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Related Discussions
Any music/fine art majors out there?
ATLsat_2019
Member
I'm a music student and law school hopeful (obviously). I decided to check out admissions records for music majors on Law School Numbers today, and have to say it was pretty discouraging. Maybe the data isn't really representative because there really weren't a whole lot of search results, but it seems like those I found (particularly for higher scorers) really underperformed their numbers.
Of course I don't know anything about these people besides their numbers but it definitely has me a bit worried that even with a great LSAT score I won't be that competitive for T14 schools. Anyone else out there coming from music or other fine arts fields and have thoughts or experience to share?
Comments
I believe @"Leah M B" was a music major....!
My undergrad was in Interior Design. Although my program was more about interior architecture, I am definitely concerned that my major sounds like a fluffy one without much rigor. Unfortunately what many people think when they see "interior design" is property brothers and HGTV, when my major was far beyond that sort of superficial stuff. Anyhow, I'm going to apply for the 2019 fall cycle, I'm really hoping that a strong application package with a great LSAT score will be able to mitigate any concerns of the admissions boards about my major.
The way I comfort myself is that although us BFAs may not be considered "hard" majors (of course I strongly disagree), we do have a different background from your typical history/poli-sci people which could make us more interesting applicants. I especially think music majors require a certain discipline that isn't quite the same as other majors. At the end of the day I do think the GPA/LSAT is weighed more than anything else, so one can only hope that our undergrad majors don't bring us down too much. I also hope that like you said, the data isn't wholly representative of BFA applicants' admissions prospects!
I wouldn’t read into this too much. i think a lot of schools do like to see a classical liberal arts curriculum, but the skewed results you’re seeing on LAN are more likely due to the lack of respondents. Make sure your essays are strong and your LORs are excellent. Maximize your LSAT and stay positive. For the most part, it’s your grades, not your specific classes, that matter
Definitely agree with what you're saying! Seems like a lot of the time people don't realize the analytical and technical side of what we do. Here's to hoping we do stand out because of our background. I'm thinking I'll just really have to stress all of this stuff on my application so they'll know I didn't just float my way through music school. Hopefully that plus a strong LSAT will suffice.
I'll be applying for 2019 as well... Go team BFA!! (or BM in my case actually)
@akistotle thanks! @"Leah M B" would love to hear your thoughts if you have the chance! I've seen some of your posts recently and it looks like you've had some awesome success this cycle!
@calcal101 That's the plan! I'm hoping/thinking it was just the sample size on LSN that was the issue.
Holla! Yes, music major here!
Yay I love music people.
I’ve only heard back from about half of my schools and the ones I haven’t heard back from yet are the higher ranked ones. So it’s a little tough to say definitively whether I’m having a good cycle. My big win so far (as I’ve celebrated here haha) was an acceptance to UCLA and a significant scholarship. I would say so far, my cycle is on par with what you’d expect for my numbers. But still waiting on 5 schools (Cornell, NU, Berkeley, Michigan and UCI). Also I applied pretty late and I’m non-traditional with 10+ years work experience, so it’d be hard to gauge how much could be major-related. This cycle seems to be very competitive though, so performing on par with my numbers may actually be a great result hah.
From what I’ve read though, admissions folks don’t really consider majors all that much. It sounds like they may be slightly more forgiving of lower GPAs for STEM majors. And I’ve also heard that law schools really do want a diversity of applicants. So if anything, they may actually be happy to see music majors applying so they can have a broader range of students in the class.
So extremely anecdotally, with a sample size of 1, being a music major hasn’t seemed to hurt me so far.
It depends upon your LSAC GPA; if you have a high GPA they probably wont care that much about your major. If you're a borderline candidate, then this major might tip you away from the accept and into the waitlist.
I'm a theatre major. I doubled with IR though so idk how much that throws things off, but I do list theatre first.
I've mostly received questions about theatre because fine art majors aren't as commonly law school applicants as humanities or social sciences majors. People have been curious. If you had an academic experience where you were challenged, grew intellectually, performed well in theory/classes requiring writing (not just performance), and you can demonstrate all that to adcoms you should be fine. I think you really have to know exactly how/why your major plays a role within your candidacy for law school, so you don't come across as a scattered and unfocused candidate. I say that because the next step for fine arts majors is typically not law school, so you have to be able to articulate how your major fits into your academic journey and why law school is the logical next step for you. (which I think any major should express in their application somehow)
If you do that^ and have strong numbers, I wouldn't worry too much about a fine arts major---it is memorable.
Canadian music major here! My experience with law school admissions will not have been quite the same as those in the US who are trying for T-14 but I can share my two cents. GPA and LSAT are weighted more equally in Canada so I was not under as much pressure to get an amazing score on the LSAT. However, I did make it into the University of Toronto fairly early in the cycle, one of the most competitive schools in Canada, with an excellent GPA and an LSAT slightly below their median. I have seen plenty of people with LSAT scores well above mine on the Waitlisted/Rejected threads. Of course, I cannot know for sure, but I think my background as a musician was an asset in my application. I really leaned into the musician angle and discussed how I believed a performance degree left me uniquely prepared for the rigours of law school. Some examples being collaborative skills through things like chamber music and large ensembles, leadership skills through conducting, performing under pressure, dedication to your instrument, etc. If being a musician is the main part of your CV, it's better to utilize it and and make the best case you can for how the skills you have cultivated can serve you in the law profession.
Also, anecdotally I know multiple music majors who have gone through law school and said that it was less stressful than their music degree. Take it or leave it, but when you factor in academics with regular rehearsals, performances, and practice time, music school is a real juggling act. A music major sounds fluffy when you don't really understand what it entails, so make it clear in your applications.
Hope this helps!
Music is a language of its own, theoretical and abstract, much like logic or calculus. I don't think any knowledgeable adcomms will mind. :]
I didn't do it as a major but I was in a two year fine arts program (sculpting, painting, life drawing) before switching for other reasons. Similar to what cutza7 has said, from the conversations I've had with admission directors in Canada, they see that as an asset and something that makes your story unique. It's definetly something that should be played up in your PS; especially the work ethic that fine arts instills in you. Because we practice our craft constantly, even in our free time, and that drive and work ethic can defintely be translated for law school and everything else. Music especially, I think involves a lot of theory and logic.
Just noticed that line above - and lol'ing at the thought of floating your way through music school.
I don't even know how that would be possible! haha.
Hmmmm.... sounds like an answer to one of the LR questions. I'm not sure which one though.
Definitely flaw: a non-representative sample. haha
There we go
Awesome, big congrats on UCLA! It definitely seems like performing on par with your numbers isn't bad at all for this cycle. Glad to hear that your music degree seems to be working out admissions-wise. Trumpet performance student here- great to talk to another musician turned law school applicant!
@Ohnoeshalpme My GPA isn't bad and is definitely within range for the lower T14s, but I am hoping to compensate a bit with a great LSAT score. However, if 18/19-year-old me knew I was going to apply to law school, maybe I'd have stressed grades a bit more! Though, I definitely don't think my GPA is low enough to hurt me too much.
Out of curiousity and if you don't mind sharing, are you working in the music field now or elsewhere?
@"nessa.k13.0" thanks, definitely! I have some strong academic experience on the analytical/theoretical side of things, so I definitely want to stress all of that in my application. When you say people were curious about your theatre degree, do you mean during admissions interviews?
@cutza7 great to hear from another musician! And congrats on Toronto!! @keets993 I plan to lean into the skills aspects of it for sure and discuss all of the relevant experience I have. I also think I have some pretty strong and unique personal statement material because of a couple particular experiences. I'm not too surprised to hear about other musicians experiences! At the very least, I imagine few things are harder than music school!
There's definitely been no floating! haha
@BrianSeo Yes! haha. I have just been working through the flaw section of the CC and was thinking this to myself as I was posting. Maybe I should take it as a sign that my argument above was flawed! haha
No no, nothing wrong with your argument. I'm just pointing out that the numbers might not be as accurate as they claim since the website states that it's a "database of user-supplied law school applicant information."
@BrianSeo very true! I guess LSN should really be interpreted with a grain of salt
I recall seeing an interview with a Columbia Law student on Youtube. He was an opera or drama major and he said that a couple of his peers in law school were in the arts as well. While this case is certainly anecdotal, I mentioned it so that you won't be too discouraged. There are those with high LSAT/GPA combos who have underperformed due to other underlying reasons as well, which may not be due to their majors. As long as you have some meaningful work experience having done music, and can tell a compelling of narrative of what made you want to learn law after studying music, you should be fine.
Correlation theory!!
@westcoastbestcoast Thanks! I do think I'll be able to put together a compelling application and my numbers will be strong enough. It's definitely not exactly a common career path for people in my field so it's encouraging to hear success stories.
Honestly I think most every major is a "fluff" major for law school. Most majors dont have anything to do with lawyering. If you're just seeing stats detailing that not a lot of music majors apply to law school, it's probably because a lot of music majors end up working in music, not because being a music major inherently makes you a worse applicant. I think, if anything, it would make you a more diverse applicant than the typical polisci major. I personally havent seen data which correlates your major with an acceptance rate, but maybe it does exist and I am totally wrong.
I think anyone can learn the LSAT. Yeah maybe majors which involved rigorous reading analysis and writing essays have a tiny boost in the beginning, but it all comes down to how you study.
Law schools care about your numbers, and then work experience, volunteer work.
I dont recall what this applicant majored in but I remember seeing an article on a U Chicago personal statement which worked and it was entirely about playing the piano.
Music major here (though several years out)! I'm not applying until the upcoming cycle, so no personal story, but I have several friends and friends of friends who went to law school post-music school. Personally I know people who have gotten full rides to lower ranked T20 schools (with great numbers), 50%-100% scholarships to outstanding regional schools, and even wait listed at HYS (numbers reflected a good chance of coming up just short there). Since I've started sharing with people that I'm heading to law school with my current colleagues, I feel like almost everyone knows a music major who did as well. As I don't know the subjects of those stories personally, I take it with more of a grain of salt than stories of personal friends, but I've had at least 3-5 conversations in the last 6 months alone with people telling me about friends getting generous scholarship offers to schools as good as Columbia.
The advice I've always gotten from musicians who have made the switch is to view your major as a strength instead of a weakness. Schools see a lot of certain majors, and yours will stand out if you find a way to make your story connect. As has been echoed above, the relentless preparation you probably put into recitals is something likely to be valued.
@btate87 glad to hear these stories. This thread has been encouraging!
I think we definitely do have unique strengths so you and others are right about just making sure the schools realize it. Best of luck to you!
@ATLsat_2019 you too! And thanks for posting this threat - it's definitely been an encouragement to read!
I was a music education major and will be going through the 2019 admissions process. I am hoping my higher GPA and qualifying LSAT score will do me well. I also plan to use my music background to help my personal statement stand out as I think about going into Intellectual Property Law.
@bnnewell90 great to hear from you! It seems like with strong numbers and using musical background to make us stand out, we should do fine. Best of luck!