I need some help choosing my College Major.. and I have some questions?

[therron57]

I'm a sophomore in High School finally deciding to start my college search, and choosing what I'd like to Major in. I am stuck between 3 majors, but one is rather far off.

-Legal Studies (and Law School after I make enough money, Entry Level Job: Paralegal, End Goal:Lawyer?)
//My aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents were all in the Legal Business. So it kind of runs in my blood. I don't know all that much about it, so could someone further explain in detail what Paralegals do besides assisting with case files?

-Business w/ a Focus in Accounting (will get my Master's and maybe an MBA after? opinions on that please. Entry Level Job: Accountant, End Goal: CPA)
//I like crunching numbers, and all that good stuff so I know I would enjoy being an accountant. I'm a hard worker, so the time consuming job of isn't a turn off.

-Computer Science/Programming
//I've always liked Computers and Programming, but I don't see anything positively good coming out of it? My dad's an IT Consultant and makes a nice living, but otherwise I don't know what I could do with a Degree in either of these.. Can anyone give me some input on that?

I have no clue whatsoever the differences between a Master's, MBA, and Doctorate's are?
What are some top Law Schools in the US?
Would it be logical to Double Major in both Accounting and Legal Studies?
Would adding a Foreign Language Minor help with these at all? In High School, I'm taking French for 2 years, Spanish for 4 years, Learning the basics of Polish for a 5-month long project, Fluent in English, and am pretty good at Filipino since I am Filipino. I like learning languages too.

Of these colleges, (Ball State Univ, Boston Coll, U of I, Lewis Univ, Marquette, Michigan State Univ, New York Univ, Notre Dame, OSU, UPenn, Pepperdine, Providence Coll, Purdue, Syracuse, Villanova, Wake Forest Univ, Washington Univ, and Xavier Univ), which has the best programs for my majors? and which schools are Division Men's Volleyball Schools? I play volleyball and I'm looking if I might get a scholarship as well.

Please name one school you think I should attend. I'd like one in the Midwest so it's not too far from home. Thanks.

Sorry for all the Questions, but I'd like to thank you for all your time to help me decide on my future(:

[vohkinne]

You have a lot of good questions. I will do what I can to answer some of them, but, IMHO, some of them would be better answered in a face to face conversation with an appropriate source of information.

You can major in anything you like, get good grades, get a high LSAT score, and go on to law school to earn a JD after college. You don't have to major in legal studies, and that major may not give you much of an advantage. Philosophy, history, political science, English, etc. are also popular pre-law majors. It might help to major in something related to the type of law you'd like to practice, e.g. science for patent law, accounting for tax law, business for corporate law, criminology/criminal justice for criminal law... Talk to some of the lawyers in your family about what a paralegal does, what lawyers in the different legal specialties do. Talk to some of their co-workers, too. Most people enjoy talking about their careers with a young person who is considering the same career.

An MBA (master's of business education) is one type of master's degree. You don't have to major in business to go on to earn an MBA. I agree that if you like crunching numbers, you might also be interested in actuarial science (sometimes this degree if offered by the math or statistics department). Statistics is another possibility for a good number-crunching career. Engineering is another good possibility for someone who is good at math.

There are many good things that can come out of computer science. Some haven't been invented yet. Some jobs in computers are exciting, some are routine. I would suggest talking to an adviser in a college computer science department to find out what some of your career choices might be.

A master's degree is a graduate level degree. You have to have finished your bachelor's degree before you start. A master's degree takes about one to three years. A master's degree may or may not require a thesis (an independent project that you complete and write up.). An MBA is one type. Others are MA (master of arts), MS (master of science), MPH (master of public health), MDiv (master of divinity), MArch (master of architecture), MFA (master of fine arts), etc. A doctorate is a higher level graduate degree. Many doctorates are professional degrees that prepare a student for a career in a specific profession (JD-law, MD or DO-medicine, DPT - physical therapy, DDS-Dentistry, OD -optometry, DVM-veterinary medicine, etc.) A Ph.D. is a degree that indicates that a person has become expert enough in a field to do advanced research or other scholarly work in that field. The first few years of a Ph.D. program are similar to that of a master's degree. During the last years of a Ph.D. program, the student does a lengthy research project, which is written up as a dissertation to be defended to a committee of faculty members.

US News and World Reports publishes a list of rankings of law schools. See the first link. Ivy League Schools and other elite schools (Stanford, for example) are usually at the top of the list.

Whether or not a double major make sense depends on the policies of your university and your interests and career goals.

Knowing several languages is advantageous for international business and some government jobs. A foreign language minor would be good. So would overseas study in a country where the language is spoken.

For volleyball, of the schools on your list, Ohio State and Ball State would probably have the best Division I NCAA Men's Volleyball. I am not sure if Lewis is Division I or Division II. Loyola of Chicago is another good midwestern school with a strong Men's Volleyball program. You can use the college matchmaker function at the College Board web site to find school's that have Men's Volleyball programs. Add Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne to your list if volleyball is important to you. IPFW is easy to get into but has a great volleyball program for a branch campus. NYU has divison III Men's Volleyball, but it is not in the midwest. Pepperdine is division I but it is on the west coast. Penn State has Divsion I volleyball but Penn doesn't.

For business in the midwest, Notre Dame and Wash U. are great but hard to get into. Same of U. Michigan (which is not on your list but should be). Add Indiana University-Bloomington for business.

I can't tell you which school you should attend. I would like to suggest that you visit as many as possible during the next year. Talk to people who are currently working in careers of interest to you. Find out about the general education and major requirements at the schools you are considering. Find out about special opportunities such as overseas study, themed housing, clubs, volunteer organizations. If possible, spend a night on campus as a junior or senior. Try the food, sample the social life, sit in a lecture, etc. Talk to advisers.

[nemausus36]

You have to have a four year Bachelor degree and take the LSAT before you can apply to Law schools where you will be for another 3 years. Law is not a major for undergrads.
If your whole family is in Law, why are you not asking them?
You need a four year Bachelor degree before you can go on to any grad school.

Look in to becoming an actuary, instead of business/accounting. It is one of the careers that right now you would have your choice of jobs.

You can go on each schools web site yourself to see if they have volleyball. And you and your parents need to go on college visits. Meet with admissions, take a tour of the campus. You must visit each school to know if it is right for you. You will be living there for four years. And you better check out tuition and room and board costs. There is a huge difference of price with the colleges you list.
My daughter is at BSU. She loved it when when first went on a college visit there, and now two years later she still loves the school.