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didn't graduate yet, should I take classes to boost GPA?

Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 7:11 pm
by Res publica
So I am a finance major at a top 25 public university and I have postponed my graduation to next December. My current LSAC GPA is 3.21, and I have already taken my LSAT in junior year and scored a 178. I studied for 3+ years for the LSAT and it was my first try.

I really, really want to get into Columbia Law. I am working at a Big 4 in consulting after I graduate for a year or so, and then next year I am applying to law schools. My question is: should I take 6 classes to boost my GPA to a potential 3.4 at a local college in my home town before I graduate?

I read that taking community college credit to boost LSAC gpa is not a bad idea, but I also heard that too much can make you look suspicious.

Here is my registered course list for the summer:

-Contemporary Global Issues
-Ethical Issues in the Wrkplac
-Law, Mediation, and Violence
-Law & Society
-Social Inequalities
-Intro to Logical Reasoning

Is this a bad idea? Do you think it'll pay off? Or will it have no affect on my admission chances? Thanks for your input, it'd be greatly appreciated! :D

Re: didn't graduate yet, should I take classes to boost GPA?

Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 7:22 pm
by hoos89
Outside of Yale and Berkeley, 99% of what law schools care about is some combination of GPA + LSAT and whether you're an underrepresented minority. Where you went to school and what classes you took have very little impact. If you're dead set on law school, then do everything you can to boost your GPA. At 3.2 you're most likely out at Columbia/NYU/Penn. At 3.4 you're most likely in to those schools and going from likely sticker at UVA/Michigan to ~$70k scholarship.

Also try not to focus too much on 1 school prior to applying. I wouldn't, for instance, go to Columbia at sticker over Penn with a scholarship in 90% of circumstances.

Re: didn't graduate yet, should I take classes to boost GPA?

Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 9:12 pm
by Res publica
Thank you for the advice. I am certainly looking to other schools, of course. I looked on the LSAC GPA-LSAT calculator and it said a 3.21/178 for CLS is between 60%-75% chance. When it becomes 3.4/178 it goes to 70%-80% chance. Do you think that LSAC is using misguided data somehow? Since you say I'd most likely be out for NYU/CLS/UPN with a 3.2, do you think LSAC has bad data or maybe isn't taking into account a soft-floor?

Re: didn't graduate yet, should I take classes to boost GPA?

Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 3:47 pm
by hoos89
Res publica wrote:Thank you for the advice. I am certainly looking to other schools, of course. I looked on the LSAC GPA-LSAT calculator and it said a 3.21/178 for CLS is between 60%-75% chance. When it becomes 3.4/178 it goes to 70%-80% chance. Do you think that LSAC is using misguided data somehow? Since you say I'd most likely be out for NYU/CLS/UPN with a 3.2, do you think LSAC has bad data or maybe isn't taking into account a soft-floor?
I'm not sure what actual data they're using for that...I suggest you look at https://mylsn.info/r/pre-law/admissions/search/.

Re: didn't graduate yet, should I take classes to boost GPA?

Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2018 5:19 pm
by Res publica
Thanks for the link! Greatly helped.