full disclosure: I graduated from Williams in 2008 and will be attending Harvard Law starting in the fall of this year.

bnguyen · 01-05-2009, 02:22 PM

Thanks for the very constructive information. To me, Williams, Dartmouth and Brown are all great. The factor that's gonna make the difference when I'm choosing which school to go to is probably financial aid.

If you want to go to business school, what are best undergrad majors? If law school, which majors?

I'm currently thinking about doing polisci as an undergrad, then probably business school. How do you think of that course? Because I've seen lots of people going to great B-schools major in engineering.

crnchycereal · 01-05-2009, 06:12 PM

I can't say for sure whether or not one's undergraduate major has an impact on business school admissions. My guess is if there is any, then it's probably not huge. GPA/GMAT count because they're a measure of competence (to a degree), but work experience plays a large role because that's what business school is all about. Someone who graduated with an English or Anthropology degree, went to work for a big consulting firm like Bain or BCG for a few years, and then applied to business school, would likely have a strong chance of acceptance. On the other hand, an economics major with high numbers but who didn't have any work experience would probably not fare as well.

As for law school, I can honestly tell you that it does not matter whatsoever what major you choose unless you have a strong desire to work in patent or intellectual property law. For those fields, a background in engineering or the hard sciences is desirable. Otherwise, it's all fair game. The most important factors in law school admissions are your GPA and your LSAT score; everything else is secondary. You should choose a major that you'll enjoy and one in which you believe you will perform strongly. If you want to study political science (that was my major), go for it. But if you wanted to study biology, comparative literature, or theater instead, those would all also be fine choices.