GPA vs Education Quality Forum

[John Mill]

So I mentioned a few times around here that I'm doing a philosophy minor in UG. Well I want to start off by saying that I love my first class, the teacher is a very smart, super funny guy, and I'm learning a ton. My reading skills have improved a lot (I'm dyslexic), he forces us to read really difficult stuff and analyze it and understand it, I really feel like I'm getting more out of this class than any other I've taken at a college level.

The problem is that this guy is the hardest grader in the school. Atm I'm getting a B- (getting an A in all my other classes). So I'm just looking around for some advice, should I put the quality of the education I get first, or my GPA? My goal is the upper T14 (Columbia) and I don't want this minor to mess up my GPA, but as I said I really enjoy this class and I've been learning a ton. Plus statistically Philosophy majors do best on the LSATs so there's that too.

So I'm just fishing around for advice I guess, try and get a feel of what I should do.

[orbbs]

So I mentioned a few times around here that I'm doing a philosophy minor in UG. Well I want to start off by saying that I love my first class, the teacher is a very smart, super funny guy, and I'm learning a ton. My reading skills have improved a lot (I'm dyslexic), he forces us to read really difficult stuff and analyze it and understand it, I really feel like I'm getting more out of this class than any other I've taken at a college level.

The problem is that this guy is the hardest grader in the school. Atm I'm getting a B- (getting an A in all my other classes). So I'm just looking around for some advice, should I put the quality of the education I get first, or my GPA? My goal is the upper T14 (Columbia) and I don't want this minor to mess up my GPA, but as I said I really enjoy this class and I've been learning a ton. Plus statistically Philosophy majors do best on the LSATs so there's that too.

So I'm just fishing around for advice I guess, try and get a feel of what I should do.

If getting to law school is your only goal in education, drop the minor and save the GPA.

[law school should not be your only goal in education]

[Tiago Splitter]

Try to get that B- up, but even if you can't one B- isn't going to kill you. If every prof in the philosophy department will cause you to get a B- then yeah, re-think the the minor.

[badaboom61]

If you want to go to law school, save the GPA. Nothing else you do in undergrad - what you learn, what realizations you have, what new analytical mindsets you develop - will actually help you as much as getting into a better law school by getting a higher GPA.

The game sucks, but you've got to play it.

[alwayssunnyinfl]

What year are you? You could always take the harder philosophy classes your senior year and not update your transcripts during the admissions cycle. It's riskier than just sticking with A classes, but it could be a good balance between preserving a T6 GPA and actually learning something in UG.

[hq2x]

Is Pass/Fail out of the question? Even if the credits won't then count for your minor, you can always take additional, easier classes to fill that gap. You should also look into auditing.

[Typhoon24]

My advice? Get books and/or befriend more professors! I used to be a physics minor until I decided I wanted to do law school. I got out of it because I didn't wanna risk crappy grades. I love the material though, so I spent some money buying books related to the field, both novels and textbooks. It would help me get my physics cravings satisfied, and I enjoyed every second of it. I also contacted my old professor and chatted to him about why I'm no longer a physics minor but still want to keep in touch and discuss books and problems/solutions if I had the free time. You'll be surprised at how much professors love to just sit and talk about their field with people during office hours or whatnot (most of the time). I even got a pretty sweet LoR out of it.

Long story short, just because you're no longer a minor doesn't mean you can't enjoy philosophy like you would in a class. Go read books and talk to your old professors and get a friendship going. It can only help you.

[twenty]

My goal is the upper T14 (Columbia)

This comes first.

but as I said I really enjoy this class and I've been learning a ton.

This comes second.

Plus statistically Philosophy majors do best on the LSATs so there's that too.

They're close, but actually it's math majors. Irrelevant though -- please don't let this influence your decision.

So I'm just fishing around for advice I guess, try and get a feel of what I should do.

If the minor will take you to median or below at CCN, run, don't walk away.

If it won't, have a great senior year.

[FlanAl]

I'd say if you really like the class, do your best to get that grade up and try to befriend the professor. If its one of your worst grades (but its not that terrible) and you get a letter of rec. from said prof that would probably be the best outcome.

[BlueDiamond]

quality of education? is that a joke? drop the class

[TheGreatFish]

My reading skills have improved a lot (I'm dyslexic), he forces us to read really difficult stuff and analyze it and understand it, I really feel like I'm getting more out of this class than any other I've taken at a college level.

These are the skills that will serve you well in law school and your legal career. You can drop all the tough classes and try to artificially inflate your GPA to help you get into a better law school, but where will that leave you once you finally get there?