"fluffing" my GPA vs. double majoring Forum

[steph_gg]

First post wooo!!

I did pretty poorly in my science gen eds fall semester of sophomore year because I had a financial crisis. I retook one of the classes spring semester and got a B, but there are a couple grades on my transcript that I'm not wild about. I am considering taking a class or two next semester (spring of my junior year) and the following semester (fall of my senior year) to fluff my GPA, classes that would be more in my wheelhouse than the science classes I did poorly in, like sociology or women's studies. By the fall of my senior year, I will be done with my political science major. I'm planning to take some extra political science credits that I'm interested in but take a few more "fluff" classes, thus averaging my poorer grades when my GPA goes through the LSAC calculator, since LSAC doesn't do retake replacement. My goal would be to have it not look like I'm taking underwater basketweaving but same difficulty level.

On the other hand, I'm enrolled to double major in human rights. While I'm passionate about it, it might not give me the grade boost I need because I wouldn't have the time to take the "fluff" classes I want to boost my GPA. Do law schools even care about double majors?

I plan to work post grad for a couple years, I have decent softs, solid recommendation letters, good internships, the works. Non URM.

Thoughts? Is this all a terrible plan? Is one option obviously better than the other? Is it obvious I've spent too much time reading this website? I'm sorry I rambled a bit.

[UVA2B]

Take whatever classes interest you that you think you can do well in. Schools will not care about double majors. People use this strategy pretty regularly to bump up their GPA, and it's a solid plan if you're definitely going to be applying to law school in the future.

[Mikey]

Schools won't really care about a double major. If you think having one will negatively impact your GPA then don't do it. Fluff classes where you can get A's (or A+'s if your school does that) would be better than a double major with a lower GPA.

And I'm sure if you take some "finger painting/drawing for kindergarteners" courses you will be fine as long as that GPA is high.

[landshoes]

What is the difference we are talking about, GPA wise?

As in, with the "fluff" classes, how big is the possible upside and what are the specific numbers?

Generally, without knowing more about your goals, I would say to do what you're passionate about. Grades don't always work out how you want, especially in a class you're not that excited about.

And a great letter of rec/good connections in a field you want to work in without going to law school (and might want to go into after law school) is very valuable.

That's just the strategic stuff. On a basic human happiness level: you may not understand this now because you've had access to education for your entire life to date, but after college, there are very few opportunities to pursue things that you are passionate about. This might well be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And we are talking about years of your life. Do something that you love; take this opportunity for what it's worth now. You'll have plenty of time to do things you don't like in the service of career goals once you get to law school.

[landshoes]

The reason I'm asking about the upside is that there is a very different calculus depending on what your numbers are.

I did some back of envelope calculations, and it looks like the maximum possible GPA upside is about .1 GPA point (depending on a few things). What is your GPA now?

There is a serious admissions cliff in the area of 3.5 GPA. If you're below that, you seem to have a substantially lower likelihood of getting into any T-14 school. If that's the case, it's likely worth it to take "fluff" classes, but I'd go even further and aggressively pursue the highest likelihood of the highest grade, and not worry about the title of the course (if you're already also taking substantive poli sci).

TL;DR: if you're trying to get into range of admissibility for T-14, yes, you should do that. However, if we're talking the difference between a 3.8 and a 3.85...fuck it, life is short.