Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 2:14 pm
Will a 3.4 gpa with a tough double major be as good as a higher gpa with a less difficult major?
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Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 2:15 pm
Nope
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 5:51 pm
There's no way to accurately measure how much harder one major is than another. Therefore, there's no way to give certain applicants a boost. They expect you to choose a major, or majors, that you can handle and succeed in.
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:31 pm
I'm going to disagree. I got into a T25 with a 3.0 in Physics and a LSAT right at median. I don't think it's a boost per se, but I think with a few schools who are honestly holistic, if they really like you based on you personal statement and your letters of rec, it can give them a reason to look the other way.
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:31 pm
A double major in nuclear physics and biochemistry will look better than a single major in criminal justice if the applicants have similar GPAs, but it won't actually make up for a bad GPA. Law school ranking calculations include the GPA of the entering class, with no caveats for difficulty of major.
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:39 pm
While the the difficulty of the degree doesn't come into play in the calculations, once you're below their median or 25th %ile, how far below you are doesn't come into play for the sake of the USNEWS calculations. Now, of course they still take people with GPAs closer to their median, because a higher GPA is more indicative of you being smarter and they don't want people who are going to be walking into walls, however if you're further below but have degrees in nuclear engineering and... something else really hard, that's pretty indicative of you being a smart person also. So you can get away with more.rinkrat19 wrote:A double major in nuclear physics and biochemistry will look better than a single major in criminal justice if the applicants have similar GPAs, but it won't actually make up for a bad GPA. Law school ranking calculations include the GPA of the entering class, with no caveats for difficulty of major.
The take away: You probably won't beat someone who's at or above their median, but if it's between you and someone else with a higher GPA who are BOTH below the median, you'll have a better shot with a harder degree.
That's how I'd look at it if I were an adcomm and it's how at least one adcomm looked at it when I applied.
Also...
mrtoren wrote:There's no way to accurately measure how much harder one major is than another. Therefore, there's no way to give certain applicants a boost.While some degrees are obviously more difficult than others, they expect you to choose a major, or majors, that you can handle and succeed in.
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 12:14 am
Thanks for the replies guys. I'm asking this question because I'm anticipating graduating with about a 3.4 gpa with a pretty tough double major. I want to get into some of the t14 schools but my gpa will be well below the 25th percentile.
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 1:35 am
riley22 wrote:Thanks for the replies guys. I'm asking this question because I'm anticipating graduating with about a 3.4 gpa with a pretty tough double major. I want to get into some of the t14 schools but my gpa will be well below the 25th percentile.
Prove to them that you are smarter than the poli sci kids with 3.9s and rock the LSAT(170+)! That's your best bet at this point.
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 1:37 am
Deuce wrote:Nope
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 1:56 am
Hey I studied kinda hard for my Poli Sci 3.9. I always took the tests and sometimes I even read before class.yngblkgifted wrote:riley22 wrote:Thanks for the replies guys. I'm asking this question because I'm anticipating graduating with about a 3.4 gpa with a pretty tough double major. I want to get into some of the t14 schools but my gpa will be well below the 25th percentile.
Prove to them that you are smarter than the poli sci kids with 3.9s and rock the LSAT(170+)! That's your best bet at this point.
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 1:58 am
Yes, as long as the major is truly "tough" - like Psychology, a hard science or mathematics - and you apply early.riley22 wrote:Will a 3.4 gpa with a tough double major be as good as a higher gpa with a less difficult major?
All else being equal, I'd take a double-major (3.4 in Psychology/History) over a 3.8 in Sociology.
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:00 am
lolwutPDaddy wrote:Yes, as long as the major is truly "tough" - like Psychology, a hard science or mathematics - and you apply early.riley22 wrote:Will a 3.4 gpa with a tough double major be as good as a higher gpa with a less difficult major?
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:00 am
No. No. No.PDaddy wrote:Yes, as long as the major is truly "tough" - like Psychology, a hard science or mathematics - and you apply early.riley22 wrote:Will a 3.4 gpa with a tough double major be as good as a higher gpa with a less difficult major?
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:03 am
Psychology ... tough? really?
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:04 am
Yeah? Adcoms agree with me. A lower GPA in a hard science is equal to or even better than a higher GPA in a relatively easier major. And if its a hard double-major, that rule should hold even more true. Any adcom that simply looks at your major and assumes more or less of you is stupid.
I know people from easy majors that took tough courses outside of their major, so their course load was tougher than average. That's why major shouldn't matter. However, sciences are tough by nature.
And I don't knoiw what schools you guys went to, but Psychology is a very tough major at the top universities, one of which I graduated from. The average grade in the 100 level psychology courses is about 2.7.
I know people from easy majors that took tough courses outside of their major, so their course load was tougher than average. That's why major shouldn't matter. However, sciences are tough by nature.
And I don't knoiw what schools you guys went to, but Psychology is a very tough major at the top universities, one of which I graduated from. The average grade in the 100 level psychology courses is about 2.7.
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:04 am
Oh, you BITCHrinkrat19 wrote:A double major in nuclear physics and biochemistry will look better than a single major in criminal justice if the applicants have similar GPAs, but it won't actually make up for a bad GPA. Law school ranking calculations include the GPA of the entering class, with no caveats for difficulty of major.
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:05 am
Let's do an over-under on PDaddy's GPA. I'll set it at 3.7 to begin with but that might be a little easy. I would take the under, I might even take the under on a 3.6.
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:06 am
... but seriously, since when is Psych not a joke major?
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:07 am
bjsesq wrote:Oh, you BITCHrinkrat19 wrote:A double major in nuclear physics and biochemistry will look better than a single major in criminal justice if the applicants have similar GPAs, but it won't actually make up for a bad GPA. Law school ranking calculations include the GPA of the entering class, with no caveats for difficulty of major.
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:07 am
LOL. You got jokes!WhoIsDonDraper wrote:Let's do an over-under on PDaddy's GPA. I'll set it at 3.7 to begin with but that might be a little easy. I would take the under, I might even take the under on a 3.6.
3.72 pal!Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:08 am
It still is.dr123 wrote:... but seriously, since when is Psych not a joke major?
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:10 am
You guys are wrong about the bolded part. If you have a tough major, adcoms are much more forgiving. And you agree that the tougher major with the lower GPA should win out if all else is held equal.rinkrat19 wrote:bjsesq wrote:Oh, you BITCHrinkrat19 wrote:A double major in nuclear physics and biochemistry will look better than a single major in criminal justice if the applicants have similar GPAs, but it won't actually make up for a bad GPA. Law school ranking calculations include the GPA of the entering class, with no caveats for difficulty of major.
Ok. There are tougher majors for law school than psychology, but I also mentioned the hard sciences and mathematics, whioch are indisputably tough. So my point still stands. If OP has a naturally tough major, it helps.
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:12 am
It may make up for a little, but not an appreciable amount. If you have enough evidence that says otherwise, please, enlighten us. Also, stop arguing that ug psychology isn't a joke, dude. It is.PDaddy wrote:You guys are wrong about the bolded part. If you have a tough major, adcoms are much more forgiving. And you agree that the tougher major with the lower GPA should win out if all else is held equal.rinkrat19 wrote:bjsesq wrote:Oh, you BITCHrinkrat19 wrote:A double major in nuclear physics and biochemistry will look better than a single major in criminal justice if the applicants have similar GPAs, but it won't actually make up for a bad GPA. Law school ranking calculations include the GPA of the entering class, with no caveats for difficulty of major.
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:13 am
No. This is a silly statement. It is abundantly clear to anyone who attended college that some majors (i.e any of the hard-sciences, engineering, and computer science). are more difficult than others (i.e. accounting, communication, marketing).mrtoren wrote:There's no way to accurately measure how much harder one major is than another.
The common wisdom is that law schools don't differentiate because the USNWR rankings do not differentiate.
Re: Do they consider difficulty of your major ?
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:14 am
I was close lol. But psych? Was not doing your psych reading a lot harder than the rest of us not doing our poli sci, history, english, philosophy reading?PDaddy wrote:LOL. You got jokes!WhoIsDonDraper wrote:Let's do an over-under on PDaddy's GPA. I'll set it at 3.7 to begin with but that might be a little easy. I would take the under, I might even take the under on a 3.6.