Integrated Studies = Disadvantage? Forum

[chicago5950]

Hey guys,

I have been in school 3 full semesters and have 84 credit hours at 3.53 gpa. I talked with my academic adviser yesterday and he said if I switched my major to Integrated Studies (basically means I did a lot of broad courses through many concentrations) that I could graduate this December (for a total of 2.5 years in college or 5 semesters). Since it would be an Integrated Studies degree the courses I would have to take would not be that difficult (300 level in any concentration I want) so I probably could get my gpa up to 3.6-3.7. However, my question is-- would I be at a disadvantage applying to law schools with a BIS degree even if my gpa was decent (3.6-3.7) and a decent lsat (havent taken yet)?

Thanks

[AreJay711]

Probably not but you would have a more difficult time finding a job. It does make your applications look more like "I can't do anything with my degree so I'm going to law school" but any increase in you GPA would more than outweigh that.

[chicago5950]

Yeah I know my job prospects are pretty much nil, but in all truth I just want to go to law school.

[ahduth]

I wouldn't switch from a BIS degree to an integrated studies degree unless it's a money issue. Not sure how many semesters you'd slice off with the switch, but a BIS degree looks a LOT more legitimate than integrated studies. I'd think law firms would be much more interested in you, particularly if you were able to contribute meaningfully around information security / privacy. But if you're going to save like, 20k by skipping a semester... that's definitely your call.