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I am switching my major from poli sci to general studies. I need the flexibility of course requirements in the general studies degree to "mesh" with my work schedule. I can formally switch after I submit my transcripts to law schools (though they see/think I'm poli sci) or I could do it before, so that they don't see any discrepancy (my registrar said my transcript will never show that I was ever a poli sci major, just the major/program I am currently enrolled in when I request my transcript). Will law schools even care or differentiate between a poli sci degree and a general studies degree?

I really appreciate any thoughts . . .

Doubt they will care.

It seems slightly dishonest to me to give schools an impression you're getting a certain degree when you know that you won't. In that vague moral sense I object to this.

But practically it doesn't matter. They're not going to care as long as you have a bachelor's degree from your school and a certain GPA.

"general studies"?!

vanwinkle wrote:It seems slightly dishonest to me to give schools an impression you're getting a certain degree when you know that you won't. In that vague moral sense I object to this.

But practically it doesn't matter. They're not going to care as long as you have a bachelor's degree from your school and a certain GPA.

True - and if they won't care anyway, I suppose it doesn't hurt to just make the switch before submitting my transcript. My "concentration" will still be in Poli Sci but with 8 less credit hours. Its silly, but with a gen studies I won't be tied down to a 4-semester foreign language requirement and a few others (which classes only meet during the day).

They would probably care more that you switched and didn't tell them than they would that you were poli sci vs. general studies. No offense, but both are fairly common majors. One doesn't look better than the other. Lying looks pretty dishonest / bad.

LSAC had my degree as a BA instead of a BS (same major). I called to change it and they said it didn't matter and wouldn't change it for me. Not sure if my degree was even listed on my transcript at the time, but I got the impression it didn't matter in my case.

Not saying what you should do, but at this point you may as well change it.

General Studies??? You are really going all in on that law degree, arent you..

Change it before submitting transcripts. It's always best to give the most accurate information to LSAC.

tkgrrett wrote:General Studies??? You are really going all in on that law degree, arent you..

Thanks for your worthless comment.

There's no moral issue here. They don't really care as long as your GPA is fine. That being said, I just don't see why you should wait. What would you gain from this?

billyez wrote:There's no moral issue here.

Dude, I'm really starting to wonder about you.

Basket Weaving, Creative Dance, Poly Sci - it doesn't really matter.

vanwinkle wrote:

billyez wrote:There's no moral issue here.

Dude, I'm really starting to wonder about you.

Oh, come on. We both know that these law schools aren't going to give two hoots about whether this person has a General Studies or a Poli Sci Major. There's no issue here. it's just not a big deal.

billyez wrote:

vanwinkle wrote:

billyez wrote:There's no moral issue here.

Dude, I'm really starting to wonder about you.

Oh, come on. We both know that these law schools aren't going to give two hoots about whether this person has a General Studies or a Poli Sci Major. There's no issue here. it's just not a big deal.

Nobody cares what your major is, but they would care if they found out you misrepresented which major you would be graduating with. The law is all about ethical questions involving honesty and proper representation of the facts. Sure, the odds of the school finding out are small, but that doesn't make it not wrong.

I am still trying to figure out how to spin "general studies" during a job interview

IAFG wrote:I am still trying to figure out how to spin "general studies" during a job interview

I don't think she's asking whether she should change majors or whether her major's a good idea, just when she should send in the transcripts - before or after the switch in majors? hth

IAFG wrote:I am still trying to figure out how to spin "general studies" during a job interview

Hello, I studied everything.

Bildungsroman wrote:

IAFG wrote:I am still trying to figure out how to spin "general studies" during a job interview

I don't think she's asking whether she should change majors or whether her major's a good idea, just when she should send in the transcripts - before or after the switch in majors? hth

what's your point hun

vanwinkle wrote:

billyez wrote:

vanwinkle wrote:

billyez wrote:There's no moral issue here.

Dude, I'm really starting to wonder about you.

Oh, come on. We both know that these law schools aren't going to give two hoots about whether this person has a General Studies or a Poli Sci Major. There's no issue here. it's just not a big deal.

Nobody cares what your major is, but they would care if they found out you misrepresented which major you would be graduating with. The law is all about ethical questions involving honesty and proper representation of the facts. Sure, the odds of the school finding out are small, but that doesn't make it not wrong.

Just look at what I said above - I said that the OP has nothing to gain from waiting. They might as well send it in. We both appear to have come to the same conclusion (that the OP should send the change in Major in), even if it was for different reasons, so there's not much of a difference here.

IAFG wrote:I am still trying to figure out how to spin "general studies" during a job interview

General Studies Majors get a hard rap from other folks, but it actually is an incredibly flexible Major to take. For people who do need flexibility in which courses they have to take it's incredibly useful. People can just say that they went after a GS Major in order to have a flexible college experience rather than a cloistered one that forces you to only focus on one area of study.

IAFG wrote:I am still trying to figure out how to spin "general studies" during a job interview

General/liberal studies basically translates to majoring in everything. My university offers it as a BA in "liberal studies". It's interdisciplinary. For example, someone at my school can do something like this:
24 hours in Poli Sci
30 hours in Econ
12 hours in International Studies
18 in Gen Ed


and so on. You study what you want instead of boxing yourself in with one major. You still have certain requirements to meet, though.

billyez wrote:Just look at what I said above - I said that the OP has nothing to gain from waiting. They might as well send it in. We both appear to have come to the same conclusion (that the OP should send the change in Major in), even if it was for different reasons, so there's not much of a difference here.

There's a huge difference in how the conclusion was reached, and that matters. You're going to learn that quickly in law school, or bomb hard.

vanwinkle wrote:

billyez wrote:Just look at what I said above - I said that the OP has nothing to gain from waiting. They might as well send it in. We both appear to have come to the same conclusion (that the OP should send the change in Major in), even if it was for different reasons, so there's not much of a difference here.

There's a huge difference in how the conclusion was reached, and that matters. You're going to learn that quickly in law school, or bomb hard.

You mean based on what the Judge had for breakfast, right?

vanwinkle wrote:

billyez wrote:Just look at what I said above - I said that the OP has nothing to gain from waiting. They might as well send it in. We both appear to have come to the same conclusion (that the OP should send the change in Major in), even if it was for different reasons, so there's not much of a difference here.

There's a huge difference in how the conclusion was reached, and that matters. You're going to learn that quickly in law school, or bomb hard.

For the purposes of this conversation, the differences don't really matter. But in any case, the OP knows our opinions. Continuing this particular thread of discussion would hardly help him/her in any fashion.

billyez wrote:For the purposes of this conversation, the differences don't really matter.

I disagree. People look to this forum for advice, and often choose which advice to take based on the reasons given for following it. Different rationales can be persuasive, and also color their decision-making in future similar situations. Given that, to tell people as you did that "there's no moral issue here" creates a difference that really does matter.

mpasi wrote:

IAFG wrote:I am still trying to figure out how to spin "general studies" during a job interview

General/liberal studies basically translates to majoring in everything. My university offers it as a BA in "liberal studies". It's interdisciplinary. For example, someone at my school can do something like this:
24 hours in Poli Sci
30 hours in Econ
12 hours in International Studies
18 in Gen Ed


and so on. You study what you want instead of boxing yourself in with one major. You still have certain requirements to meet, though.

i know what it is. i just think it would be a negative soft in legal hiring.