Chances 3.31/170....3.53/170??? Forum

[CalTiger]

Ok, I don't know how unique this situation is, but since I am about to start looking at law schools for next year I thought I'd pose the question. By the time I begin applying for law school next year I will most likely have a 3.53 gpa from my degree granting institution (I also scored a 170 on the lsat.) However, I attended community college for a year and a half before transferring and when you factor in my grades from there I will have a 3.31 overall. I know for rankings purposes schools only have to report the degree granting institution's gpa. However, I am also aware that your lsds gpa includes all courses you have taken at any college you have attended. I have decent softs (worked part time as an assignment editor for nbc while still in college and interned with a prominent UK think tank in London while studying abroad) and my gpa shows a major upward trend. My question is two-fold: 1) What do you think my chances of cracking the top 14 are? and 2) When using sites like lawschoolpredictor.com to get a feel for my range, which gpa figure should I use? I appreciate any and all help I can get.

Thanks!

[FuManChusco]

3.31 is your GPA. Law schools don't give a shit about that 3.53. Forget HYSCCNB. Apply from Penn down and if you desperately want t14 then ED to UVA.

[booboo]

I would consider EDing to a school that you particularly like in the T14.

Suggestions: NU is possible if you have work experience, UVA is also a good bet since they let you know in 15 days (giving you another chance to ED if you don't get in), Georgetown is in the running, Penn is a GPA snob, I wouldn't consider it too heavily, the same follows for Duke, Cornell and Michigan are toss ups.

Also, the 3.31 is all that matters, as the previous poster said.

[TheBigMediocre]

CalTiger,

I applied with a 3.30/170. I am graduating with a double major in Accounting and Management from a T-20 UG business school. I have a very strong upward grade trend (3.8 since switching from engineering to business). I'm writing a scholarly article with two professors. I tell you these things to give you an idea of the soft factors I had to work with my application.

Applied to these schools in the end of November:
UVA: Rejected
Vanderbilt: Waitlisted
Emory: In - no money (The dean told me no $ because my application didn't show that I had a "propensity to attend")
UGA: In - $$$

I think my cycle has been abnormally rough, but it's a good way to give you an idea of what you could be facing.

[CalTiger]

Thanks for all the advice guys. That's honestly what I was thinking the range was (although I have to say I am hoping for a more forgiving cycle than yours TheBigMediocre.) The only reason I even mentioned the 3.53 was because the admissions departments at a few t14 schools I called said they definitely valued your degree granting gpa more than the gpa from community college. However, since the general consensus seems to be that the 3.53 is irrelevant it sounds like I should definitely use the 3.31 as my metric.

[Jacktone]

Thanks for all the advice guys. That's honestly what I was thinking the range was (although I have to say I am hoping for a more forgiving cycle than yours TheBigMediocre.) The only reason I even mentioned the 3.53 was because the admissions departments at a few t14 schools I called said they definitely valued your degree granting gpa more than the gpa from community college. However, since the general consensus seems to be that the 3.53 is irrelevant it sounds like I should definitely use the 3.31 as my metric.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but does anyone mind commenting on this specifically? I am not a "true" splitter as my cumulative GPA+LSAT puts me in the running for T10; however, I too attended a community college and am in the reverse situation as the OP: my community college GPA is far stronger than my degree granting institution GPA. I am well aware that general TLS consensus, as already mentioned above, is that cumulative GPA is all that matters, but before this thread I'd never actually heard of any admissions departments explicitly stating they would put less value on grades from community college.

I guess one of my biggest worries is that I'm gonna be that one red dot in the sea of greens in my number range on LSN at schools like Northwestern and NYU because of the discrepancy in my numbers. Do you all think the admissions departments' claim is bs? If so, why would they lie rather than stay silent on the issue?

*Edited to bold relevant part of quote

[09042014]

Thanks for all the advice guys. That's honestly what I was thinking the range was (although I have to say I am hoping for a more forgiving cycle than yours TheBigMediocre.) The only reason I even mentioned the 3.53 was because the admissions departments at a few t14 schools I called said they definitely valued your degree granting gpa more than the gpa from community college. However, since the general consensus seems to be that the 3.53 is irrelevant it sounds like I should definitely use the 3.31 as my metric.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but does anyone mind commenting on this specifically? I am not a "true" splitter as my cumulative GPA+LSAT puts me in the running for T10; however, I too attended a community college and am in the reverse situation as the OP: my community college GPA is far stronger than my degree granting institution GPA. I am well aware that general TLS consensus, as already mentioned above, is that cumulative GPA is all that matters, but before this thread I'd never actually heard of any admissions departments explicitly stating they would put less value on grades from community college.

I guess one of my biggest worries is that I'm gonna be that one red dot in the sea of greens in my number range on LSN at schools like Northwestern and NYU because of the discrepancy in my numbers. Do you all think the admissions departments' claim is bs? If so, why would they lie rather than stay silent on the issue?

I can promise you, if you are a red dot, it won't be at NU and NYU. Both schools are number whores.

[CalTiger]

Just so everyone knows, the schools I talked to were: Michigan, Georgetown and Berkeley (I know Berkeley is really out of my range, but as a native Californian I can dream...)

[whuts4lunch]

Emory: In - no money (The dean told me no $ because my application didn't show that I had a "propensity to attend")

If the school really thought that you didn't have a propensity to attend, it should have waitlisted you. Accepting and not offering $$ is only going to hurt Emory's yield in that case. The $$ is supposed to be a way to convince candidates that otherwise may not attend to attend. I mean, if the dean didn't think you were going to attend, not offering $$ makes it a really long shot.

I don't understand why Emory would do that.

[Jacktone]

Thanks for all the advice guys. That's honestly what I was thinking the range was (although I have to say I am hoping for a more forgiving cycle than yours TheBigMediocre.) The only reason I even mentioned the 3.53 was because the admissions departments at a few t14 schools I called said they definitely valued your degree granting gpa more than the gpa from community college. However, since the general consensus seems to be that the 3.53 is irrelevant it sounds like I should definitely use the 3.31 as my metric.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but does anyone mind commenting on this specifically? I am not a "true" splitter as my cumulative GPA+LSAT puts me in the running for T10; however, I too attended a community college and am in the reverse situation as the OP: my community college GPA is far stronger than my degree granting institution GPA. I am well aware that general TLS consensus, as already mentioned above, is that cumulative GPA is all that matters, but before this thread I'd never actually heard of any admissions departments explicitly stating they would put less value on grades from community college.

I guess one of my biggest worries is that I'm gonna be that one red dot in the sea of greens in my number range on LSN at schools like Northwestern and NYU because of the discrepancy in my numbers. Do you all think the admissions departments' claim is bs? If so, why would they lie rather than stay silent on the issue?

I can promise you, if you are a red dot, it won't be at NU and NYU. Both schools are number whores.

That is what I'm hoping for. I figure my chances at smaller/more holistic schools like Berkeley, Chicago, Yale, and Stanford (and I don't really have a chance to start with based on numbers alone at the latter two anyways) are not fantastic. The larger schools are definitely what I'm more focused on. What about Columbia? My numbers often get accepted there based on LSN; would they frown much at my situation? (I suppose I could call Columbia and ask, but I think that I'd rather have uncertain anxieties than risk hearing conclusively from the school what I dread).

[Jacktone]

Just so everyone knows, the schools I talked to were: Michigan, Georgetown and Berkeley (I know Berkeley is really out of my range, but as a native Californian I can dream...)

Thanks for the info; Georgetown claiming to put less value on community college grades definitely scares me a little as I'm hoping they'll be one of those larger schools that can't be very picky. Sorry again about the thread hijacking.

[09042014]

Thanks for all the advice guys. That's honestly what I was thinking the range was (although I have to say I am hoping for a more forgiving cycle than yours TheBigMediocre.) The only reason I even mentioned the 3.53 was because the admissions departments at a few t14 schools I called said they definitely valued your degree granting gpa more than the gpa from community college. However, since the general consensus seems to be that the 3.53 is irrelevant it sounds like I should definitely use the 3.31 as my metric.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but does anyone mind commenting on this specifically? I am not a "true" splitter as my cumulative GPA+LSAT puts me in the running for T10; however, I too attended a community college and am in the reverse situation as the OP: my community college GPA is far stronger than my degree granting institution GPA. I am well aware that general TLS consensus, as already mentioned above, is that cumulative GPA is all that matters, but before this thread I'd never actually heard of any admissions departments explicitly stating they would put less value on grades from community college.

I guess one of my biggest worries is that I'm gonna be that one red dot in the sea of greens in my number range on LSN at schools like Northwestern and NYU because of the discrepancy in my numbers. Do you all think the admissions departments' claim is bs? If so, why would they lie rather than stay silent on the issue?

I can promise you, if you are a red dot, it won't be at NU and NYU. Both schools are number whores.

That is what I'm hoping for. I figure my chances at smaller/more holistic schools like Berkeley, Chicago, Yale, and Stanford (and I don't really have a chance to start with based on numbers alone at the latter two anyways) are not fantastic. The larger schools are definitely what I'm more focused on. What about Columbia? My numbers often get accepted there based on LSN; would they frown much at my situation? (I suppose I could call Columbia and ask, but I think that I'd rather have uncertain anxieties than risk hearing conclusively from the school what I dread).

Baring a significant difference, I don't think you should worry at all. If your numbers are usually good, you will probably get in.

It might (and I stress might) hurt if you are extremely borderline.

[CalTiger]

Just so everyone knows, the schools I talked to were: Michigan, Georgetown and Berkeley (I know Berkeley is really out of my range, but as a native Californian I can dream...)

Thanks for the info; Georgetown claiming to put less value on community college grades definitely scares me a little as I'm hoping they'll be one of those larger schools that can't be very picky. Sorry again about the thread hijacking.

Don't worry about. My question was already answered anyway.