Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums? Forum

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elransfo

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Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums?

Post by elransfo » Mon Dec 04, 2017 10:27 am

I went to a liberal arts school that is very highly regarded, but does not have grade inflation. 11 people in the 100+ year history of the school have gotten a 4.0, and the average GPA is a 3.1. I got a 3.5. This puts me way below the bottom 25% for every school I'm applying to (NYU, Columbia, Fordham). Obviously I'll include an explanation of my gpa in the app, but I guess my question is: without an insanely high LSAT score (I'm anticipating 170/169) will I just be automatically knocked out of the running because of my GPA? Is there anything I can do, besides write the addendum? Should I just be accepting that it's more likely to be Fordham than NYU?

sparkytrainer

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Re: Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums?

Post by sparkytrainer » Mon Dec 04, 2017 10:29 am

You aren't going to be accepted anywhere without an lsat score. Come back when you have one. As far as your question, schools won't care. At most t13s, schools care more about the number than where you got that number. A 4.0 from Georgia state is better for them than your GPA. That is how the world works, sorry.

icechicken

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Re: Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums?

Post by icechicken » Mon Dec 04, 2017 1:25 pm

Sparky is right that, for better or worse, law schools don't care much about your uGPA beyond the raw number. Don't write an addendum about this; the person reading your application already will have access to your school's GPA statistics.

That said, you won't be automatically out of the running with a 3.5. Columbia and NYU routinely admit people with GPAs like that as long as they do well enough on the LSAT. This is a big part of the reason the LSAT is so important in law-school admissions - it works as a universal yardstick.

If you want to go to NYU or Columbia, get your score up to 173 or better. Even with just a 169 you're basically an auto-admit at Fordham, probably with a decent scholarship to boot.

elransfo

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Re: Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums?

Post by elransfo » Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:58 am

Would applying ED significantly help my chances? NYU claims it doesn't, but most people seem to think it does since the school doesn't have to offer you any scholarship money.

sparkytrainer

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Re: Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums?

Post by sparkytrainer » Fri Dec 08, 2017 12:11 pm

elransfo wrote:Would applying ED significantly help my chances? NYU claims it doesn't, but most people seem to think it does since the school doesn't have to offer you any scholarship money.
Probably not. There was a study done and I dont have the link, but essentially ED doesn't increase your chances of anything but paying full tuition, which I would suggest you not do. Thats 300k and a really dumb idea.

But again, this doesn't matter because you don't have an lsat. A 169 3.5 isn't going to get you into NYU (if you even get what you were practicing, which is on the rare side).

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elransfo

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Re: Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums?

Post by elransfo » Fri Dec 08, 2017 4:48 pm

Oh, I was practicing in the 170's with a high of 176. I'm just not expecting that. But thanks for the response, that's definitely helpful to know! I'll put the ED idea on the back burner.

elransfo

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Re: Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums?

Post by elransfo » Tue Jan 02, 2018 2:30 pm

I got a 171 on the December test. Is NYU still a reach with my GPA? Torn about retaking since I'm not sure I would necessarily do better.

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UVA2B

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Re: Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums?

Post by UVA2B » Tue Jan 02, 2018 2:33 pm

Image

Looks like NYU is 50/50, more or less. I'd venture less with the increase in higher LSATs.

Why can't you leave the NYC area for school?

elransfo

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Re: Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums?

Post by elransfo » Tue Jan 02, 2018 2:48 pm

My boyfriend's in med school and I'm not willing to place the strain of a LDR on us while we're both in school.

I'm kind of confused by the increase in high LSAT scores — doesn't the number of applicants scoring in the 170's stay the same from year to year since it's graded on a curve?

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UVA2B

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Re: Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums?

Post by UVA2B » Tue Jan 02, 2018 2:54 pm

elransfo wrote:My boyfriend's in med school and I'm not willing to place the strain of a LDR on us while we're both in school.

I'm kind of confused by the increase in high LSAT scores — doesn't the number of applicants scoring in the 170's stay the same from year to year since it's graded on a curve?
Nope, but that's a common misconception. The LSAT is a predictive curve, meaning the curve is set based on what LSAC thinks the tests difficulty will be based on a given administration. The reason there has been an increase in high LSATs recently is debatable, but this application cycle has been one of the richest recently with applications from 170+ LSAT takers. It's likely due to retakes becoming more popular, the cost of law school continuing to cause people to try to minimize cost, and the general health of the economy that allows 0Ls to work other jobs while trying to minimize costs by maxing the LSAT.

Having done extensive LDR with someone in your exact situation that worked out well for me, you should really reconsider whether you can handle the strain of an LDR in school. But that's individual to you, so I won't press you on that. Just know you're leaving significant money on the table at other T13 that can get you back to NYC in 3 short years. It might be worth the short-term pain for the long-term benefit. But that's all I'll say on that.

elransfo

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Re: Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums?

Post by elransfo » Tue Jan 02, 2018 3:04 pm

I would imagine, though, that many of the retakers scored below a 170 on their first try, and since NYU at least averages scores, retakers would be less desirable applicants than people like me, right? Seems like the overall high score increase may be a bit misleading? Either way, I hear you that my score isn't quite enough to carry my GPA.

If only that bullet train between DC and NYC was scheduled for 2019...

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UVA2B

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Re: Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums?

Post by UVA2B » Tue Jan 02, 2018 3:07 pm

NYU doesn't average scores, even if they say they do. I would consider a retake for 173+ if it's Columbia/NYU or bust. Would Penn be out of the question? Philly is close enough to not really call it LDR. Maybe Cornell too.

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Re: Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums?

Post by BlendedUnicorn » Tue Jan 02, 2018 3:10 pm

I'd go so far as to argue that LDR is the ideal arrangement for law school.

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UVA2B

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Re: Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums?

Post by UVA2B » Tue Jan 02, 2018 3:15 pm

BlendedUnicorn wrote:I'd go so far as to argue that LDR is the ideal arrangement for law school.
During finals and board studying respectively, absolutely easier.

elransfo

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Re: Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums?

Post by elransfo » Tue Jan 02, 2018 3:27 pm

Really?? I feel like the stress of scheduling Facetimes and weekend visits would be way more taxing than just studying in the same room every night.

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UVA2B

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Re: Do schools care about lack of grade inflation/ academic addendums?

Post by UVA2B » Tue Jan 02, 2018 3:33 pm

Each relationship is unique, and each person's study methods are generally unique, so maybe you'd be better off being together. But when you hit crunch time in law school/they hit crunch time in finals and STEP exam studying, you might want the peace and quiet of solitude of studying alone for at least several weeks. Scheduling an occasional FaceTime and figuring out one weekend to see each other per month simultaneously makes it easier for both of you to focus the rest of the time while really making you appreciate the times you get together. Those weekends become like little mini-honeymoons.

But YMMV.

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