# High goals, but getting bad grades in general ed but A's in chosen major



## skibunni4lyfe (Feb 13, 2013)

Hi all, I am new here. 

I am a college student who has gone to one university for 1 1/2 years, did very poorly the first year, improved the last semester there, but not enough to stay in... went to two community colleges, excelled there, then took 3 years off from school-- worked jobs, then went back to school at the university I am currently at. I am technically a transfer student, but didn't have much to transfer in 2010 because of my poor grades. So far I am doing fairly well at my current school: 3.5 gpa in major classes (Philosophy), but squeaking by with a 2.1 in my general ed classes. I am pretty sure this is all due to general burnt out feelings about natural history, math, social sciences, the works. In all honesty, I am sick and tired of those classes and excel and love my chosen major classes. 

Because I excel and love Philosophy/Poli Sci classes, and have set a high goal for myself of Law school, I really feel like I am losing at the "solid undergraduate record" that is highly looked upon by law schools across the country. I wish I was just done with those classes, but my motivation level is at a minimum here, and I feel really lazy with it, even though I know I am an A student. 

With being burnt out with those basic classes and having a cumulative gpa of 2.4, I feel like I am still determined to get into a law school, but I am looking at the facts, and my record is NOT as solid I as want it to be. Advisors are definitely helping me, and I know that each semester I get good grades in will improve that gpa to my goal, a 3.1, if I work hard enough. 

Does anyone have any tips on how to swallow that pride to get through those brush-up general ed classes with bad teachers and curriculum that I won't necessarily need to get into Law School? I have those high goals, and I just want to get to it. I have high motivation and drive/ambition to excel at what is required of me to reach those goals, but these dumb classes are dragging me down. 

Fortunately, I am taking my last two required courses this current semester. That is good that I stuck through it. But really, I don't just want to find myself giving up, dropping, and having to retake these classes because I am at the end of my rope in this general ed business.... 

How does one get through those classes that are soooo easy that they are the most difficult to get through? Anyone else with high aspirations feel the same?


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## analyzer (Feb 16, 2013)

Hi,

I suffer from a mild ADHD disorder where it is difficult for me to focus on tasks that I don't regard as high on my list if interest. I feel as though everyone has some level of this. I am currently finishing up my last semester in engineering at a university with a GPA of 3.0! Let me suggest that for these classes to FIND something of interest. For example, History of some state. ****ing boring right? Well, there are many ways of looking at this course. One example is try to find the usual bull**** of looking for an interest in some aspect of the history. No. The way that I pounded my way through (this is for online discussions) came from my growing interest of analyzing other's opinions by pointing out their flaws in their justifications or questioning them. I might have came across as a douche bag but I'm sure it helped both me (get a reasonable grade) and them being able to generate a complete thought.

One major fact I found from college is you have to change YOUR interests to learn. That's what it's all about. Learning. Bend and question your own opinions. Another way is to try to put yourself around people who care about the class. Another is typing up your notes with some fancy code-based editor like LaTeX. (where you are not only memorizing your notes but learning how to use). It is all about how imaginative you can be on learning something.

I hope this helps.


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## lonelyjew (Jan 20, 2010)

I'm pretty sure GPA matters for law school, regardless of whether the classes are oriented towards the legal field or not. I don't want to stress you, but as I'm sure you're aware, the legal job market is awful right now, and if you want to get a decent job (or any job) after law school, you really need to get into a tier 1 or tier 2 school. Again, I don't want to get you really worried, but you need to face reality, and reality = I need to do WHATEVER is necessary to get good grades and a great LSAT. Grades should come first, which means that if you need to take a lighter load in terms of credits, do that, and if you need to cut your work hours, you should do that as well (obviously first try to better your study habits). Good luck, and if you want my honest opinion, if you don't have a shot at a decent school, don't bother, because worse than not going to law school is to go to a law school where you'll get over $100K in debt and a degree that no employer will want to touch.


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