Next to your LSAT score, your GPA is the most important thing on your law school application. Like it or not, those numbers hold the greatest weight in your likelihood of getting into a particular school. Unlike your LSAT score, though, your GPA has another facet to it: your transcript. Whether your transcript has a positive or negative effect on your application depends on what’s on it.
Let’s take a look at what your transcript can say about you. Before we start, though, a disclaimer: not everyone’s transcript will be analyzed. I imagine that the people who run the greatest risk or chance of having their transcript reviewed fall into a few categories.
- Splitters (e.g., those with a high LSAT/low GPA or low LSAT/high GPA combo).
- Those with a good GPA that could have been a great GPA had they not messed up one or two semesters.
- Those with a lower GPA but who undertook a non-traditional (for law school) major, such as a hard science or math.
- Those who attended more than one undergraduate institution.
- Non-traditional applicants, particularly those that have been out of school for a while and may not have had the best GPA when they were in school.
If you’re a PoliSci major (or any other “traditional” law school major) with a 3.5+ GPA, I don’t think your transcript will be scrutinized in any fashion. You can rest easy. For those of you that will get scrutinized, though, let’s see what the different aspects of your transcript may say.
Your Grade Trend
What pattern do your grades follow? Do they start off strong and go down as you go progress through college? Or are they weak at the start and get stronger? What if they start off weak and never improve? Do they fluctuate up and down throughout your college career? All these different scenarios will say different things about you.
The Decline
If you start off with strong grades that get weaker, it may indicate that they can’t handle more advanced courses. This assumption stems from the typical college career, with general courses in the beginning and more advanced, specialized courses later.
Moving on Up
If you begin with weak grades that get stronger, you can make a good case about your potential and maturity. You can easily argue that you had a hard time at the start of college, for whatever reason that may be. Whether it was your first time on your own, you went crazy for a semester, etc. But, then you got your act together and excelled when it mattered most! This also looks better than those with a downward grade trend since your highest grades are most recent.
Consistently Weak
In the event that you have weak grades that never get better, you have a lot of explaining to do. Hopefully, you have an LSAT score that belies these grades! Or, perhaps you pursued a major that is known to be objectively difficult and preferably at a university that has a reputation for being exceptional in that field. Keep in mind that neither of these makes the transcript look better. After all, a low GPA is a low GPA. If someone comes along with a higher GPA in the same discipline, they are looked at much more favorably. It may, however, take some of the edge off. However, a weak GPA is never a good thing, no matter how many reasons you can point to for it. If law school is your eventual goal, then aim for a 3.5+. No real two ways about it.
No Consistency
If your grade trends are all over the place, you probably have it worse than any other trends we’re going over. If there is no true trend, it can be taken to be an unknown quantity. There’s no rhyme or reason for your performance—sometimes you do well, sometimes you don’t. Class types, subjects, times of the year; none of these seem to make any difference or create a pattern. Law schools might look at this grade trend and wonder which student they will get. If you fit in this category, especially if it’s in conjunction with a less-than-stellar GPA, address it in an addendum.
Your Class Selection
Ah, the great debate over class selection. Some say that it doesn’t matter which major or classes you take, as long as you get that coveted 4.0. Needless to say, I’m on the dissenting camp. I believe an “A” in Underwater Basket-weaving will not be considered the same as an “A” in Advanced Calculus. Call me old-fashioned, but I judge a person’s academic prowess and potential based on the difficulty of their courses. I’m willing to bet AdComs do the same. I’ll go further and says an “A” in Underwater Basket-weaving won’t hold a candle to a “B-” in Advanced Calculus.
The moral of the story? Don’t pick classes because they look easy. Pick classes because they complement your major and will challenge you. Then do well in them. If you end up doing not-so-well in them, at least you can fall back on the “it was a truly difficult course” excuse. You can’t do that if you get a “C” in Dog Walking 101.
Your Major
There’s a lot of chatter about what constitutes a “good” major if you’re planning on going to law school. I’m of the opinion that any major that is reading-, research-, and writing-intensive is good, even if it’s not in the realm of the “traditional” law school majors (PoliSci, Econ, English, etc.). People with notoriously difficult majors (Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Math, Engineering, etc) will get a little more leniency if their grades aren’t stellar. Not only have professors in these disciplines been found to be tough graders, the subjects are also tough in and of themselves.
On the other hand, much like with class selection, those that take the painless way out major in the super-easy just for the sake of an easy “A” may also be looked upon not as favorably. Above all, law schools want to see that you can handle the rigor of law school classes, and that you are ready for the academic intensity that they will entail. Yes, your major should be interesting and easy for you to be engaged in–but it should also speak to your academic potential.
Your Major GPA vs. Your Overall GPA
Some students have a high major GPA, and a low overall GPA, or viceversa. This can be due to a number of things, but you should be prepared for what this major vs. overall GPA scenario might say about you. If your major is, for example, in a hard science, and you did very well in it, but did very poorly in the less-scientific/more right-brain classes outside of your major, law schools may see you a risky candidate–law school classes, although they are certainly rooted in analysis, also require subjective and intuitive skills.
On the other hand, if you’re overall GPA is a good one, but your major GPA is poor, that may say that you lose interest in delving deeply in a subject, and that you do better when you have multiple subjects to choose from and study at once. While that might say wonderful things about your personality, it may make law schools a little leery–law school (any professional or graduate program, really) is about advanced study in a single field. If you haven’t shown that you can focus intensely on one subject and succeed in it, what will happen when you have to study nothing but law for three years?
Your Undergraduate Institution
I am a big believer in that your undergraduate institution really doesn’t hold that much weight (if any) during the law school admissions process. Don’t believe me? Check out Harvard Law’s list of undergraduate institutions represented during the 2010-2011 school year. It’s not just the Ivy League represented–there are plenty of state universities, small private colleges, and liberal arts institutions, too. Where you come from doesn’t matter as much as how you did when you were there. Instead of worrying about the relative “prestige” of your institution, worry about doing well in your classes while you’re there..
Some may say that taking the time to scrutinize your transcript like this borders on the obsessive and overly analytical. While I agree, to an extent, I also believe that knowing what all the different aspects of your application say about you is also incredibly beneficial. It is only by learning to listen to your application that you will be able to put together the most effective admissions package, and increase your overall chances of acceptance. Take the time to hear what your transcript (and all the other parts of your application) are saying, so that you can better harness their words.
Fill out an inquiry today to get started with an admissions consultant.
Hello,
I attended a community college (CC) for 4 years and finished with a 4.0. I then transferred and finished with a 3.65 (1st sem: 3.8, 2nd: 3.6, 3rd: 3.4, 4th: 3.75). For context, I had family responsibilities and began working part-time when I transferred. I also commuted about 2 hours a day.
Because I took so many CC classes(around 130 units) and only 65 units when I transferred, my overall gpa is around 3.88. My CC grades are lifting my overall gpa.
How would admissions feel about a student like this? Would it reflect poorly? And would you recommend an addendum? Thank you.
Hi Jacob,
Thank you for your comment. We generally think addenda are unnecessary except in more extreme cases (e.g., a very low GPA, a semester with sub-par grades in an otherwise great transcript, a rash of failed or withdrawn classes, etc.), so your case doesn’t seem like the most likely candidate. This is especially so since you are sitting on an overall GPA of 3.88, which is excellent. Writing an addendum would draw attention to the slight waver that occurred after leaving CC, and even though that wobble is explainable, the reasons might not seem much different than the usual hurdles students face (work, commutes, etc). So, we think it’s best not to write one here.
Please note that it’s very common for students to attend a community college before transferring to a university. When it comes to your GPA, the main thing law schools tend to be interested in is a straightforward number to put into their index and determine how you stack up against other applicants. So, as long as the school where you are earning your degree accepts transfer credits and grades from the previous school that you attended, the fact that some of your grades came from a community college should not reflect poorly.
Thank you!
I’ve been dreaming of going to law school since I was very young. I’m almost finished with my undergrad. In my very semester of college, I had a 3.6. I was forced to transfer due to a scholarship that wasn’t applied to my finical aid. I started off very poorly due to not enough focus. I then got my act together and received a 3.0. Close to graduation, I had problems in my life which forced me to petition three semesters. I took a year off from my college and enrolled in a second start program to remove low grades from my gpa with the classes I took at a community college. I am now enrolled at the first school I attend where my gpa is still a 3.6. I plan on taking the GRE since I feel I will have a better academic chance to score higher. With this being said, If I maintain or improve my gpa, score high on the GRE, do you think I still have a chance to attend law school, whether top 10 or just any credited institution?
Hi DaRonda!
Thanks for the post! Yes, you certainly have a chance to attend law school with those figures! We encourage students to utilize one of our favorite resources for researching data on nearly all of the ABA-approved schools in North America: LSAC’s LSAT/GPA Calculator: https://officialguide.lsac.org/Release/UGPALSAT/UGPALSAT.aspx. This tool allows you to input your undergraduate GPA and your highest LSAT score (in your case, the score you’re realistically aiming for), and get feedback on where each stands relative to attendees at individual schools, as well as your likely odds of duplicating that result on those figures.
If you plan to take the GRE instead of the LSAT, you may still utilize LSAC’s LSAT/GPA calculator I mentioned above, you would just need to make sure to convert the GRE score you’re aiming for accordingly. Our article detailing the GRE to LSAT conversion matrix may be found here: https://blog.powerscore.com/gre/gre-to-lsat-conversion/. You will also want to make sure the law schools that you are applying to accept the GRE: https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/law/.
Also, you could consider writing a GPA addendum specifically addressing the situation you described below: explain what happened, take responsibility, and indicate that your second start grades are more indicative of your performance. If you need some guidance on writing an addendum, please refer to this blog post: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/whats-the-deal-with-addenda/.
Thank you!
First off, thank you so much for creating this article, it has been so helpful! I am going into my junior year of undergrad and am questioning my choice of major. I am a Political Science major and have loved all of my law and history classes. However, I worry that it will put me at a disadvantage because it is such a common major. I have a 3.98 GPA, recently studied abroad in Spain, and have an internship with a law firm this summer. If I get a high LSAT score, will law schools care that I have the “typical” major?
I also have been debaging whether to pick up a second major in sociology with a family studies focus (a handful of courses overlap with ones I have already taken/will take and I am considering family law), or to do a math minor. Math has always been a passion of mine, and I would be able to fit it in. Do you think the second major or math minor would look more preferable?
I really appreciate your time, thank you!
Hi Alexandra,
Thanks for the message, and I’m glad we could help so far!
First, given your softs and GPA, if you added a high LSAT score to that the law schools would not hold your major against you. While it doesn’t help, it also doesn’t hurt. It’s a neutral factor and definitely not a disadvantage.
Second, you can go either way with your major/minor choices and get a boost here. If you went the sociology route and then made it clear that family law was a goal, that would be a compelling career/story arc. Alternatively, math in general is not a common major or minor for applicants, and so that too would set you apart a bit. Is either a huge boost? No, but they are both somewhat of a boost and every little bit helps 🙂
Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!
Hi, I am from Peru. I have been investigating about US grades system, law school admissions, etc. I found this information really interesting. I would like to ask you some questions.
My grades started really well in my first semester. Then, the next 6 semesters I started to have not so great grades but also failed classes in different semesters (a total of 4) that I repeated because I needed those credits. I accept the responsability for my grades, but it happened in a rough time of my life. The last four semesters I am doing the best I can to make a difference. I calculated that at the end my GPA would be 3.4 (considering both fail grade and pass grades)
I want to know if those failed courses are going to look bad for the admission offices, if I still have a chance to enter to a good law school. I am interested in Michigan Law School, where I know 3.4 GPA is accepted.
What steps should I follow in order to acomplish my goals. Help please, thanks.
Hi Jackeline,
Thank you for your comment! Your LSAT score is one of the largest determining factors in the application process, so it’s hard to determine how your law school application will be regarded without a test score.
We encourage students to utilize one of our favorite resources for researching data on nearly all of the ABA-approved schools in North America: LSAC’s LSAT/GPA Calculator. This tool allows you to input your undergraduate GPA and your highest LSAT score (in your case, the score you’re realistically aiming for), and get feedback on where each stands relative to attendees at individual schools, as well as your likely odds of duplicating that result on those figures.
Continue to work diligently on your coursework and use the low grades to create a compelling personal statement. You should also plan on taking the LSAT no later than the Summer of your Junior year or Fall of senior year, one year prior to your expected entry into law school. Please note that we offer Self-Study Plans, Courses, and one-on-one Tutoring to help you crush the exam, and Law School Admissions consulting to address your admissions needs.
Thank you!
I am a rising senior who decided to take an intro to journalism class this summer. Does it look bad to law schools to take an intro class as a senior?
Hi Aubrey,
Thank you for your comment! Please keep in mind that not everyone’s transcript will be evaluated. If your transcript is reviewed, typically, the only time an “easy” course will reflect negatively is if you a substantial amount of them that don’t complement your degree, and/or you did not do well in them. For instance, it will be hard to justify doing poorly in an intro course, especially as senior. I hope this helps!
Thank you!
Hi there,
I got 3.30 ugpa but LSAC only calculated 2.52.
i repeated many classes in junior and senior year.
Anything i can do for this grade? Is there any Chance that laws school will look at my original transcript? Do i need to write any expanation in law school expanation?
Thank you!
Hi Kris,
Thanks for the post! Yes, I would consider writing a GPA addendum specifically addressing this: explain what happened, take responsibility, and indicate that your repeat grades are more indicative of your performance. It won’t completely offset the lower CAS GPA, but it will help a little and will answer any questions that law schools may have when reviewing your application. If you need some guidance on writing an addendum, please refer to this blog post: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/whats-the-deal-with-addenda/. Thanks!
Hello, I am really glad you have this comment section! Thank you!
Let me give you a background before I ask my questions . . . I have chosen a law school that I want to attend (an Ivy League). This is the first time I actually care about which school I am going to, so naturally, I am a little nervous (to downplay the situation). I take the LSAT in July 2020, my GPA is 4.0 (LSAC GPA 3.98), my major is mathematics, I am twenty and I have a lot of law related work/volunteer experience (i.e. writing legislation, editor, writing editorials for a Senate campaign, legal research, university policy writing, political caseworker and working for an attorney to name a few things).
Here are my questions:
1) I have a 50 – 50 success rate on standardized tests. Either I blow it out of the water or score near zero. I am trying to buffer this situation by studying every free minute I have. Should I receive an average score, are law schools likely to value my real world experience and academic track record? Do you have recommendations for preparing for the LSAT? What are your thoughts about taking the LSAT twice or taking the GRE for a better score?
2) I acquired my first and only B+ in biology last year while I was enduring a terrible time in my life. Under normal circumstances, I would have finished most tests at the top of my class, yet I cannot expect an admissions officer to know this. How in depth should I go into explaining the situation in my addenda? I am a very positive person and prefer to avoid negative aspects, yet this is one thing I know everyone will notice when glancing at my transcript.
3) Do you have some recommendations on what topics to cover in personal statements (generally speaking of course)? My reviewers will be professors. How do you recommend I connect with them?
4) I have a lot of related work experience. How should I decide which ones will most interest the admissions staff and focus on those for my resume or diversity statement?
5) For the references on my application, they say pick a professor who has seen you person exceptionally and knows you well. That describes 99% of my professors. Are there some other criteria(s) you recommend for picking a professor reference? I want to pick the best one to represent my character.
Your thoughts will be most appreciated. Thank you for taking a moment to read and answer my post! 🙂
Verity
P.S. Correction: perform exceptionally not person exceptionally
(Not sure why this posted on another post. I put it on this one the first time too.)
Hi Verity,
Thank you for your questions!
1) Law schools care a great deal about undergraduate GPA and LSAT scores, particularly LSAT scores, and those are the standard predictors of how a student will do in law school. However, the “soft” elements (resume, personal statement, etc.) of your application are extremely important, particularly if you’re like the majority of law school applicants and your numerical stats (LSAT and GPA) fall below the school’s 75th percentile and/or you’ve got a high GPA/low LSAT or low GPA/high LSAT numerical combination. When you’re not a near-certainty for admission based on your numbers, but a school is still interested in you for potential admission, then those “soft” elements become very important. They are what will separate you from the rest of the “maybes” and will turn you into a “yes”.
Feel free to utilize one of our favorite resources for researching data on nearly all of the ABA-approved schools in North America: LSAC’s LSAT/GPA Calculator. This tool allows you to input your undergraduate GPA and your highest LSAT score (in your case, the score you’re realistically aiming for), and get feedback on where each stands relative to attendees at individual schools, as well as your likely odds of duplicating that result on those figures.
We highly recommend that students looking into LSAT prep options check out our fully comprehensive PowerScore LSAT Course. The course is designed to begin with ground one, giving students an introduction to the LSAT and the basic methodologies of how to approach the test, and the concepts taught in class will build from there. We offer three versions of this course so that students can find an option that fits best with their study preferences. All versions (In Person, Live Online, and On Demand) follow the same syllabus and come with the same material. Our blog post (How Do You Choose the Best LSAT Prep Option?) should assist you in choosing the right LSAT preparation option. Also, check out our blogs discussing taking the LSAT multiple times and our thoughts on the LSAT vs GRE here: Who Should Retake the LSAT? and Answering Your LSAT vs GRE Questions.
2) We generally think addendums are unnecessary except in more extreme cases (e.g., a very low GPA, a semester with sub-par grades in an otherwise great transcript, a rash of failed or withdrawn classes, etc.), so your case wouldn’t qualify.
3)-5) Check out the posts below for assistance regarding your Law School Application. If you would like additional assistance, turn to one of our experts for professional help and consider one of our consulting programs. These programs allow you to work one-on-one with an admissions expert who can help you forge the best possible essay and application.
Creating an Exceptional Personal Statement for Your Law School Application
Creating an Exceptional Personal Statement for Your Law School Application
How to Get Killer Law School Letters of Recommendation
Lastly, check out our LSAT Free Help Area. Our free LSAT and law school areas are the most comprehensive on the web, and there is a wealth of information to assist you with your LSAT preparation and law school application.
Thank you!
Thank you for your recommendations! I just finished reading the last article. You answered my questions thoroughly.
Hi! I am a bit worried although I feel that I shouldn’t be worried as much as I should. I currently attend Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service as a freshman. The average GPA when graduating from this school is a 3.3 which is quite understandable given that it is one of the hardest if not the hardest foreign service schools to attend. Many of these students go on to T-14 schools as told to me by my dean. That’s great and all, but I’m more worried about my overall success and not comparing myself so much to others.
1st semester I took around 6 courses and ended with a 3.1 GPA. Mostly A’s with a C in Microeconomics because at Georgetown Economics is a GPA killer and it absolutely sucked. Due to the Coronavirus, my second semester didn’t go as well. I once again received another C, this time in Macro. Importantly though, I received good grades in all of my other classes (Mostly A’s and 2 or 3 B’s) (12 courses taken in total freshman year). I’m confident that I will do very well in the upcoming years at Georgetown especially since I only have one more semester worth of economics left as a core requirement and this time around I have managed to get a professor that everyone raves about as being easy to understand. I plan on taking another 12 courses sophomore year. If I manage to pull my gpa up to a 3.8 sophomore year will the 2 C’s hurt me badly? I’m not really concerned with the IF or whether or not I could pull up my gpa because I do accomplish whatever I set my mind to; I’m more worried about how the two C’s and the lower gpa freshman year will look to T14 law schools and whether I should provide an addendum for it.
I had an unfortunate case as a freshman because 1st semester I was adjusting to college like everyone else and that’s why I struggled in a class or two, but second semester I had A’s in every course until I moved home, was doing quite well, and then things went downhill.
I apologize for being so long-winded, but I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks
Hi Nya,
Thank you for your comment! We generally think addendums are unnecessary except in more extreme cases (e.g., a very low GPA, a semester with sub-par grades in an otherwise great transcript, a rash of failed or withdrawn classes, etc.), so your case usually wouldn’t qualify. Please note that messing up during your freshman or sophomore year is much better than messing up your junior or senior year. During your first two years, you can still fall back on the “I was young and getting acclimated” defense. You’re fresh out of high school, you’re getting your feet wet, it’s the first time living on your own, etc. Whatever the reason, it’s much easier to forgive an 18- or 19-year-old for academic inconsistency than a 20- or 21-year-old with at least a couple of years of college under their belt. You could instead focus on improving your GPA and tying your freshman year into the growth you experience between then and your senior year when creating your personal statement.
Feel free to utilize one of our favorite resources for researching data on nearly all of the ABA-approved schools in North America: LSAC’s LSAT/GPA Calculator. This tool allows you to input your undergraduate GPA and your highest LSAT score (in your case, the score you’re realistically aiming for), and get feedback on where each stands relative to attendees at individual schools, as well as your likely odds of duplicating that result on those figures.
Thank you!
P.S. Correction: perform exceptionally not person exceptionally
I am a college freshman and have chosen environmental engineering as my major, as my family and I want want me to take on a more challenging/rigorous major, especially because this is a strong career option if i end up not going to law school. I am sure that I won’t be able to maintain my current 4.0 in the years to come. My question is, will T25 law schools consider my application despite the low GPA given my STEM major, if I get a near perfect LSAT score. Furthermore, if i specify in my personal statement my passion for the environment and therefore my intent on studying environmental law (as my major is also environmental engineering), will I later be able to change my area of law study to other fields such as corporate/patent, or do I need to stick with what I specified in my law school application?
Hi Sara!
Thank you for your comment! If you’re able to score high on the LSAT, you will be something called a “traditional splitter.” More on splitters and splitter friendly law schools may found here: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/what-are-law-school-splitters-reverse-splitters-super-splitters/. Splitters are very common in the law school admissions process, and if you fall into the category of one, you shouldn’t be overly concerned.
We encourage students to utilize one of our favorite resources for researching data on nearly all of the ABA-approved schools in North America: LSAC’s LSAT/GPA Calculator. This tool allows you to input your undergraduate GPA and your highest LSAT score (in your case, the score you’re realistically aiming for), and get feedback on where each stands relative to attendees at individual schools, as well as your likely odds of duplicating that result on those figures. If your numbers are at or above the 75th percentile, your chances are (numerically speaking) high. At that point, your job is to make sure your softs (personal statement, résumé, letters of recommendation, any addenda, and supplemental essays) are good enough that they don’t hinder you.
Please note that the policy and process for changing your field of study, after you’ve been admitted, is something that will vary from law school to law school. We would recommend you receive clarification directly from the law schools you’re interested in applying to regarding their rules on that matter.
Thank you!
Hi,
I am finishing up my junior year and due to the coronavirus I had to move home across the country with a six hour time difference abruptly and being uprooted from the stabilizing campus environment got me hopelessly lost in a single class.
I am worried about an F in this course, but my school allows students to retake a course and the prior grade will be dropped from the GPA in favor of the retake. The F would remain on the transcript as a historical record, but not factored into the GPA. Other than this grade I have all A’s and a few A-‘s, I also have a job, am very involved on campus, and am in my university’s honors program. I am preparing for the LSAT and am currently projected in the 165-170 but aiming higher. Would this historic record jeopardize my chances at a top 10 law school?
Hi Kylie,
Thanks for the message! I have a few varied thoughts here, so I’ll share them in bullet point form:
* Bad news first: Your official GPA will be lower than your law school GPA. CAS calculates your GPA by factoring in that F. They have a policy—one that I detest—that includes any grade on a transcript, even if you retook that course and received a higher grade, and even if your university then ignores that lower grade. So, your official mater report GPA won’t be quite as high as it would otherwise. I’m sorry about that 🙁
* On the flip side, if there was ever a time to get an F, now is that time. What I would do is write an addendum specifically addressing this grade. While it won’t erase its effect on your CAS GPA, it will explain what happened to the law schools, and every single person alive understands that things are extraordinarily out of kilter and things like this can in fact happen. So, I believe schools will view that F for what it is: a product of unusual times. This is especially the case since everything else on your record looks to be quite solid.
* Will this kill you at the T10? No. It doesn’t help, and it puts more pressure on you to get that LSAT score as high as possible, but given the one-off nature of the grade and the unusual time in which it occurred, I suspect you’ll get a pass outside of the T3.
So, mixed news there but the real bottom line is that this isn’t fatal to your applications 🙂
Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!
Hi,
I have a 3.78 GPA and a 177 on my LSAT. During my first semester in college, I violated the honor code for a paper in my first-year writing class and got an F. If it weren’t for that F, I would have around a 3.92. I am not American and didn’t have much experience writing college-level papers in English.
Are my chances of getting into a good school jeopardized? How should I go about the F? Do law schools check my academic standing with the Deans?
Thanks for your help!
Hi Cathy,
Thank you for your comment! Please note that we would recommend addressing this with an addendum. Feel free to check out our blog post covering the addendum here: What’s the Deal with Addenda?. However, we strongly encourage you to work with a professional on this, especially since it will be a crucial part of your application for admission.
Please note that we offer one-to-one Law School Admissions Consulting and you may view our programs and pricing here: https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/law-school-admissions/. If you would like help that you can purchase by the hour and customize to fit what you need assistance with, open-ended admissions consulting hours would be a great fit. You may fill out an Admissions Consultation form to schedule your free consultation here: https://www.powerscore.com/college-admissions/ajax-consulting-form.cfm.
Thank you!
I’m afraid I’m going to be a heavy splitter with a gpa addendum and I’m not sure what that will earn me or what target schools I should be hoping for.
I live in the DC area, and American University, George Mason, George Washington, and Georgetown are all within a distance I’m able to travel (I know Georgetown is probably too high to aim for).
I’m a first generation college student, and I didnt really know what I was doing at first. I’d always gotten A’s in high school, but suddenly needing to support myself and work 60+ hour each week on top of a full course load was impossible.
I failed 3 classes in my attempts across 2 schools, but I got an associates degree at a 2.38 gpa.
I’m 25 now, and have been going to Liberty University (3rd college) for 4 semesters. My undergraduate granting institution gpa is a 3.84, I’m graduating Summa Cum Laude, and I still work full time (thankfully a more manageable 40 hours per week now).
My LSAC gpa is a 2.97 because of the associates degree gpa.
I’m consistently scoring 170-172 on my practice LSATs, and I’m taking the July tests.
Will any of the law schools in the area take me? Should I be aiming lower? University of the District of Columbia?Will the upward trend save me and get me into a semi-decent school?
Hi Rachel,
Thanks for the message! There’s far more good news here than bad news 🙂 Some thoughts:
* Being a splitter isn’t the kiss of death, especially when you come in with a 170+ LSAT score. Lots of people have high GPAs, far fewer have high LSATs, and so schools can use your high LSAT score to offset someone else’s lower LSAT, and vice versa as far as GPA.
* Your grades show an interesting pattern that can be easily explained. Thus, the primary fear over lower grades–that you can’t hack the work in law school–is both countered by the nature of your lower GPA as well as your final LSAT score.
So, with the above in mind, your chances at the school in the VA/DC area are probably better than you believe them to be at the moment 🙂 Just using the minimal nature of what I know, adn assuming you execute your personal statements, LORs, and GPA addendum flawlessly, I’d say you are looking at the following chances:
American University: You’re a near lock to be admitted, despite that GPA being sub-3.0 🙂
George Mason: You’re over a 90% chance to get in here.
George Washington: This is surprisingly high, with probably over an 80% chance of admission. LSAC shows you as between 48-62%, but history suggests it’s higher than that.
Georgetown: As you feared, this is the lowest chance of any of the schools, and it’s under 25%.
UDC: It’s a lock for sure. The same would be true at Catholic U just to add another DC school.
The key though is to nail your LSAT score and then make sure every other part of the app that you control is as good as possible. You might want to see a good admissions consultant to make sure you get everything right.
So, in summary, you can get into a very good school with the numbers you cited. Keep working hard on the LSAT, polish those softs up, and you might find yourself a lot happier at the end of this than you feel right now 🙂
Good luck!
Hello,
I am messaging here to ask a question about the course load to get into law school. I am going into my last (4th year) semester in 2020 fall. I am stressed because I did not take 5 courses per semester in the majority of my undergraduate degree.
In first year I took 4 courses first semester and 4 courses second semester and then I made up the 1.0 credit in the summer of that year.
In my second year first semester, I took 5 courses and my second semester I took 4 (my mom was in the hospital this year so it affected my studying)
I took 0.5 courses in the summer to make up the 0.5 I missed
This year I just finished 3rd year, I took 4 courses first semester and 4 courses in the second semester.
I am taking 2.0 credits (so like 3 courses, one full year credit) this summer May to June to make the 1.0 but also 1.0 just so I can be ahead in my credits.
The majority of my years in undergraduate I took 4 courses per term, one of them always being full year. I am just stressed will that affect my chances of getting in?
MY GPA right now is 3.84 and I willing to bring it up to 3.86 this summer and hopefully more during my fourth year.
Hi Sandy,
Thanks for the message! I doubt this will be an issue at all for you. But, if you are concerned, and an addendum explaining that you often took 4 courses so you could focus on other things like work and your mom’s health. Adcomms are human, and they’ll understand 🙂
If you have questions about how to write the addendum, feel free to contact one of our Admissions Consulting experts here: https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/law-school-admissions/. They help with essays like this all then time 🙂
Thanks and good luck!
Hello,
I’m attending a well-ranked liberal arts college and am majoring in business and economics while minoring in Latin American Studies and International Affairs. My undergraduate GPA is a 3.89, and I haven’t taken the LSAT yet even though I intend to soon.
However, I was recently disheartened because I realized that the LSAC requires you to submit transcripts of college courses you took during high school, even if it was for high school credit.
I did dual enrollment at a local community college two summers during high school, receiving two A’s the first summer and a B and a C the second summer. The second summer I struggled because I had to work extra hours as a lifeguard and take care of my little sister, because my dad stopped working in order visit his sick father and my mom was working most of the day. I fear that these grades I earned while still in high school will greatly lower my LSAC-calculated GPA, and thus limit the schools I get accepted into.
Do you think I should be worried about this limiting the amount of schools I get into?
and do you believe it would be wise for me to write an addendum explaining why I got a B and a C on my college courses that Summer?
Thank you for helping me!!
Hi Alexander!
Thank you for your comment! We generally think addendums are unnecessary except in more extreme cases (e.g., a very low GPA, a semester with sub-par grades in an otherwise great transcript, a rash of failed or withdrawn classes, etc.), so your case usually wouldn’t qualify.
Feel free utilize one of our favorite resources for researching data on nearly all of the ABA-approved schools in North America: LSAC’s LSAT/GPA Calculator. This tool allows you to input your undergraduate GPA and your highest LSAT score (in your case, the score you’re realistically aiming for), and get feedback on where each stands relative to attendees at individual schools, as well as your likely odds of duplicating that result on those figures.
Thank you!
How are law schools treating the pass fail options that college students are being offered due to COVID-19. If I plan on going to law school, should I take a class pass fail that could potentially mess up my GPA or should I just take the hit to the GPA. Mind you the class is in my major, but with everything with COVID-19 I just haven’t been able to do well in the class.
Hi Kylie,
Thank you for your comment! Please note that pass/fail grades are excluded from GPA calculation. The only time a pass/fail grade could potentially harm your GPA is if you received a grade of C-minus or below. LSAC’s full policy on grade conversion may be found here: https://www.lsac.org/applying-law-school/jd-application-process/cas/requesting/transcript-summarization.
Thank you!
Hello,
I was wondering about the perception of community college classes? I attend a private liberal arts college which is really expensive without aid, and since aid is not provided for the summer I wanted to opt to enroll in my local community college versus my institution. I would be taking about 18 credits at the community college, would this look like I’m trying to get an easy-A? Or if my performance at the community college is equal to my performance at my institution will it not matter? For example, I consistently earn A’s at my institution, so if I maintain that pattern during the summer it would not be suspicious versus making C’s at an institution and A’s at the community college?
Thanks so much!
Hi Linda,
Thank you for your comment. When it comes to your GPA, the main thing law schools tend to be interested in is a straightforward number to put into their index and determine how you stack up against other applicants.
So, as long as the school where you are earning your degree accepts transfer credits and grades from the previous school that you attended, the fact that some of your grades came from a community college should not come into play.
Thank you!
I am a sophomore at a 4 year private university, and I plan on applying to law school at the same school I am already attending (University of San Diego Law School). I am most worried about my GPA as I am a chemistry major with a computer science and biomedical ethics minors and currently have a 3.45 (all A’s, 2 B’s and 1 C on my transcript so far). What LSAT score should I be striving for to be a competitive applicant if my GPA remains the same?
Hi Kaitlyn,
Thanks for the question! The good news here is that a 3.4 UGPA is in the 25th percentile range for many law schools. We would recommend that you utilize one of our favorite resources for researching data on nearly all of the ABA-approved schools in North America: LSAC’s LSAT/GPA Calculator. This tool allows you to input your undergraduate GPA and your highest LSAT score (in your case, the score you’re realistically aiming for), and get feedback on where each stands relative to attendees at individual schools, as well as your likely odds of duplicating that result on those figures.
Please note that the LSAT is scored on a scale of 120-180, with a majority of test-takers scoring between 150-154. A “competitive” LSAT score will vary from law school to law school, but in regard to USD, if you’re able to score a 160 or above your chances of being admitted are (numerically speaking) high. At that point, you will need to ensure your softs (personal statement, résumé, letters of recommendation, any addenda and supplemental essays) are good enough that they don’t hinder you.
Thank you!
Hi,
I am an International Finance major from a Group of 8 Australian University ( The Ivy Leagues of Australia) and I scored a 5.125/7.0 CGPA ( Probably about or less than 3.0/ 4.0 CGPA )plus I managed to reach the minimum requirement of 5.0/7.0 CGPA to enter LLB graduate entry pathway in my university. During my studies, halfway through my second year, I decided to take up business law subjects as I can only take them as a business major student and I did really well by scoring high distinction to distinction range ( but there were only 3 subjects offered and I took all of them) the rest of my finance major subjects scored about credit to passes averagely with minor distinction grades here and there. It was then I realized that I should look into law and I used to be fairly active in Model UN and other Government Policy making programs offered by the Australian Government. I’ve even volunteered in a legal community center as an assistant to transcribe phone calls, schedule meetings, filing up legal paperwork and bare witness to pro-bono cases done by lawyers with their clients. How would you think this will reflect on my law school application if I really work hard on my LSATs to compensate for my low CGPA overview?
Hi Wendy,
Thanks for the question! Your LSAT score is one of the largest determining factors in the application process, so it’s hard to determine how your law school application will be regarded without a test score.
We encourage students to utilize one of our favorite resources for researching data on nearly all of the ABA-approved schools in North America: LSAC’s LSAT/GPA Calculator. This tool allows you to input your undergraduate GPA and your highest LSAT score (in your case, the score you’re realistically aiming for), and get feedback on where each stands relative to attendees at individual schools, as well as your likely odds of duplicating that result on those figures.
If your numbers are at or above the 75th percentile, your chances are (numerically speaking) high. At that point, your job is to make sure your softs (personal statement, résumé, letters of recommendation, any addenda and supplemental essays) are good enough that they don’t hinder you.
If you’re able to score high on the LSAT, you will be something called a “traditional splitter.” More on splitters and splitter friendly law schools may found here: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/what-are-law-school-splitters-reverse-splitters-super-splitters/. Splitters are very common in the law school admissions process, and if you fall into the category of one, you shouldn’t be overly concerned.
Thank you!
Hi,
I am currently a Junior at UVA and have definitively taken hard classes for my Freshman and Sophomore year. But beginning my Junior year, I chose to major in Media Studies as well as gov/poli-sci. Therefore, for the first semester of my junior year, I took many intro media level classes as prerequisites before I was able to take more complex classes. Additionally, after the intro level classes, many of the classes in the media studies major don’t sound necessarily difficult but some are and have a high course level (3000 level vs 1000 level for example).
Do law schools look at course level as well as course name?
Would you recommend writing an addendum to explain the shift in course load?
Are admission councils even going to care about my course load? My cumulative GPA is a 3.73 and my major GPAs are better. Do they even see major GPAs?
Lastly, do law schools look at senior course loads? I want to take some difficult sounding classes my senior year to make my application look better
Hi Ben,
Thanks for the message! Let’s see if we can set the record straight on some of your questions:
1. “Do law schools look at course level as well as course name?” — Yes, they will look at all aspects of your record, but an “easy sounding” course with a high course number will be treated as a harder course.
2. “Would you recommend writing an addendum to explain the shift in course load?” — Without knowing what those first two years of courses consisted of, it’s hard to say. Was it Organic chemistry and science? Or English courses? If the topic is far from your major classes, then yes, an addendum would be warranted. If not, and it’s in a closely related Humanities field, probably not. But this is a question that is probably better asked of one of our Admissions Consultants since it requires an analysis of your record.
3. “Are admission councils even going to care about my course load? My cumulative GPA is a 3.73 and my major GPAs are better. Do they even see major GPAs?” — Yes, but the cumulative GPA is obviously the determinative factor since that is what they report to the ABA. That said, some schools use major GPAs as a marker based on past history of accepted applicants so it is important.
4. “Lastly, do law schools look at senior course loads? I want to take some difficult sounding classes my senior year to make my application look better” — Yes, but don’t take “difficult sounding” courses. You’re at UVA, which is a well-respected school. They won’t start suddenly thinking you are a better candidate based on you taking a harder sounding course since names aren’t the deciding factor in difficulty. These are professionals and they can sift nuances very well. They’ll see your course levels and performances and and your school and draw reasonable conclusions from that. Take courses you like and can excel at—that’s the best approach!
Good luck!
Hello! I am a very non-traditional student who discovered a passion for law during my readmission to university in 2018. I attended a state university in 2009 upon graduating high school, and had a really poor year. I take full responsibility for my lack of effort in that year; my grades were nobody’s fault but mine. I was placed on academic suspension and decided to leave the university as I was clearly just not in a place where I was ready for that level of responsibility and work. I ended up with three consecutive terms of failing or near failing grades, and left college near the end of my freshman year with my tail between my legs.
In 2018, I decided that I was ready to make another attempt at receiving my undergraduate degree. I applied for reinstatement at the university, and worked as hard as I could to meet the requirements of my SAP plan. I applied for academic forgiveness, which allowed me to remove all of the credits from that freshman year performance from over ten years ago from my institutional GPA calculation. These grades, although stricken from my record as far as institutional GPA calculation is concerned, will appear on my transcript without credits. I understand that whatever school I apply to will see these when reviewing my transcript. Now, having completed nine consecutive terms on honor roll with a GPA of 3.90 while simultaneously juggling a full-time career and two young children on the side, I am ready to begin the application process to law school. I spoke to an admissions consultant who made it sound like my prospects of being accepted to any program are quite low, simply due to the fact that I failed so many courses during my freshman year. She said that the admissions office will absolutely calculate my GPA with those early failing grades, and that most likely that will overshadow the specifics behind the circumstances. To me, it is clear that my school performance ten years ago is not a reflection of my actual work ethic and abilities.
Is it worth going forward with the application process? Will admissions offices really turn me away simply on one bad year of school that occurred over a decade ago? I I have not taken the LSAT or any practice tests, but have been listening to the Powerscore podcast and am going to begin tutoring soon; I know that my LSAT score could affect that answer.
Thank you!
Hi Anna,
Thanks for the message! Your situation is an interesting one, and there are three separate elements here that will have a big effect on your outcomes:
1. How CAS computes your GPA.
CAS is the entity that will compute your official GPA, not your school (odd, right?). CAS is known to compute any grades on your record, and they have this to say about academic forgiveness grades: “All grades reflected on your transcript for forgiven courses will be included in the calculation of the GPA even if the institution issuing the transcript excludes the courses from its own calculations. Credits for forgiven courses not reflecting the grade earned will appear on the academic summary but will not be included in the GPA calculation. If the transcript reflects neither the grade nor the credit attempted for a forgiven course, credit will be assigned. If a transcript is not clear about the total number of credits attempted and the course information is not readily available on the institution’s website, the total number of credits for a similar course will be assigned. A line drawn through course information or a grade does not eliminate the course from GPA calculation.”
So, it would seem they will factor these grades into your GPA and that is going to drag your GPA down quite a bit (unfairly in my opinion, and this is a policy I have complained about repeatedly for years, so for your sake I’m terribly sorry). They key question is: what will that CAS GPA be when calculated? If it’s above 3.0, you’d be ok. If under 3.0, the hill gets steeper, but you do have a a story for that GPA, so it would be survivable. My quick calculation of 9 semesters of 3.9 plus three 1.0 semesters (I went for worst case), leaves you around 3.175. Not nearly fair given your 3.9s, but it would let them get to see the next element I discuss.
2. The amount of time that has passed since you received those low grades (which is happily a long time).
It’s clear to me that you are a wholly different type of student now, and one that excels. You also have a very reasonable explanation for what happened, and your recent performance shows that how you performed 10 years ago is in no way indicative of who you are. So, aside from the effect on your CAS GPA, I think schools seeing those grades won’t be a huge deal, mainly because you will write an addendum explaining what happened and pointing out that recent history proves that you are a completely different person and student now. If I was on an admissions committee, I’d see what happened, read your reasonable explanation, and dismiss any concerns over how you’d perform in law school now. So, on that particular front, there’s an easy strategy to mitigate the problem entirely.
3. Your LSAT score.
If you apply, your LSAT score will become even more important, mainly because it would need to offset your GPA. At that point, you become known as a splitter, and splitters can have good results in application. The key is too look at law schools where your LSAT score would be extra-attractive to them, meaning at or above the 75th percentile. they can then use your high LSAT to counterbalance your lower GPA 🙂
So, based on the above, there is a way forward here that let’s you have success in the application process. Write an addendum about what happened with your early , do as well as possible on LSAT, and then look for schools where your LSAT is at or above the 75th percentile LSAT score median.
Good luck, and if we can help out with your LSAT prep or applications, just let us know!
Hi,
I am a fourth year undergraduate specializing in philosophy. My hope is to attend a top seven law school in the United States. My CGPA for 105 credit hours is 4.27. I also have been published in two of the best undergraduate philosophy journals, presented at 3 philosophy conferences, been awarded a Fellowship in addition to holding two positions on my department’s student association. I know that my recommenders are also writing me great letters for law school. The problem is that my GRE score is sub-par, converting to a 159 LSAT score using LSAC’s calculator. Is there any chance of achieving admission at any t-7 schools with these numbers? Given that my CGPA is higher than the top admits at U Chicago and Yale last year, is this the kind of thing that could move an admissions committee to consider admitting me, or is the poor GRE an overriding factor?
Best Regards,
Joseph
Hi Joseph,
Your softs and GPA are incredibly good, but as you fear, your GRE is going to a problem. If you were looking outside the T7, then your chances would be solid, but I suspect that inside the T7 your results will not be favorable. Your GPA isn’t enough to change the math here since high GPAs are more common than high test scores.
Your situation here is undermined by the fact that schools are only now starting to get used to the GRE and thus they are wary of over-reliance on GRE scores. By contrast, they know the LSAT well and trust it. So, the admit numbers for the GRE at most schools have been higher than the comparative LSAT scores. That will likely change in several years, but for the time being it’s more of a challenge to come in with a GRE score. Second, the LSAT score is the biggest driver of admit results (followed closely by GPA), so you are removing the biggest factor and replacing it with a result that is comparably lower than their average. This will, regrettably, put your application at a serious disadvantage at the schools you are looking at.
Sorry to be the bearer of that news 🙁
Hello. Thanks for the helpful post!! I have a question.
I transferred from CC to top 5 four year college. I ended up getting 3.42 at my university and 3.64 on CC.
I’m an international student, so I took few under 100 level ESL courses, which I got B and C’s and is not considered as college level courses. But I got A’s on ESL courses that are upper 100 level.
1. I know that LSAC doesn’t not take into consideration on under 100 level courses. So when they recalculate my CC and university gpa, do they exclude my under 100 level courses? If they exclude, my CC gpa increases approx to 3.8 and there is a possibility my CAS GPA to be calculated around 3.6.
2. Does LSAC weight University and CC grade differently when averaging the GPA? Since CC courses are easier than University, I’m wondering If they give more weight on my University GPA.
3. I’m an econ major, but my quantitative skills are not that good. I got C and C- on my Calculus and advanced level Statistics courses, which made my GPA go down on tremendous amount. Should I write addendum regards to this?
Hi Jay,
Thanks for the message!
With 1 and 2, because LSAC occasionally changes policies as far as grade handling and international students, I’m going to refer you to them for the exact answer (although the answer to both should be NO).
With 3, I’d be very careful here. You don’t want to draw further attention to a weakness, and what would your explanation be anyway? Just that you aren’t good at Quant? That’s not a compelling explanation and I wouldn’t submit that if so!
Thanks!
Hello Dave,
Thanks for the message and happy holidays!
Regards to first question, I know LSAC’s policy is that they only include college level courses, which are above 100 level courses. Some of ESL courses that I took are 098, 099, which is not college level courses and considered as remedial.
I graduate college on the U.S and international students who graduated from college in U.S aren’t considered as international as far as I know.
Still in this case, will the course that are under 100 level be included or is this something that I have to check this LSAC?
Yes, definitely check with LSAC here 🙂
Thanks and happy holidays!
Hi, I am appying to JD programs this cycle and I am very worried about the significant difference between my Poli Sci GPA and my LSAC GPA. Background: I am a non-traditional student with Ds and Fs on my college transcripts right out of high school. I took several years off before going to a community college and transferring to Columbia with a 3.8 GPA from the community college I attended. I should note that the first college I attended after HS granted grade forgiveness and academic renewal, therefore I had a clean transcript when I applied and was accepted to Columbia. To my disadvantage, LSAC does not honor academic renewal nor grade forgiveness and I am now looking at a 3.8 Poli Sci GPA and a 3.1 Cumulative (LSAC) GPA. Should I still consider top tier schools or should I consider less elite schools? My grades reflect an upward trend and I have made the Dean’s List every semester at Columbia. What should my next move be, aside from completing an addendum on every application I submit?
Hi Alejandro,
You will most certainly want to submit an addendum about this. That said, it also puts you in a hole as far as apps because law schools have to report your LSAC GPA, meaning they are tied to that 3.1 number. In that sense, your 3.8 isn’t what they will rely on.
What you are hoping for is that one or more schools see through this problem you had and realize you can do the work, and find that they have a surplus of high GPAs in the pool to offset the 3.1. This could definitely happen, especially if there are other factors in your background that aren’t apparent here.
However, what I don’t see mentioned here is your LSAT score, and that becomes far more important to you now. To have a shot at top schools, you need to crush your exam, preferably by scoring in the 170s. If so, then you have a shot depending on how things fall out. If not, the road will be much steeper.
So, assuming your LSAT score is in the ballpark, I would apply to a selection of schools–some top tier, some down a little bit–in order to make sure you are covered here. Then, cross your fingers and hope someone gets it.
Thanks!
Hello,
I have taken the long route to get to my goal of law school. Plan on taking LSAT in 100 days for the Part Time Evening and Weekend program at Chase Law in Kentucky. I will remain working full time as a Civil Servant for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
I am the 1st person in my family to go to college so my undergrad posed a bit of a steep learning curve.
Associates Degree @ Community College Cumulative 3.0 Graduated 2008
Bachelor’s Degree Started at UofL then Joined Army so finished at another institution. Institution GPA is 3.4 Cumulative is 3.2. Graduated 2011
I completed this degree while I was active duty using tuition assistance on my spare time between exercises, tdy, and deployment preparation.
However my LSAC Cumulative GPA is showing 2.99 (maybe calculation of repeated course for better grade taken into consideration?) I’m wondering if this is going to hurt my chances?
I subsequently completed a Master’s’ Degree in Political Science while active duty and finished my last few semesters while Deployed to Afghanistan. GPA 3.58 Graduated 2013.
I recently finished a second Masters Degree in Business Administration with Honors. GPA 3.86 Graduate 2017.
My question is will I still be competitive for Law School and will they take into consideration any of my Graduate Degrees, Growth, and Deployed Soldier status when looking at my file? My concern is the funny math that shows my undergrad as 2.99.
Thanks for any insight and have a great day!
Hi Gary,
Thanks for the message! Your record is one that presents challenges for law school adcomms. So let’s look at it more closely.
Overall, your record of achievements is interesting and shows depth. Multiple degrees, Army service, NATO, first gen college student and so on. You look like someone who is driven and wants to succeed, and would do well in school. All that is great!
So what is the drawback? It’s your GPA. While your grad school grades tell a different story, that CAS GPA is the one they will use. In fact, it’s what they report to the ABA, and is then used by US News, so that CAS GPA controls all. It also means that your later performances–which were better–get de-emphasized since they aren’t reportable. In other words, the committee will look at your grades and see someone who can do the work, but who would likely pull down their GPA medians if they accept you.
The good news is that there are two things working in your favor. The first is that Chase’s 25th percentile GPA is 2.99 for the part time program, so you aren’t pulling them down much at all, and they will indeed accept applicants with your GPA. Given the rest of your record, they are likely to overlook the GPA here. Second, you can use a higher LSAT to offset that GPA.
So, this is what you should do:
1. Focus like crazy on the LSAT. A good LSAT score will outweigh your GPA and counterbalance it (and turn you into a Splitter, which has value to law schools). Make sure to go above their 75th percentile LSAT, which is 154 for the part-time program.
2. Write an addendum about those early grades, and explain how you were working etc, and indicate that your later grad school grades are more indicative.
If you can do the two things above, you should be just fine with getting into Chase. Thanks and good luck!
Hi,
I am a senior undergraduate with a 4.26 CGPA on LSAC’s CAS in a degree in philosophy. I have not yet written the GRE, but I am wondering how far my CGPA can carry me in terms of the kinds of law schools to which I will be admitted?
Thanks
Hi Joseph!
Thanks for the question! High GPAs are relatively common, but high test scores are not nearly as common, so it’s hard to determine your likelihood of law school admittance without a test score.
However, we encourage students to utilize one of our favorite resources for researching data on nearly all of the ABA-approved schools in North America: LSAC’s LSAT/GPA Calculator. This tool allows you to input your undergraduate GPA and your highest LSAT score (in your case, the score you’re realistically aiming for), and get feedback on where each stands relative to attendees at individual schools, as well as your likely odds of duplicating that result on those figures.
If your numbers are at or above the 75th percentile, your chances are (numerically speaking) high. At that point, your job is to make sure your softs (personal statement, résumé, letters of recommendation, any addenda and supplemental essays) are good enough that they don’t hinder you.
If you plan to take the GRE instead of the LSAT, you may still utilize LSAC’s LSAT/GPA calculator I mentioned above, you would just need to make sure to convert the GRE score you’re aiming for accordingly. Our article detailing the GRE to LSAT conversion matrix may be found here: https://blog.powerscore.com/gre/gre-to-lsat-conversion/.
Thank you!
I had a question regarding taking the same professor multiple time. I’m a history minor, and I’ve taken a few classes with the same professor. The reasoning behind this is because she teaches courses that are chronological, for example, I took her History of Western Civilization class, then I took her history in the modern world course (which stopped until WWI), I’m currently taking her History of WWI course, and I’m thinking about taking her History of WWII course next semester. My question is, does it look bad in the eyes of law school admission if I take the same professor multiple times?
Hi Pedro!
The name of an instructor is typically not listed on an official transcript. Therefore, law school admission committees will never know 😊
Thank you!
Hi guys, I have a 163 LSAT with a 3.59 GPA. My degree is in chemical engineering, and my major GPA was a 3.89. I had one down academic year in which I had 3.0 GPA, and I’ve written an addendum for this. Both my LSAT and GPA is below my dream schools median, but above the 25 percentile. Do you think that my major of choice has a good chance of contextualizing my GPA and making me competitive? Thanks for all responses.
Hey Preston – good question…tough answer. That is, all schools are cognizant of what you studied (unless there’s some other obvious disqualifying factor and you don’t get past first glances, which doesn’t sound like your situation), so not only was your major a notoriously challenging one, but you also performed quite well in it showing when you know what you want to pursue, law school say, you commit and excel. So yes that will definitely earn you some points!
Three things though:
First, different schools place different degrees of emphasis on LSAT vs GPA, so just how much service this does you is hard to predict with certainly in the broad sense. You can get some idea of the variance by looking at how certain schools are splitter (high LSAT/low GPA) or reverse-splitter (high GPA/low LSAT) friendly or unfriendly in these posts:
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/which-law-schools-are-splitter-friendly/
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/are-there-reverse-splitter-friendly-law-schools/
The simple fact that there are occasionally wide degrees of treatment tells you that some schools are going to be far more open to outlier candidates (any splitter type) than others, and those bode particularly well if you’re either below medians or feel some of your credentials are better or more defensible than they might at first seem.
Second, there’s a site I love called mylsn (my law school numbers) where actual applicants enter their credentials and then list their results, so you can often get a better sense of how you’ll fare based on your peers’ outcomes: https://mylsn.info/ytqczk/ . Enter your LSAT and GPA (within a narrow range), set it to show how people the past few years with those numbers did, and you can track to some extent what’s occurred.
Third, and finally, LSAC uses an interesting to calculate GPAs that doesn’t always align with how undergrad schools report them, and of course since it’s LSAC’s final calculation that gets submitted to law schools that’s the one the counts! So double-check within your LSAC/CAS account online once you’ve submitted everything and confirm, or at least check, to see what your final reported GPA becomes. It may not change, but they sometimes do, for better or worse. It’s worth knowing.
I hope that helps!
I go to UChicago, notorious for their lack of grade inflation. I study English, Human Rights, and Gender Studies (major and two minors respectively). Due to some difficult freshman year classes where I was figuring out what I wanted to do, I had a few poor grades and one withdrawal. I’m now on track to graduate with a 3.775 and have had LSAT scores ranging between 174-178 in practice tests. I want to attend a top school and I’m afraid that my gpa will hold me back even though my major gpa is a 4.0. Can you advise me on this please? Thanks
Hi Lulu – sometimes the questions we get around here are genuinely tricky to answer predictively, in a likely-outcome kind of way. So we’re as honest as we can be, but the replies we offer necessarily lack the degree of confidence we’d really prefer.
You, however, present a far happier opportunity haha
With a 3.78 from a prestigious school (major GPA of 4.0) and, conservatively, a 175 LSAT (I stayed low in the range), you should have a very solid shot at any school in the country.
I post on various comments here a link to a site I love called mylsn (my law school numbers) where actual applicants enter their credentials and then list their results, so you can often get a better sense of how you’ll fare based on your peers’ outcomes: https://mylsn.info/ytqczk/ . Enter your LSAT and GPA (within a narrow range), set it to show how people the past few years with those numbers did, and you can track to some extent what’s occurred and what’s likely to occur for you.
For example, I just input your credentials as LSAT 174-178 and GPA 3.7 to 3.9 (to account for the college and major GPA), and the only schools that aren’t pretty-to-very solid bets are Yale, Stanford, and UVA. And even at those three more people in your ranges were accepted than rejected from 2015 to the present (waitlist numbers are harder to know the outcomes of).
So at the risk of repeating myself: keep that GPA on track, hit somewhere in that LSAT range (higher the better, obviously), and make sure the rest of your app shines and you’ll more or less write your own ticket, probably saving some money off sticker prices along the way. Congrats in advance on that 🙂
I have a 4.08 LSAC GPA. I am waiting for my LSAT score but my last one was bad at a 152. I am a political science and economics double major. Will the fact that I had easier majors of economics and political science hurt me?
Hi Zachary,
No, those are standard majors for law school applicants, and while they won’t stand out, they won’t hurt you either. Let’s hope your next LSAT score comes in higher, since with that GPA you would have a ton of opportunities not only for straight admits but also for generous financial offers.
Thanks!
Hello,
I graduated from Baruch college with a 3.69 GPA overall. My Major GPA in Finance was a 3.88 and my Psych. Minor GPA was a 4.0 and my Law Minor GPA was a 3.77. I failed a calculus course but my school replaced the grade when I retook it (I got a B in the course). Now my LSAC GPA is a 3.6. Over the past 5 semesters my GPA was a 3.87. I want to get into a top 14 law school, preferably NYU and Columbia. Do you think that they will overlook my 3.6 LSAC GPA and take my Baruch college GPA of a 3.69 as more indicative of my academic standing? I’m nervous that they will deny me because of my GPA.
The reason that I failed the course is that I failed the final. Baruch has a policy for Finance that if you fail the Final, you fail the class. I scored in the mid 80’s on my exam’s and was going to get a B or B- in the course if I didn’t fail the final.
Hi Matthew,
Thanks for the message. The unfortunate fact here is that the schools will use the LSAC GPA because that’s the one that “counts” as far as reporting to the ABA and US News. It is, essentially, the number they are tied to since it’s the official one on your record. I know that’s unfair, but this policy has been in place for decades, and many people have been adversely affected by it. So, there’s no changing it for now.
What I would do is write a GPA addendum explaining what happened, taking responsibility, and indicating that your subsequent grades are more indicative of who you are. It won’t completely offset the lower GPA, but it will help a little.
Good luck!
Hi!
I’m 20 and applying this cycle does being young and not having any full time work experience hurt my chances?
Hi Sebastian,
Nope, won’t hurt you at all! You are what is called a K-JD, where you go from undergrad right to law school, and it is one of the most common paths for lawyers. Also, keep in mind that law school is not like business school, for example, where at least 2 years of full-time business experience is basically a requirement.
So, you are good!
Thank you! So I know that a lot of T14 like northwestern have 90% of the class a year or more out of school. Does that mean that the majority of people applying are people who are out of school for a year or they are the ones getting accepted?
Each school is different, but keep in mind that a year out of school–or more–can be for many different reasons: gap year, travel, fellowships, part-time jobs, studying for the LSAT, etc. Going straight to law school from undergrad is totally normal! If you want more data, look at the schools individually as that’s where there are differences, and use their 509 disclosures as needed: http://abarequireddisclosures.org/.
Thanks!
Hi!
Thanks for all this helpful information. I’m on the fence on whether or not to add an addendum to my application and would love some advice. LSAT aside (taking it soon!) I graduated from a strong liberal arts school with just above a 3.5 GPA, however, I had a rough 2nd semester freshman year. I wound up getting a C and two B- because the professor of the Spanish class I was enrolled in (where I got the C), refused to help me outside of class other than telling me to study twice as hard and drop my extracurriculars. My academic advisor- incorrectly- encouraged me to stick with the course instead of taking the W, and unfortunately I was unable to handle the pressure of performing well in that class in addition to the 4 other courses I was enrolled in (hence 2 B- and an overall bad semester gpa). I’m confident that that professor no longer works for the university, and my semester GPAs were 3.5+ for the remainder of my time at school. Plus, the semester before and after this course, I received A- in both Spanish. I’ve been working for over a year now and plan to apply this cycle. Do you think it’s worth explaining this semester to law schools? I didn’t end up with a bad overall GPA and so I don’t know if it’s necessary, but I also want to cover all my bases.
Apologies for the lengthy post and thank you so much in advance for your advice!
Hi Rachel,
Thanks for the message! I’d be wary of writing an addendum that contains the description of events you have here (even if improved). the fundamental problem is that your message is one where you didn’t get along with a professor, and this sent you into a tailspin that derailed an entire semester. Now fast forward to law school, and the adcomms know how tough law school can be. In effect, you’d be sending a message that trouble with a class could be destabilizing. Now, I’m sure that’s not the case, but that’s the underlying message that goes along with that story. So, if you do choose to address that one bad semester, I’d focus on some other aspect of what occurred, not the professor.
Thanks!
Hi,
I started out taking Chemical Engineering as my major in college. My GPA wasn’t horrible but wasn’t great at the time (around a 3.0). I also started going through some serious medical issues that landed me in and out of the hospital (I missed several weeks of consecutive semesters). I changed my major, found a proper treatment, and ended up being able to pull my GPA to a 3.4 (3.76 major GPA in Human Development). I’ve been working for 2 years in a great job and have excellent recommendations. Is this going to screw me out of getting into a good school?
Hi Rachel,
Thanks for your question! The good news here is that you still can get into a good law school! A 3.4 is in the 25th percentile range for many law schools. For reference, this is a helpful tool that you can use to enter your GPA and projected LSAT score: https://officialguide.lsac.org/Release/UGPALSAT/UGPALSAT.aspx. This will provide you with a helpful breakdown of how you would measure up, and you can specifically look at schools you have in mind!
If you’re concerned that your GPA might affect your admissions chances, you could (and should!) consider writing an addendum (https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/whats-the-deal-with-addenda/). You will want to explain your past medical circumstances similar to how you did in this post. Addenda are supposed to be very matter-of-fact: here’s what happened, here’s how it affected my performance, here’s how I managed to recover and learn from that experience.
Also, the one major aspect you haven’t mentioned here is your LSAT score, which can be one of the largest deciding factors in a law school application — a stellar score can sway an application acceptance in your favor! For some information about students applying with a lower GPA/high LSAT score (typically called being a “splitter”) you can refer to this blog post: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/which-law-schools-are-splitter-friendly/.
Thanks!
Hello, I received an NC for a science course that was outside my major. I have a really good GPA and I am really worried about the science course that I didn’t even need to bring me down with this LSAC rule. I still have two years to go so I am trying to get an even better GPA to offset the class, but I am really worried. Do S/NC even if they do not affect your GPA at your institution count against you in LSAC? Thus receiving a 0?
Hi Mary!
If the institution you attend considers a grade of NC nonpunitive, the NC will not have any impact on the LSAC (Law School Admissions Council) GPA–which is very important to the admission process. Feel free to check out LSAC’s full policy on grades excluded from conversion here.
Thank you for the very useful info! I have a question of my own. I am currently a freshman at a community college in California hoping to attend a t14 law school in the future. My predicament is that I have taken 2 Ws in the same math class. The reason I dropped the class the first time was because of a family issue and the second time was because I made a mistake and overloaded my schedule. I currently have a 4.0 and have changed my major from finance to philosophy to hopefully allow me to keep my gpa as high as possible. Will these two Ws look as bad as I think they will? Once again thank you for the info and any feedback would be much appreciated.
Hi James!
If the community college you attend considers withdraw grades nonpunitive, the Ws will not have any impact on the LSAC (Law School Admissions Council) GPA–which is very important to the admission process. Therefore, a first or second withdraw won’t be viewed as negative, and is often better than a D or an F in a course, for instance.
Hi!
Thank you so much for your great information! I have a transcript that reflects a weaker start/high finish. I came into a highly competitive pre-med school as such, and I struggled my first two semesters as I tried to figure out what I really wanted to do. My first two semesters were 3.2 and a 3.0 after I got a C in intro bio. Once I figured out what I wanted to do (Bioethics and History), I’ve had a 3.78 since – with one B+. I’m aiming for a T14 school with a dual masters in either PH or History (haven’t decided yet), and my cumulative GPA so far is a 3.5. I’m hoping for an LSAT >170 and I am preparing ~1 yr in advance. Do you think I have a shot? Do you have any advice? Thank you so much in advance.
Hi Hannah,
Thanks for the question! We would encourage you to utilize one of our favorite resources for researching data on nearly all of the ABA-approved schools in North America: LSAC’s LSAT/GPA Calculator. This tool allows you to input your undergraduate GPA and your highest LSAT score (or the score you’re realistically aiming for), and get feedback on where each stands relative to attendees at individual schools, as well as your likely odds of duplicating that result on those figures.
If your numbers are at or above the 75th percentile, your chances are (numerically-speaking) high. At that point, your job is to make sure your softs (personal statement, résumé, letters of recommendation, any addenda and supplemental essays) are good enough that they don’t hinder you.
Assuming that you’re still in college–it would be in your best interest to continue to establish a solid GPA (there are no do-overs when it comes to that 4.0, after all), consider letters of recommendation early (develop relationships with professors), join a pre-law group, like Phi Alpha Delta (it’s hard to understate the value at this stage in immersing yourself in a like-minded community), become, or remain an active daily reader, and when you do begin to prepare for the LSAT, start early and find the option that suits you best and is likely to produce the most profound results, without feeling overly-constrained by your budget (How to Choose the Best LSAT Prep Option).
Thank you!
Hi,
So I’m one of the people with the ‘started off with a weak GPA and got stronger’ situations described and I’m curious if I have a chance at going to law school (I’d want to go to BC, BU or northeastern). I transferred second semester freshman year with a 3.85 GPA from a community college but once I got to umass amherst I did terribly. It was a combination of going from a town with 5000 people to a school with 30,000 and my classes. My freshman year I had no idea what I wanted to major in or do with my life and took a Calc class, economic class and philosophy class and did not do great.. and by not great I mean I got a 2.6. The semester after that I ended up getting a 2.9, then a 3.3 and then around a 3.7 each semester since – sometimes a bit higher. I did well in all my upper level polisci classes (because I finally found something I enjoyed) but my overall GPA is now a 3.34 which I know is on the very low end. SO my question is: what should I aim for as a LSAT score? And how bad is my GPA compared for these school?
I hope you can help
Hi Ash,
Please note that the LSAT is scored on a scale of 120-180, with a majority of test takers scoring between 150-154. Feel free to utilize one of our favorite resources for researching data on nearly all of the ABA-approved schools in North America: LSAC’s LSAT/GPA Calculator. This tool allows you to input your undergraduate GPA and your highest LSAT score (in your case, you may input a median score of 150), and get feedback on where each stands relative to attendees at individual schools, as well as your likely odds of duplicating that result on those figures. It’s not a crystal ball of course, but it should give you a reasonably accurate estimation of how you’ll fare as you send off applications, and to help determine what LSAT score you should aim for. Thank you!
Hi!
I came into college with 30 credits from high school. With my major and two minors I’ve still only had to take 12-13 credits every semester with one semester of 15 credits, even taking a variety of classes. I have an overall gpa of 3.85. I’ve never pass failed a class, withdrawn or taken easy A classes. However, will law schools think negatively of me because I haven’t taken 15 credits each semester?
Hi Cydney,
If a law school does analyze your transcript, they will typically look at your grade trend, class selection, major, GPA, and where you attended undergrad. Therefore no, only taking 15 credits per semester will not reflect negatively. Please keep in mind that your LSAT score and GPA will be the most important thing on your law school application, and not everyone’s transcript will be evaluated. Feel free to check out our Free Admissions Help page for more LSAT and Law School tips, tricks, and advice here: https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/law-school-admissions/help/.
Hi there,
My situation is pretty unconventional and I was hoping you could help me better understand my options/chances for top law schools (all T14). Any and all information you can provide will be very helpful!
I spent my freshman year at a rigorous, BFA performance (musical theatre) program — one of the best in the country. However, not long after i arrived, I realized that what I was studying was not what I loved. Past that, I got sick, I was diagnosed with depression (living thousands of miles away from home for the first time) and, as I’m sure you can imagine, my grades weren’t stellar. I probably averaged around a 3.3 GPA between both semesters spent at the school, with one D+ and a few C’s scattered throughout. Keep in mind, all of the classes I took were performance based; voice, performance studies, jazz dance, music theory, ballet, camera acting and many more. This is the case for any big BFA program — in my case, it was pretty much purely theater and music. After that year, I moved back home to save money and started attending community college studying political science and journalism. At CC I was regularly on the deans list, graduated with high honors, and was very involved in student life and campus culture (3.88 GPA). Now, am finishing my degree at UCB and am performing consistently well academically. How will law schools see my academic history? I know my GPA will be slightly affected by my freshman year grades, but do you think that my freshman year grades/courses being completely unrelated to my degree will hold any bearing on the decision, especially given my consistent good performance in my major courses and all courses taken since community college? Is showing an upward trend of this kind something law schools will care about? I’m very interested in Stanford, Cal, UCLA, many ivies, and other east coast/midwestern private schools.
Of course, this is all assuming my LSAT score is in the right range. I’m aiming for as close to or above 170 as possible. However, LSAT aside, What do you think I’m looking at given my academic history? are the schools I am aiming for within my reach, or am I in risky territory?
Thanks again! I really enjoyed the read. Anything you can tell me would be helpful! I loved reading your responses to the other comments — really informative!
Hi Ryan,
Thanks for the message, and the kind comments! If you enjoyed the discussions here, you might also like those at https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/scholarship-vs-prestige-when-to-take-the-money-and-run/. The discussion of school options is pretty interesting as well, although a little jumbled at the moment as we move to this new blog format 🙂
In your case, they will ask questions of your history so I’d plan on including a GPA addendum in your application where you explain what happened. You don’t want to leave possible negative question marks in an application otherwise they fill in their own negative answer! In the addendum explain everything that happened, take ownership of it, and further explain how that spurred changes and helped you get where you are today. That will go a long way towards mitigating concerns.
Your cumulative GPA is the one that schools will be looking at, and so everything will get calculated in and factored. That’s just the way it is :/ While the upward trend is a definite positive, it’s that final GPA number that holds the weight. How that plays around the medians of each school will have a big impact, but you can offset those concerns with a higher-than-median LSAT score. Your LSAT will work to balance any lingering GPA concerns. Think about it this way: if a school saw your GPA history but then a high LSAT, they’d think, “Okay, had some early issues but straightened them out and clearly has the ability to do well.” But if your LSAT comes in low, it will further call into question what happened academically. So the LSAT can be a bandage of sorts, or open the wound deeper. After you graduate, pour your efforts into the test and hopefully it will come in where you want it.
Best of luck and let us know if we can help you on that LSAT front (we know a little bit about it). Thanks!
I am going into my fifth and final year of my undergraduate (double major + a minor). The past four years I’ve been full-time, taking five or four classes per semester. After the death of my mother in February I dropped a class because of the stress of it all…. and I finished the semester with only three credits (which is still full time but not a full course load).
I am debating whether I should take five classes in the fall and finish my degree or if I should take the semester off to prepare for the LSAT and then do a full semester in the winter, or take three classes in the fall and three in the winter to retain full-time status for the entire year. What would you recommend?
Do law schools take the number of courses per semester into account?
Hi Maria,
Thanks for the question! They will look at that, but it’s not a point of problem for them unless they see wild gyrations in your class load.Here, you could explain what happened with your mother and that would be the end of the concern.
As for your class load, I can say that schools want you to use your time in what they consider a productive fashion. And oddly, they don’t look favorably on taking semesters off to study for the LSAT (it’s a wholly contradictory position for them to take given how much weight they put on it, but that’s a debate for another day). So, I’d recommend the 3-3 class lineup over the 0-5 lineup. the 5-0 lineup would also work, assuming you can study for the LSAT in there successfully. So, for me it would be that schedule or the 3-3 schedule, depending on your personal preferences and how you feel about the workload.
Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!