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How much does your major matter? Do schools account for grade differences among ‘harder’ majors?


Seansei

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Seansei
  • Law Student

I am a computer science student. I consider this to be a one of the more difficult majors to perform well in. I know Windsor specifically considers the major taken in its holistic criteria, but do other Ontario schools (Osgoode, UofT, Western) consider this in the admissions process? Are certain degrees likely to make a candidate stand out (especially if that degree choice directly connects to an area of law one wishes to practice)? Is cGPA supreme and indiscriminate, or do schools weigh it with the difficulty of the major?

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QueensDenning
  • Articling Student

CGPA (or B2/L2 depending on the school) - and LSAT score - is supreme and pretty much indiscriminate, even at the "holistic" schools. A STEM major might give you a leg up in law school job recruiting, though. What is your GPA? 

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Degree doesn't matter despite how "holistic" a school may say they are. 

As the above poster said, your GPA and LSAT are all that matter. A 2.5cGPA in computer science is not going to get a seat at x law school over a basket weaving 3.7. 

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Turtles
  • Law Student

While cGPA and LSAT are important, some schools do specifically weigh the nature of the program and I know a number of 2.9-3.5 (yes, big range) cGPA engineers who made it into UofT/Osgoode. Unsurprisingly, accepted students at the lower end of GPA ranges tend not to publicly share their GPA. As a less anecdotal example, the UofT law website specifically notes that they consider the nature of the undergraduate program when assessing applications. You can also peruse self-reported data from accepted threads, with obvious caveats. 

Just be mindful how you leverage it in your covering materials. It's not about "I'm smart but got bad grades cuz my program was harder than all these straight A poli sci kids" but emphasizing what you have accomplished and learned that will let you succeed and even stand out. 

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Patient0L
  • Law Student

Some schools will exclude “performance-based” (art/music/drama) classes from your cGPA or eliminate drops for fine arts majors/degrees. It’s a clear disadvantage, so if you are planning on majoring in fine arts this is something to take into account.

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MoonKnight
  • Applicant

I was an engineering major and I'm skeptical of it having had any significant positive impact on my admissions results this cycle. Certain schools do claim to adjust for difficulty/rigour/etc. of undergrad major in admissions decisions (such as UofT as mentioned above) and I suppose it's possible they do, but I can't imagine admissions offices have an in-depth understanding of the varying grading practices and course intensity across schools and majors.

That being said I'm just one person, I'm sure there are examples of individuals who more effectively leveraged the uniqueness/intensity of their major in their application to gain some bonus points in the admissions process.

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Seansei
  • Law Student
19 hours ago, QueensDenning said:

CGPA (or B2/L2 depending on the school) - and LSAT score - is supreme and pretty much indiscriminate, even at the "holistic" schools. A STEM major might give you a leg up in law school job recruiting, though. What is your GPA? 

Interesting. It’s a 3.64

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TheAEGIS
  • Lawyer

From what I recall, there's nothing really official you can point to for any law school.

You'd be better off treating different majors as if law school's won't discriminate.
Ditto for "harder" schools. 

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Rusty Iron Ring
  • Lawyer
On 6/17/2022 at 4:02 PM, QueensDenning said:

A STEM major might give you a leg up in law school job recruiting, though. 

Can confirm. 

If there are still schools that weight the lsat higher, you might have luck with that. Most of the engineers etc I knew absolutely crushed the lsat, even when they (ahem, we) had crappy GPA's. 

  • LOL 1
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