Can I get into HYS with a bad pre transfer gpa but a very high post transfer gpa? Forum

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kross90

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Can I get into HYS with a bad pre transfer gpa but a very high post transfer gpa?

Post by kross90 » Wed Mar 21, 2018 3:26 pm

I did horribly due to some personal things I was going through at my first college. I left there with a 2.8 gpa and a bunch of W's. I had 28 credits there. At my new school, I graduated with a 3.9, and I was a sociology major. 100 credits.

My LSAC gpa is a 3.6. I got a 170 on the LSAT. I have greats softs and I am a black female. Do I have a shot at HYS? I would be happy and grateful if I could get into a top 20 school but I would be over the moon for a top 3 school. Not sure if I'm delusional or not though lol. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

kw25

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Re: Can I get into HYS with a bad pre transfer gpa but a very high post transfer gpa?

Post by kw25 » Wed Mar 21, 2018 4:22 pm

kross90 wrote:I did horribly due to some personal things I was going through at my first college. I left there with a 2.8 gpa and a bunch of W's. I had 28 credits there. At my new school, I graduated with a 3.9, and I was a sociology major. 100 credits.

My LSAC gpa is a 3.6. I got a 170 on the LSAT. I have greats softs and I am a black female. Do I have a shot at HYS? I would be happy and grateful if I could get into a top 20 school but I would be over the moon for a top 3 school. Not sure if I'm delusional or not though lol. Any input would be greatly appreciated!
I'm not HYS material but simply from what I've ready on these forums and what i've learned about T20 schools I really think you're fine. Maybe not Yale, and maybe not all three, but definitely you have a good shot I think. Good luck!! Are you applying this cycle/when did you submit?

kross90

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Re: Can I get into HYS with a bad pre transfer gpa but a very high post transfer gpa?

Post by kross90 » Wed Mar 21, 2018 5:17 pm

kw25 wrote:
kross90 wrote:I did horribly due to some personal things I was going through at my first college. I left there with a 2.8 gpa and a bunch of W's. I had 28 credits there. At my new school, I graduated with a 3.9, and I was a sociology major. 100 credits.

My LSAC gpa is a 3.6. I got a 170 on the LSAT. I have greats softs and I am a black female. Do I have a shot at HYS? I would be happy and grateful if I could get into a top 20 school but I would be over the moon for a top 3 school. Not sure if I'm delusional or not though lol. Any input would be greatly appreciated!
I'm not HYS material but simply from what I've ready on these forums and what i've learned about T20 schools I really think you're fine. Maybe not Yale, and maybe not all three, but definitely you have a good shot I think. Good luck!! Are you applying this cycle/when did you submit?
Thank you and no I’m not applying this cycle, I’m currently petitioning to my first school to allow me to retroactively withdraw the only fail on my transcripts. I’m going to harass the dean if I have to lol. I feel like that would take me to a 3.7 and I could rest easy.

cityb101

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Re: Can I get into HYS with a bad pre transfer gpa but a very high post transfer gpa?

Post by cityb101 » Wed Mar 21, 2018 6:04 pm

kross90 wrote:I did horribly due to some personal things I was going through at my first college. I left there with a 2.8 gpa and a bunch of W's. I had 28 credits there. At my new school, I graduated with a 3.9, and I was a sociology major. 100 credits.

My LSAC gpa is a 3.6. I got a 170 on the LSAT. I have greats softs and I am a black female. Do I have a shot at HYS? I would be happy and grateful if I could get into a top 20 school but I would be over the moon for a top 3 school. Not sure if I'm delusional or not though lol. Any input would be greatly appreciated!
3.6 is by no means the end of the world. 170 is really good. You will 100% get T20. You will 100% get T14, probably with good money, too. CCN should be fine too, though your GPA may hold you back scholarship-wise. If you retake and increase your LSAT score, you'll be in the running for $$ at Columbia. HYS would be easier with a higher LSAT, but you're not an auto-reject, most likely, at S and H (especially if your softs and personal statement are good). Y might be out.

As a URM, you'll get a bump on the GPA and LSAT front. So let's say that GPA is actually counted as a 3.7 or so and the LSAT is actually counted as 172 or so. The GPA is locked in most likely. Not sure how you'd be able to get a fail off your transcript. I know (hope) you're joking, but definitely don't get aggressive with your dean in any way. A .1 bump is not worth making enemies.

If I were you, absolutely set on HYS, I'd potentially retake the LSAT (I retook the same score) and spend a ton of time on the other parts of the app: diversity/personal statement. Don't lose sleep over the GPA; it's done. Also, definitely draft a GPA addendum. These can be kind of tricky to write, as you don't want to make excuses. If there are reasons for your poor performance, however, it's important to put it in context. Your distinct upward trajectory is great, because it means law schools don't need to be concerned about your ability to perform now.

Good luck!

kross90

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Re: Can I get into HYS with a bad pre transfer gpa but a very high post transfer gpa?

Post by kross90 » Sat Mar 24, 2018 4:11 pm

cityb101 wrote:
kross90 wrote:I did horribly due to some personal things I was going through at my first college. I left there with a 2.8 gpa and a bunch of W's. I had 28 credits there. At my new school, I graduated with a 3.9, and I was a sociology major. 100 credits.

My LSAC gpa is a 3.6. I got a 170 on the LSAT. I have greats softs and I am a black female. Do I have a shot at HYS? I would be happy and grateful if I could get into a top 20 school but I would be over the moon for a top 3 school. Not sure if I'm delusional or not though lol. Any input would be greatly appreciated!
3.6 is by no means the end of the world. 170 is really good. You will 100% get T20. You will 100% get T14, probably with good money, too. CCN should be fine too, though your GPA may hold you back scholarship-wise. If you retake and increase your LSAT score, you'll be in the running for $$ at Columbia. HYS would be easier with a higher LSAT, but you're not an auto-reject, most likely, at S and H (especially if your softs and personal statement are good). Y might be out.

As a URM, you'll get a bump on the GPA and LSAT front. So let's say that GPA is actually counted as a 3.7 or so and the LSAT is actually counted as 172 or so. The GPA is locked in most likely. Not sure how you'd be able to get a fail off your transcript. I know (hope) you're joking, but definitely don't get aggressive with your dean in any way. A .1 bump is not worth making enemies.

If I were you, absolutely set on HYS, I'd potentially retake the LSAT (I retook the same score) and spend a ton of time on the other parts of the app: diversity/personal statement. Don't lose sleep over the GPA; it's done. Also, definitely draft a GPA addendum. These can be kind of tricky to write, as you don't want to make excuses. If there are reasons for your poor performance, however, it's important to put it in context. Your distinct upward trajectory is great, because it means law schools don't need to be concerned about your ability to perform now.

Good luck!

Thank you so much. I will retake the LSAT. I know some people who have petitioned to get fails taken off their transcript due to extenuating circumstances which were granted so I will try. I won't harass the dean lol!

I do have one question because I think I may have miscalculated my gpa.

Let's say for a year of school my credits INCLUDING my Pass/Fail as well an AP credit totals 28.

Without the Pass/Fail and the AP class, I have 25 credits.

Let's say my GPA *on my transcript* is a 3.0 over those 28 credits.

MY QUESTION IS, would the LSAC calculate it as a 3.0 over 25 credits??

Or would they calculate it as over 28 credits????

I hope I am making sense!!! Because there is a significant difference in the two, and if they counted it over fewer credits it would actually be beneficial for me since the GPA isn't so hot.

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