<p>This year, getting a cum laude in general studies is actually quite a bit harder than getting a cum laude in your field. You need at least a 3.657 I think for a CL in GS and only a 3.414 for cum laude in field. Some fields don't even make you write a thesis for honors so it's a matter of taking a few more department classes to be eligible for the CL in field. I think it's a symptom of the blinkeredness of the department system that getting a good grade in a 90-level English seminar is considered more academically honorable for me than getting one in a higher-level math class.</p>