Would you rather have a low science GPA or high humanities GPA?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
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<p>In my first quarter at UCLA as a Psychobiology major, I got a 2.6 GPA, including a C+ in Precalc (yeah...) and a C+ in Chem14A. I knew at this point that science wasn't for me and that no matter how hard I tried, I wasn't going to get good grades. I studied my butt off my Chem and half-***ed my way through Precalc. I think if I kept going at it, I probably would hit a lower GPA and POSSIBLY may have gotten into academic probation. Regardless, I'm pretty sure with below a GPA, I had no chance at med school, dental school, optometry school, pharmacy school, nursing school, etc.</p>

<p>In my 2nd quarter, I quickly changed to something I liked, History, and at the end of Winter Quarter in my 3rd year, my GPA is a 3.62. Yeah, it sounds impressive and all, but it's really not. People tell me all the time that Humanities classes are "A" mills. Essentially, everyone gets an A or A- and you gotta be pretty dumb to get a B+, or so they say. Anyways, the main path I'm heading toward now is Law School.</p>

<p>However, I feel that if I didn't apply to law school, or any graduate school, my liberal arts degree, in spite of the high GPA, is as useless as a science degree with a low GPA. What do you guys think? Would you rather have a low science GPA, or a high humanities GPA?</p>

<p>**Science pertains to College of Letters and Sciences - i.e. Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Psychobiology, Physics, etc. and excluding Engineering, Nursing, etc.</p>

<p>**Humanities pertains to College of Letters and Sciences - i.e. English, History, Political Science, Sociology, etc. - excluding Business-Economics/Accounting Minor</p>

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<p>You have to do what you WANT to do. What I see is you don’t really know what you want to do, and can’t seem to drive yourself at it. </p>

<p>Do you want to be a doctor or a lawyer? You’ll need to make that decision and then do whatever it is you want to do! Come hell or high water. Getting a C+ in your first chem class doesn’t mean you’ll never be a doctor if you want to be a doctor, it just means you… got a C+ in your first chem class. </p>

<p>Man, one of my first college teachers was this astronomy teacher - he was a former NASA astrophysicist and one day I was talking to him after class about how I wanted to be an engineer, but I was afraid I wouldn’t cut it because of my atrocious math record in the past. I’ve always heard that “rocket scientist” types are the ones that never make a wrong move in his life, shoot I took algebra twice before I passed it (with an A, I might add). Long story, but…</p>

<p>It turned out the same thing happened to him. Imagine that, a NASA astrophysicist… failed algebra 1 3 times in high school. </p>

<p>By the standards on CC you wouldn’t be fit to work at McDonalds if you did that. </p>

<p>xD</p>

<p>You may need to change your game plan - that might mean taking chem with a couple of really easy classes so you can “get it”, and believe me if you want to do something bad enough, it’ll eventually click. </p>

<p>Good luck :)</p>

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<p>I would think a high GPA with a degree in the humanities would trump a low GPA in the sciences. Although I would consider myself a math/science oriented guy, I would probably take the high humanities GPA. (Especially if I were applying for graduate schools, but you said to disregard that.)</p>

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<p>2.7 south > 3.6 north
also, a 3.62 is not a high GPA in the humanities. you need to have at least a 3.8 in the humanities to be considered a “high GPA student”.</p>

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<p>^ Is that your opinion? Cum Laude requirements state that 3.66 means you’re top 20% of your class. That’s pretty high to me.</p>

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<p>I don’t think it’s his opinion. It feels as if every run of the mill humanities major I know has a 3.6 GPA. Maybe the average humanities major is very unmotivated.</p>

<p>A 3.6 GPA may not even be high enough for law school. It will come down to your LSAT and other factors. Keep that in mind. -.-</p>

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<p>While a 3.6 isn’t impressive as hell, it’s still above average. It’s hard to believe that, based on what you’re telling me, that half the class at UCLA graduates Cum Laude.</p>

<p>Do explain why a 2.7 south is > than a 3.6 north though…</p>

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<p>In my personal opinion:</p>

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<p>Just based on the people that I know and the grades that they get. Feel free to disagree.</p>

<p>And to answer the original question… I would rather be in a major that interests me and doesn’t make me hate my life, regardless of the grades I get.</p>

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<p>A 2.7 GPA in a hard science major isn’t going to get you better job prospects than a 3.6 in a humanities major. And that 2.7 is going to make it much more difficult to do something like law school that improves those prospects.</p>

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<p>@notaznguy,</p>

<p>Just curious, what upperdiv history courses have you taken so far?</p>

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<p>I suppose a 2.7 in the sciences is better in terms of the job market and the economic need for people with certain skills, but I was talking in terms of impressiveness.</p>

<p>A 2.5 in engineering could potentially get you employed better than a 4.0 in the humanities depending on the circumstance, so in that sense, yes, science trumps humanities no matter what GPA. This has nothing to do with intelligence or hardworking. It has to do with the fact that our society is increasingly focused on technology and that there is a small percentage of people with those skills.</p>

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<p>To be honest, your employment opportunities with a 2.5 or anything lower than a 3.0 in engineering seem to be pretty bad.</p>

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<p><quote> you gotta be pretty dumb to get a B+</quote></p>

<p>I’ve taken 2 history GEs so far, and got B+ in both… even though I had something like 85%-ish on exams and 90%-ish on papers. I can’t deny that I was being really lazy (I usually BS my paper the night before the deadline), but North Campus classes are time consuming!! North Campus is not as easy as people make it seems to be. True, the material is damn easy, but you’ve got to be proactive too…</p>

<p>I get mostly A’s and A+'s in my maths/science/engineering classes, so… I’ve got >3.8 GPA now.</p>

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<p>If it’s 3.6 humanities over 2.6 engineering, you’ll do better for grad school and in the marketplace with the 3.6. One example of the GPA difference as far as consulting firms go for recruiting between business (N. Campus) and engineering (S. Campus) I’ve seen is the GPA requirement - 3.5 for business analysts and 3.4 for business technology analysts. A sub-3.0 GPA won’t take you very far, nor will a sub-3.5 GPA. 3.5 seems to be the magic number for most top programs, if you’re mathematically eliminated from that number, work harder in other areas (esp. in getting real life experience) to show that you were focusing on other things than your GPA (you learn for the sake of learning, and that didn’t always translate to a good GPA). </p>

<p>The short bit is - being a science major isn’t an excuse for a low GPA. I came in with the mindset that a 3.0 was “okay for an engineer because that’s the average GPA” and that was complete BS. You’re capable of working better and focusing your energies to achieve a better GPA.</p>