Honors thesis a big enough advantage? Forum

[mscrew]

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[FSK]

Your GPA will be 10000% more important than your thesis. Take the semester to improve your GPA even more.

[mscrew]

While I do realize that GPA and LSAT are essentially 75% of your application, I'm not really worried about my GPA seeing as I already have a 3.89. And I'm not terribly concerned about it dropping as long as I keep up with my work. The fact I already have a high GPA is probably why I'm far more concerned with my LSAT and how top schools will view the fact that I started college late and don't have distinguishing softs.

[yomisterd]

Don't worry about softs until you have an LSAT score.

ETA: Do stuff that you enjoy doing for extracurriculars, but focus on that GPA and LSAT. Honors Thesis by itself is probably still a weak soft unless you get it published.

[hipcatdaddio]

When it comes to softs, work experience is much more valuable than an honors thesis. I wouldn't waste my time with one.

[Gray]

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[mscrew]

While I do realize that GPA and LSAT are essentially 75% of your application, I'm not really worried about my GPA seeing as I already have a 3.89.

That's a totally arbitrary set of numbers that I just made up, but giving a quarter of your application to softs seems unrealistic.

Anyway, to answer your question, an honours thesis is really only important if you are applying to grad school. So if you're not considering academia, there is no good reason to do it.

Your GPA is awesome. Spend as much time as you would have dedicated to your thesis studying for the LSAT, and you'll be golden.

Oh I wasn't trying to imply that softs account for 25% of my application by any means, I realize your personal statement and LOR's are also very important for rounding out your application, but once again I'm not really concerned about my ability to write a compelling essay or find teachers to write recommendations. Of course I realize softs don't make an application, I had literally none on any of my applications to the UG schools which I applied to and still got accepted. I guess I was just more concerned with how the the T6, and specifically HYS, view applications with great numbers but which have very little in the way of soft factors or relevant work experience. But thank you for all the replies it's been very helpful. I suppose I won't even waste time applying to the honors program, seeing as I plan to take the LSAT next June I could start my study now and not drain my time in between now and then with something that wont really make a difference in my application.

[FSK]

While I do realize that GPA and LSAT are essentially 75% of your application, I'm not really worried about my GPA seeing as I already have a 3.89.

That's a totally arbitrary set of numbers that I just made up, but giving a quarter of your application to softs seems unrealistic.

Anyway, to answer your question, an honours thesis is really only important if you are applying to grad school. So if you're not considering academia, there is no good reason to do it.

Your GPA is awesome. Spend as much time as you would have dedicated to your thesis studying for the LSAT, and you'll be golden.

Oh I wasn't trying to imply that softs account for 25% of my application by any means, I realize your personal statement and LOR's are also very important for rounding out your application, but once again I'm not really concerned about my ability to write a compelling essay or find teachers to write recommendations. Of course I realize softs don't make an application, I had literally none on any of my applications to the UG schools which I applied to and still got accepted. I guess I was just more concerned with how the the T6, and specifically HYS, view applications with great numbers but which have very little in the way of soft factors or relevant work experience. But thank you for all the replies it's been very helpful. I suppose I won't even waste time applying to the honors program, seeing as I plan to take the LSAT next June I could start my study now and not drain my time in between now and then with something that wont really make a difference in my application.

Erbody be struggling to keep their median LSAT/GPAs high, except Yale and Stanford. You're going to have a harder time there, than at Harvard.

[mscrew]

Erbody be struggling to keep their median LSAT/GPAs high, except Yale and Stanford. You're going to have a harder time there, than at Harvard.

Ok that's good to know, but I'm guessing getting into YS would be just as hard even if I wrote an award winning thesis.

Anyway, to answer your question, an honours thesis is really only important if you are applying to grad school. So if you're not considering academia, there is no good reason to do it.

Also, this may be a stupid question, but does considering academia also apply to considering being a Law Professor? I realize it's kind of a ridiculous hypothetical given that I haven't really done anything but it would really be a dream job to teach, although I realize most of those jobs are essentially reserved for people who graduate from the T6, and mostly HYS.

[gentlemanscholar]

Don't spend time on softs for the purpose of Law School admissions. Your time is better spent on LSAT prep, if that is your concern.

[schmooky]

If writing a thesis sounds really interesting, do it. If not, don't. It's a lot of time and effort that can be worth it but can also be a drain if you're not interested in the work.

[Ti Malice]

Erbody be struggling to keep their median LSAT/GPAs high, except Yale and Stanford. You're going to have a harder time there, than at Harvard.

Ok that's good to know, but I'm guessing getting into YS would be just as hard even if I wrote an award winning thesis.

Anyway, to answer your question, an honours thesis is really only important if you are applying to grad school. So if you're not considering academia, there is no good reason to do it.

Also, this may be a stupid question, but does considering academia also apply to considering being a Law Professor? I realize it's kind of a ridiculous hypothetical given that I haven't really done anything but it would really be a dream job to teach, although I realize most of those jobs are essentially reserved for people who graduate from the T6, and mostly HYS.

An award-winning thesis would be more of a positive for Y and S than most, but it would still be less helpful than a single point on the LSAT or getting your GPA above median.

As for legal academia, no, it wouldn't matter one bit. Legal academia is all about your record of publications in law journals.

[HYSTime]

3.89 isn't that high.
Below HYS's 75th percentile.

[Christina AA]

Another factor to think about with an Honors Program and/or Honors Thesis is the opportunity it gives you to develop more fully academically and to develop a stronger relationship with a professor (your thesis adviser) and potentially other faculty (small seminars are often available in Honors programs). These experiences will all be positives from the standpoint of an admissions committee.

[Slytherpuff]

Another factor to think about with an Honors Program and/or Honors Thesis is the opportunity it gives you to develop more fully academically and to develop a stronger relationship with a professor (your thesis adviser) and potentially other faculty (small seminars are often available in Honors programs). These experiences will all be positives from the standpoint of an admissions committee.

Agree with this, especially regarding the importance of relationships with faculty. I got fantastic LORs from my thesis advisors (one for each major) and that alone was enough to make an honors thesis worth it for me. I doubt a thesis in and of itself made a difference in my application cycle though. At the very least, if you don't do an honors thesis, make sure you know your professors well enough to get very strong letters of recommendation. If you haven't been cultivating relationships with professors, it might be worth it to stay in school another semester just to make sure you have solid LORs.

[postard]

You and I share a lot of common academic history, so I couldn't help post a reply.

I, too, started out at a CC (although I didn't get an AA) and transferred to my state's flagship public university. I think that was actually an asset for law school applications, since LSAC GPA factored in my CC grades even though my undergraduate GPA didn't include them (I graduated with a 3.89 UGPA but had a LSAC GPA of 3.98 or so if I remember correctly). I also was a history major, and also took our honors thesis writing track. As I think was said in another post, two of my LORs were written by professors I had in that track, one of which was the director of the department and the other had a career in public interest law before she became an academic. They were serious boons. I ended up getting accepted at Chicago (with a small scholarship) and my eventual choice, Boalt, and I've been really happy so far.

I'd write the thesis, and try to enjoy it because I regret that focusing on lawl skool apps distracted me too much!

ETA: LSAT was 168 if that's any help.

[sublime]

..

[Ti Malice]

As I think was said in another post, two of my LORs were written by professors I had in that track, one of which was the director of the department and the other had a career in public interest law before she became an academic. They were serious boons.

What makes you think so? You didn't outperform your numbers for that cycle.

[BillPackets]

My major is History and I'll be transferring to a T20 school.

What's a T20 undergrad? Genuinely curious.

[wingding]

While I do realize that GPA and LSAT are essentially 75% of your application, I'm not really worried about my GPA seeing as I already have a 3.89. And I'm not terribly concerned about it dropping as long as I keep up with my work. The fact I already have a high GPA is probably why I'm far more concerned with my LSAT and how top schools will view the fact that I started college late and don't have distinguishing softs.

More like 95% of your application, and the other 5% is that you haven't committed a monumental fuckup

[Mack.Hambleton]

While I do realize that GPA and LSAT are essentially 75% of your application, I'm not really worried about my GPA seeing as I already have a 3.89. And I'm not terribly concerned about it dropping as long as I keep up with my work. The fact I already have a high GPA is probably why I'm far more concerned with my LSAT and how top schools will view the fact that I started college late and don't have distinguishing softs.

More like 95% of your application, and the other 5% is that you haven't committed a monumental fuckup

true for most but not for HYS/some T14