How important is your GPA "trend?" Forum

[haley1996]

For my first two years of undergrad, I kept a 4.3 GPA, which is an A+ average at my school.

I'm not sure if I can maintain the 4.3 average this year.
But I know that I can still manage a mix of 4.3/4.0 in all of my classes.

I realize that my cumulative GPA will still be above 4.0, but I heard that a downward trend is seen as a really bad sign.
How much consideration is given to the downward trend if you can still manage an above A average?

(Also, when law schools say their median GPA is 3.9, it's on LSAC's 4.33 scale, right?
Sorry if this is a really dumb question, but I couldn't find any schools that explicitly said this.)

Thanks!

[ArtistOfManliness]

For my first two years of undergrad, I kept a 4.3 GPA, which is an A+ average at my school.

I'm not sure if I can maintain the 4.3 average this year.
But I know that I can still manage a mix of 4.3/4.0 in all of my classes.

I realize that my cumulative GPA will still be above 4.0, but I heard that a downward trend is seen as a really bad sign.
How much consideration is given to the downward trend if you can still manage an above A average?

(Also, when law schools say their median GPA is 3.9, it's on LSAC's 4.33 scale, right?
Sorry if this is a really dumb question, but I couldn't find any schools that explicitly said this.)

Thanks!

Go away, troll.

[haley1996]

Go away, troll.[/quote]


I'm really sorry
I go to a really small university and I don't know anyone who went to t14 law schools. I didn't mean to sound like I was trolling.
My "advisors" don't really give much real advice and just scare me a lot of the times.

So I shouldn't be too worried about a small drop in my GPA?
Thanks, then.

[Bearlyalive]

For my first two years of undergrad, I kept a 4.3 GPA, which is an A+ average at my school.

I'm not sure if I can maintain the 4.3 average this year.
But I know that I can still manage a mix of 4.3/4.0 in all of my classes.

I realize that my cumulative GPA will still be above 4.0, but I heard that a downward trend is seen as a really bad sign.
How much consideration is given to the downward trend if you can still manage an above A average?

(Also, when law schools say their median GPA is 3.9, it's on LSAC's 4.33 scale, right?
Sorry if this is a really dumb question, but I couldn't find any schools that explicitly said this.)

Thanks!

Downward trend towards an A average won't hurt you at all. If you start getting a lot of B's I might worry, but really not because of the "trend", but just because of it's effect on your actual GPA. The "trend" is a very, very small consideration, and I've really only heard of it being used in people's favor. But for the t14, you're probably just as well off pretending it doesn't exist.

And yes, median GPAs are calculated using the LSAC reports and GPA scale.

[haley1996]

For my first two years of undergrad, I kept a 4.3 GPA, which is an A+ average at my school.

I'm not sure if I can maintain the 4.3 average this year.
But I know that I can still manage a mix of 4.3/4.0 in all of my classes.

I realize that my cumulative GPA will still be above 4.0, but I heard that a downward trend is seen as a really bad sign.
How much consideration is given to the downward trend if you can still manage an above A average?

(Also, when law schools say their median GPA is 3.9, it's on LSAC's 4.33 scale, right?
Sorry if this is a really dumb question, but I couldn't find any schools that explicitly said this.)

Thanks!

Downward trend towards an A average won't hurt you at all. If you start getting a lot of B's I might worry, but really not because of the "trend", but just because of it's effect on your actual GPA. The "trend" is a very, very small consideration, and I've really only heard of it being used in people's favor. But for the t14, you're probably just as well off pretending it doesn't exist.

And yes, median GPAs are calculated using the LSAC reports and GPA scale.

That is such a relief! I'll try my best not to get any B's.
Thanks for your help

[poptart123]

Even a B+ and you're probably screwed out of every T14.
























Kidding: Don't worry, you'll be fine.

[Bearlyalive]

That is such a relief! I'll try my best not to get any B's.
Thanks for your help

Don't worry about it too much haha, I was kinda joking there and getting a B definitely wouldn't be the end of the world. At the end of the day there are a lot of diminishing returns to having a GPA over a given school's 75th percentile, and even Yale's 75th is below 4.0. And there are plenty of good schools with medians and 75ths way lower than that.

I'm giving you a serious answer largely because I had a pretty similar mindset when I was in UG. Admittedly, I was a CC transfer so I was worried that schools wouldn't take my first two years of grades seriously, but I was absolutely paranoid about getting even a B+ during my junior and senior years. The amount of stress I put on myself just probably wasn't worth it. Do your best and all that good stuff, but if you hit some hard times and end up with a 3.8, you're still in a better position than the vast majority of applicants.

At the end of the day, it's probably going to be your LSAT score that determines where you go. There aren't too many "reverse splitter" friendly schools in the t14 (Berkeley is, and maybe one other school? Can't remember off the top of my head), so having even a 4.3 isn't going to help you all that much if you've got a 165 or below on the LSAT. But you're still in your junior year, so you shouldn't even be worrying about the LSAT yet.

My advice: keep kicking ass in your classes as best you can, but don't stress too much about it. Don't worry about the LSAT yet, and, if you can, really consider taking at least a year off after graduating. There's no better time to study for the LSAT than the summer after graduation.

[haley1996]

That is such a relief! I'll try my best not to get any B's.
Thanks for your help

Don't worry about it too much haha, I was kinda joking there and getting a B definitely wouldn't be the end of the world. At the end of the day there are a lot of diminishing returns to having a GPA over a given school's 75th percentile, and even Yale's 75th is below 4.0. And there are plenty of good schools with medians and 75ths way lower than that.

I'm giving you a serious answer largely because I had a pretty similar mindset when I was in UG. Admittedly, I was a CC transfer so I was worried that schools wouldn't take my first two years of grades seriously, but I was absolutely paranoid about getting even a B+ during my junior and senior years. The amount of stress I put on myself just probably wasn't worth it. Do your best and all that good stuff, but if you hit some hard times and end up with a 3.8, you're still in a better position than the vast majority of applicants.

At the end of the day, it's probably going to be your LSAT score that determines where you go. There aren't too many "reverse splitter" friendly schools in the t14 (Berkeley is, and maybe one other school? Can't remember off the top of my head), so having even a 4.3 isn't going to help you all that much if you've got a 165 or below on the LSAT. But you're still in your junior year, so you shouldn't even be worrying about the LSAT yet.

My advice: keep kicking ass in your classes as best you can, but don't stress too much about it. Don't worry about the LSAT yet, and, if you can, really consider taking at least a year off after graduating. There's no better time to study for the LSAT than the summer after graduation.

Wow. Thanks for the detailed response. I hope everything worked out well for you!