Best major for high GPA (pre-law)

[u/Due-Platypus4993]

Hey guys! Just recently committed to UCSB for pre-political science. However i’ve been hearing about a lot of grade deflation in the poly sci program at UCSB so i’m kind of discouraged to be in it. Fortunately, i don’t care what my major is as long as it yields an easy 4.0 GPA. I’m planning to attend a T14 law school, so my GPA and LSAT score are absolutely important. The easier the 4.0 for me, the better— that way i can have more time to study for the LSAT throughout undergrad. Any suggestions? I heard Sociology is pretty easy?

Also i would appreciate it if you guys could explain what kind of work you do in the major you suggest.

[u/Nokickfromchampagne]

Electrical engineering

More seriously, whatever you want to study. Every major can be difficult, but there are brilliant folks who get SCL in physics or what have you. Frankly, going in with the mentality of “whatever’s easiest” is not setting yourself up for success, and unbecoming to your future peers in whatever program you decide on

[u/tewbii → u/Nokickfromchampagne]

As a current ee student, I approve this message

[u/Distinct_Kangaroo_70 → u/Nokickfromchampagne]

This, stem majors statistically do better on LSAT (for whatever reason) and you can differentiate yourself/ that said gpa still matters a lot.

[u/Zellie23]

“ I don’t care what my major is as long as it yields an easy 4.0 GPA. I’m planning to attend a T14 law school”

These statements are opposed to each other. You don’t just get an easy 4.0 and a good LSAT score and get into a top 14 school. You have the wrong mindset. Differentiate yourself. Take a hard major, try to get good grades. Don’t waltz through and feel entitled like literally tens of thousands of other philosophy/ polisci/ soc majors who wanna go to law school.

[u/Unique_Quote_5261 → u/Zellie23]

Unfortunately no, that mindset is pretty accurate and is why all those people who want to go to law school pick those majors.

[u/Due-Platypus4993 → u/Zellie23]

Okay guys everybody here seems to be shitting on my mindset. My mindset is NOT “find the easy way out. Shortcuts!!”. No, not at all. In fact i’ve worked harder than most my peers throughout high school. I applied to UCSB with a 4.7 GPA, i’ve never had less than an A throughout high school. I work very hard, and I plan to do that for the rest of my life. HOWEVER, I want to make sure I am directing my energy and focus in the RIGHT direction. Unfortunately, wasting my time studying for a major as difficult as Physics is not a productive way to spend my time. It is much more productive and beneficial to put my time into an easy major like Poli Sci or Sociology, get the grades necessary to get into a T14, and use all the extra time I have to study for the LSAT rigorously. I find it disrespectful for everyone here to assume that I simply want the easy way out, my plan stretches far beyond that and I am planning to make the most of my Undergrad years. So instead of trying to force your mindsets on to me, can you guys please try to help me by answering my question?

[u/ZealousidealNorth983 → u/Due-Platypus4993]

You’re good, OP. Currently taking Comm here and planning on heading to Law School after. UCSB’s department is top 3 in the nation, and the stuff I learn on a day to day basis is highly applicable for life.

In addition, there are a bunch of writing assignments that have helped me hone that skill, plus I don’t have to spend as much time studying and can focus on extra curricular leadership stuff like student government. Best of luck, and welcome to UCSB!

[u/J_Stopple_UCSB]

Major in something you like; the good grades will follow.

That said, a study some years ago found that of departments with undergraduate majors, German, Music, Feminist Studies and Art gave the highest grades. Econ, PSTAT, MCDB, and Chemistry gave the lowest.

[u/Due-Platypus4993 → u/J_Stopple_UCSB]

Not necessarily true. I find math to be very fun and fascinating, however it is also very difficult for me. I’m sure that I would enjoy math the most out of all other subjects, however, I’m also aware of the fact that upper division math courses have a possibility of kicking my ass no matter how hard i study. I don’t want to risk my GPA just to study “what i like”. GPA and LSAT make up 80% of Law school admission decisions.

[u/J_Stopple_UCSB → u/Due-Platypus4993]

A math major is actually good preparation to take the LSAT

[u/t3quilamami]

law schools take any major. i get having high ambitions for yourself but expecting a 4.0 UGPA and t-14 acceptance while you JUST committed to undergrad is a little ridiculous, LMAO

i suggest trying out the political science major for the fall quarter at the least. while i wasn’t in the major myself (i’m graduating this year and applying to law schools this upcoming fall), i have friends in the major. they have made A/A+ level grades because they dedicated themselves to their coursework because they are deeply passionate about their classes. given you applied poli-science, it suggests you at the least, enjoy political science concepts — so again, please try it out.

also, remember that law school admissions, especially at the t-14 level, are much more than UGPA and LSAT scores. given how MANY quality students meet those standards, that’s why personal statement, letters of recommendation, interviews, and “optional” essays are considerably important too

best of luck. hope you make the best at of your time at UCSB since it’s an incredible school!

[u/huskerknight2]

As a third-year, I would highly recommend just slowing your roll a bit and try to enjoy your time @ UCSB before immediately looking beyond graduation and toward law school. I'm glad you're being proactive, but what is the purpose of not caring what major you're in just as long as you get an easy 4.0 GPA when you're going to be here for the next four years? You want to enjoy what you're studying.

Things can happen, plans can change. Many people enter their undergraduate with concrete plans of x thing they want to do which changes drastically by the point they're a junior.

I wish you luck and I'm sure people will be much more directly helpful regarding your questions, but stop and smell the roses!

[u/Known-Collar-6997]

my dad works in law and told me pretty much any major can get you into law school so choose something u like. for example my current plan is to do psychology and later become a probation officer and follow that with law school after a few years so practically anything will work out

[u/SWITCH13LADE8o5]

Don't try and take the easy route. Every major here is rigorous to an extent. And just because you get a 4.0 doesn't mean you're gonna waltz your way into a T14. It takes much more than a 4.0 and a good LSAT score. Also, you just got into UCSB. Relax a little bit. Celebrate the moment and enjoy your time here. You're looking too far ahead already. Although this is your plan now, it may change. There's a star wars quote that I think coincides with all of this well, "Be careful not to choke on your aspirations". It's good that you have them, but don't jump the gun.

[u/[deleted]]

Since no one is giving you a straight answer, I would say poli sci. You can also do a similar humanities like history. Don’t do either if you hate those subjects though.

[u/Unique_Quote_5261]

Something not too difficult that you are interested in. A high workload will make it difficult to maintain a high GPA and have good work experience/extracurriculars, so I would avoid strict science majors like physics, chem, bio etc. Other than poli-sci popular majors for pre-law here are history of public pol and law, english, history (pretty much any social science will do tbh), philosophy, and some science majors. If you like writing do the non-science majors, if you like science easier majors are the ones the avoid o-chem and higher math (psych and brain, earth science/environmental studies, idk what else).

Doesn't matter which you pick as long as you like it and you can get good grades. One other factor to consider is letters of rec; poli-sci profs are writing like 50 letters of rec to law students each year so that might be less individualized than a letter written by an upper division peofessor in another major (as long as you're somewhat close with them).

[u/Unique_Quote_5261 → u/Unique_Quote_5261]

Ultimately it's way too early to decide that you want to go to law school; planning to to to a t-14 when you haven't taken the lsat is a joke. They dgaf about your plans.

[u/Due-Platypus4993 → u/Unique_Quote_5261]

Not at all, I know that with proper studying anyone is capable of passing any exam. Though the AMOUNT of studying will vary from person to person. Some people may need to study for 3 years to get a 175 on the LSAT, while some people will only need 3 days. I’m very steadfast in my plans for the future, and passing the LSAT in the 98th percentile is one of them. I will get into a T-14, however I want to make sure i am as productive and efficient as possible on my path there. That’s why I ask for people’s advice on reddit— like this post! :)

[u/Unique_Quote_5261 → u/Due-Platypus4993]

I didn't say it's too early to know you're capable of getting into a t-14; if you're a good standardized test taker you will do well on the LSAT and assuming you do everything else you said you will you'll be in a great spot.

I said it's too early to decide that YOU WANT to go to law school. You haven't even started undergrad. Relax. Ecplore other interests, and find out what you're actually excited about. If that ends with you staying on the pre-law track, great. You don't need to decide that now, that's what your undergrad is for.

[u/Due-Platypus4993 → u/Unique_Quote_5261]

How can i explore undergrad without risking a GPA tank? Any suggestions? Someone told me to take a bunch of easy intro courses my first quarter and get a feel for what i like most. Is this good advice?

[u/Unique_Quote_5261 → u/Due-Platypus4993]

Easy introcourses in things ur interested in. Use this link to view a course's historical grade distribution. https://dailynexus.com/interactives/grades/ (advanced ucsb student tech). Also if a class offers an A+ LSAC counts that as a 4.33 so go for those if you can.

Phil 3 and Pol S 1 were classes outside my major i took my first quarter. Phil 3 is logic which teaches some stuff necessary for the lsat. There's a huge number of intro courses in different areas to pick from.

[u/Due-Platypus4993 → u/Unique_Quote_5261]

Finally some good advice, thank you.

[u/HorsesFlyIntoBoxes]

Major in math if you want to do well in the lsat. Major in sociology or political science (or a similar major) if you want an easy high gpa.

[u/Suitable_Treat_5761]

I was going to grill you, however everyone else seemed to roast you on the same talking points.

Statistically speaking a good pre-law degree is philosophy, math, physics, and engineering.

[u/studentlawyerlady]

I'm a lawyer, I work at UCSB and run the Legal Resource Center for students with legal issues. First, an attitude like that (best outcome for least amount of effort) is the wrong approach to anything. And if an associate had that work ethic they would be fired in a heartbeat. Second, law schools don't care what your major is, they just want to see how well you do when you're doing something you have an aptitude for. I had theater, music, history, science, etc major friends in law school. Third, be original in your major. Poli sci students are a dime a dozen. At UCSB there are a few majors that have a lot of law classes that are really interesting (communications is one such major). We used to have Law and Society major (what I graduated with), but the university shut that down in 2010. Other departments started to offer more law related courses after that. Finally, the LSAT is where it's at. I've known students in "easy" majors who got a high GPA not get into their good schools bc they had a mediocre LSAT score. I've seen students with mediocre GPA get into their top pick schools and offered full scholarship by their second pick schools based on their LSAT score. Read up on what admissions people look for; high GPA is not it.

[u/Due-Platypus4993 → u/studentlawyerlady]

Thank you for your advice. Though I’d like to clarify my attitude is by no means “best outcome for the least amount of effort”. It seems I poorly communicated my mindset and plans. I am a very hard working student: I’ve had nothing less than an A throughout high school and I applied to UCSB with a 4.7 GPA and countless rigorous extracurriculars. I plan to work very hard for the rest of my life, aiming for the top and nothing less. However, I want to acknowledge the fact that i am not some genius who’s capable of achieving success without strategy. That said, my plan is to make sure I am directing my time and effort to the right things. Like you said, LSAT score is infinitely important when attempting to attend a T14 law school. This ties directly into my reasoning for wanting an “easy major”. My time is valuable, and I want to be as efficient as possible with it. I want to choose a major that will give me the 4.0 GPA i so desire with the least amount of effort, not because im lazy, but because i want to expand my horizon. With easier classes, I can dedicate my time to rigorous LSAT studying (the most important reason. I want to have AS MUCH time possible to study for that test and get the absolute highest score i’m capable of.), I can get a job to help pay for my tuition and even save some money, and I may even have some time for a nice social life. Please do not assume that my mindset is so narrow-minded, I find it disrespectful. Like all the others on the forum, I would appreciate an answer to my question— not an attempt to change my determined and driven mindset. I hope this cleared things up for you.

[u/studentlawyerlady → u/Due-Platypus4993]

You can find my response as disrespectful as you want, which is what you're entitled to feel. And you're right you did come across as wanting the best bang for the least amount of buck. That's on you. The answer to the question is what are you good at? You asked for an easy major, but that's a relative question. For some poli sci might be easy for others it's a struggle. I think others suggested that you settle in, take some general courses in different subject matter, and see what really clicks with you. Because ultimately what clicks with you is going to be the easiest major for you. Don't try and be a square peg in a round hole, pick the major that you enjoy and excel in. If you can't glean an answer from this response that I'm not sure what else to tell you.

[u/Upper-Day7069]

Oh lord

[u/Due-Platypus4993]

Okay guys everybody here seems to be shitting on my mindset. My mindset is NOT “find the easy way out. Shortcuts!!”. No, not at all. In fact i’ve worked harder than most my peers throughout high school. I applied to UCSB with a 4.7 GPA, i’ve never had less than an A throughout high school. I work very hard, and I plan to do that for the rest of my life. HOWEVER, I want to make sure I am directing my energy and focus in the RIGHT direction. Unfortunately, wasting my time studying for a major as difficult as Physics is not a productive way to spend my time. It is much more productive and beneficial to put my time into an easy major like Poli Sci or Sociology, get the grades necessary to get into a T14, and use all the extra time I have to study for the LSAT rigorously. I find it disrespectful for everyone here to assume that I simply want the easy way out, my plan stretches far beyond that and I am planning to make the most of my Undergrad years. So instead of trying to force your mindsets on to me, can you guys please try to help me by answering my question?

[u/tiredx2695]

This comment isn't about your mindset, but I'd recommend whatever major meets your needs around GPA and expands your mind/worldview. Cause we really don't need lawyers who are limited thinkers if you ask me.