3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics Forum
- ocean
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3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
Hi, all, those are my numbers.
There is no such thing as GPA in China, every test is 100 points and some of them can be very hard (you can score 75 and be number 1 in class). It was only during recent years, people started to transform them into 4 points GPA scale as follows: >85 is A, between 75 and 85 is B, 60 to 75 is C, lower than 60 is F. Class ranking is not reflected by our scoring system. I actually ranked top 10 out of 109 in my class (No proof on paper , but I was selected into the Basic Sciences Training Unit of Department of Education based on 3.0 GPA of the freshman and sophomore GPA, this is just showing you how ludicrously the arbitrary GPA transformation works and I was the secretary of academic affairs in student council in my junior year).
I have a PhD in molecular genetics (from one of the top 3 US public University) and have a 3.8 GPA (which doesn't count, I know), I also have three scientific publications (one second authorship and 2 first authorship). The two recommendation letters from my PhD adviser and the chairman of my thesis committee will both be very strong, not only because of good rapport and my work ethics, but also because they are both stand-up guys, very very supportive of me.
Any inputs would be greatly appreciated, my dream school is Columbia and I would be thrilled if I can get into Michigan, lower than UVa would be a huge disappointment. The UG GPA really bugs me, I will definitely write an addendum. Although I like the fact that this will give me a chance to argue a case for myself, the 3.2 bugs me hugely.
There is no such thing as GPA in China, every test is 100 points and some of them can be very hard (you can score 75 and be number 1 in class). It was only during recent years, people started to transform them into 4 points GPA scale as follows: >85 is A, between 75 and 85 is B, 60 to 75 is C, lower than 60 is F. Class ranking is not reflected by our scoring system. I actually ranked top 10 out of 109 in my class (No proof on paper , but I was selected into the Basic Sciences Training Unit of Department of Education based on 3.0 GPA of the freshman and sophomore GPA, this is just showing you how ludicrously the arbitrary GPA transformation works and I was the secretary of academic affairs in student council in my junior year).
I have a PhD in molecular genetics (from one of the top 3 US public University) and have a 3.8 GPA (which doesn't count, I know), I also have three scientific publications (one second authorship and 2 first authorship). The two recommendation letters from my PhD adviser and the chairman of my thesis committee will both be very strong, not only because of good rapport and my work ethics, but also because they are both stand-up guys, very very supportive of me.
Any inputs would be greatly appreciated, my dream school is Columbia and I would be thrilled if I can get into Michigan, lower than UVa would be a huge disappointment. The UG GPA really bugs me, I will definitely write an addendum. Although I like the fact that this will give me a chance to argue a case for myself, the 3.2 bugs me hugely.
Last edited by ocean on Tue May 11, 2010 11:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- $1.99
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
i can understand how unfair the lsac gpa conversion may seem but unfortunately the top schools follow it very strictly. your softs are pretty impressive to me but i think you have barely a slim shot at columbia. your best bet is to ED and pray to whatever religion you follow because they never dip below a 3.4 GPA and your LSAT is not above their 75th percentile.
I think you will break the top 14 if you write a good addendum since you seem like a well rounded applicant but that gpa is screwing you over big time.
I think you will break the top 14 if you write a good addendum since you seem like a well rounded applicant but that gpa is screwing you over big time.
- on_ne_sait_jamais
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
A guy with 278 posts, telling a Doctor of Molecular Genetics, where he can and can't get in... hilarious$1.99 wrote:i can understand how unfair the lsac gpa conversion may seem but unfortunately the top schools follow it very strictly. your softs are pretty impressive to me but i think you have barely a slim shot at columbia. your best bet is to ED and pray to whatever religion you follow because they never dip below a 3.4 GPA and your LSAT is not above their 75th percentile.
I think you will break the top 14 if you write a good addendum since you seem like a well rounded applicant but that gpa is screwing you over big time.
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
Why would a doctor of molecular genetics know anything about law admissions?on_ne_sait_jamais wrote:A guy with 278 posts, telling a Doctor of Molecular Genetics, where he can and can't get in... hilarious$1.99 wrote:i can understand how unfair the lsac gpa conversion may seem but unfortunately the top schools follow it very strictly. your softs are pretty impressive to me but i think you have barely a slim shot at columbia. your best bet is to ED and pray to whatever religion you follow because they never dip below a 3.4 GPA and your LSAT is not above their 75th percentile.
I think you will break the top 14 if you write a good addendum since you seem like a well rounded applicant but that gpa is screwing you over big time.
That being said if that GPA is from China, it doesn't count, and OP should apply everywhere.
- kalvano
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
I think a more pertinent question is why on Earth do you want to go to law school?
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
Yeah I think if you -don't- have a GPA, they just assume you're at the median or something, right?Desert Fox wrote:Why would a doctor of molecular genetics know anything about law admissions?on_ne_sait_jamais wrote:A guy with 278 posts, telling a Doctor of Molecular Genetics, where he can and can't get in... hilarious$1.99 wrote:i can understand how unfair the lsac gpa conversion may seem but unfortunately the top schools follow it very strictly. your softs are pretty impressive to me but i think you have barely a slim shot at columbia. your best bet is to ED and pray to whatever religion you follow because they never dip below a 3.4 GPA and your LSAT is not above their 75th percentile.
I think you will break the top 14 if you write a good addendum since you seem like a well rounded applicant but that gpa is screwing you over big time.
That being said if that GPA is from China, it doesn't count, and OP should apply everywhere.
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
No, the schools considers whatever they want. It just doesn't hurt the schools median.icydash wrote:Yeah I think if you -don't- have a GPA, they just assume you're at the median or something, right?Desert Fox wrote:Why would a doctor of molecular genetics know anything about law admissions?on_ne_sait_jamais wrote:A guy with 278 posts, telling a Doctor of Molecular Genetics, where he can and can't get in... hilarious$1.99 wrote:i can understand how unfair the lsac gpa conversion may seem but unfortunately the top schools follow it very strictly. your softs are pretty impressive to me but i think you have barely a slim shot at columbia. your best bet is to ED and pray to whatever religion you follow because they never dip below a 3.4 GPA and your LSAT is not above their 75th percentile.
I think you will break the top 14 if you write a good addendum since you seem like a well rounded applicant but that gpa is screwing you over big time.
That being said if that GPA is from China, it doesn't count, and OP should apply everywhere.
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
Right. So since he can't bring down the GPA median (which is all they care about for the most part -- their GPA/LSAT medians) since he doesn't have a real GPA (at least not one that's usable coming from China), then they'll most likely focus on his LSAT / softs, which seem great. I think he should apply everywhere.Desert Fox wrote: No, the schools considers whatever they want. It just doesn't hurt the schools median.
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
a guy about to go to northwesTTTern making snide comments on TLS...hilariouson_ne_sait_jamais wrote:A guy with 278 posts, telling a Doctor of Molecular Genetics, where he can and can't get in... hilarious$1.99 wrote:i can understand how unfair the lsac gpa conversion may seem but unfortunately the top schools follow it very strictly. your softs are pretty impressive to me but i think you have barely a slim shot at columbia. your best bet is to ED and pray to whatever religion you follow because they never dip below a 3.4 GPA and your LSAT is not above their 75th percentile.
I think you will break the top 14 if you write a good addendum since you seem like a well rounded applicant but that gpa is screwing you over big time.
- RockyLovesEmily
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
+1,000,000kalvano wrote:I think a more pertinent question is why on Earth do you want to go to law school?
I'm not sure if you got the memo, but the legal market is bloated and genetics is the FUTURE!
- kalvano
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
Seriously, in the time you spend at law school, you could probably just clone your own lawyer.
- ocean
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
Nah, man. It's very hard to make a living as a foreign scientist. I am working 10 to 12 hours a day, no weekends as a graduate student before and as a post-doc right now, get paid like 40,000/ year, I love science, but it's very demoralizing. Science is a profession filled with failures, that's just the way it is, because we are on the frontier bordering with the unknown, but the highly competitive environment of science has lower and lower tolerance of failures. This incompatibility/discrepancy creates widespread miserable feelings across the whole field.RockyLovesEmily wrote:+1,000,000kalvano wrote:I think a more pertinent question is why on Earth do you want to go to law school?
I'm not sure if you got the memo, but the legal market is bloated and genetics is the FUTURE!
I am not really turned down by the current market, law weaves the society together and with the society continues progressing, lawyers are needed. Scientists, on the other hand, are way overproduced.
- Holly Golightly
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
Agreed.icydash wrote:Right. So since he can't bring down the GPA median (which is all they care about for the most part -- their GPA/LSAT medians) since he doesn't have a real GPA (at least not one that's usable coming from China), then they'll most likely focus on his LSAT / softs, which seem great. I think he should apply everywhere.Desert Fox wrote: No, the schools considers whatever they want. It just doesn't hurt the schools median.
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- Doritos
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
The legal field is a wee bit saturated. Don't be discouraged I don't mean to talk you out of law school, I mean I'm going after all, just be sure and do your research on the legal market and the schools you are inevitably going to get into. From what I've read being a fresh JD is not easy but if you enjoy law by all means join the JD club. Also, PhD in molecular genetics? That's pretty impressive, you should be proud.ocean wrote:Nah, man. It's very hard to make a living as a foreign scientist. I am working 10 to 12 hours a day, no weekends as a graduate student before and as a post-doc right now, get paid like 40,000/ year, I love science, but it's very demoralizing. Science is a profession filled with failures, that's just the way it is, because we are on the frontier bordering with the unknown, but the highly competitive environment of science has lower and lower tolerance of failures. This incompatibility/discrepancy creates widespread miserable feelings across the whole field.RockyLovesEmily wrote:+1,000,000kalvano wrote:I think a more pertinent question is why on Earth do you want to go to law school?
I'm not sure if you got the memo, but the legal market is bloated and genetics is the FUTURE!
I am not really turned down by the current market, law weaves the society together and with the society continues progressing, lawyers are needed. Scientists, on the other hand, are way overproduced.
- TobiasFunke
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
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Last edited by TobiasFunke on Wed Dec 22, 2010 10:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
don't call yourself a scientist dude, you're not a real scientist, you're a wannabe, well I guess you're a don't wannabe no more because I can't make it guy "in science", definitely not a "scientist"
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
Was that English?tbo123123 wrote:don't call yourself a scientist dude, you're not a real scientist, you're a wannabe, well I guess you're a don't wannabe no more because I can't make it guy "in science", definitely not a "scientist"
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
on another note, how'd you pass your qualifiers after a 3.2 GPA? Most graduate programs in science/engineering don't let you in without a 3.5, unless you're in one of those state schools, something doesn't add up.
- kalvano
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
Please tell me English is a third or fourth language for you.
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
I was seriously about to say the same thing haha...kalvano wrote:Please tell me English is a third or fourth language for you.
- ocean
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
Yeah I think if you -don't- have a GPA, they just assume you're at the median or something, right?[/quote]
No, the schools considers whatever they want. It just doesn't hurt the schools median.[/quote]
Thanks a lot for that information. If that's a matter of fact, I am very much relieved.
No, the schools considers whatever they want. It just doesn't hurt the schools median.[/quote]
Thanks a lot for that information. If that's a matter of fact, I am very much relieved.
Last edited by ocean on Wed May 12, 2010 3:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- ocean
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
I really appreciate your kind words. Although still uneasy about the GPA, I will definitely apply Columbia and am looking forward to buy you a beer in the future.TobiasFunke wrote:I have similar numbers (lower LSAT, slightly higher GPA) and was accepted to Columbia. Though I'm a URM, my softs were NOWHERE NEAR being a doctor in genetics.
If you don't get in, NOBODY deserves to get in. Though again, while I understand that science is a damn hard and underpaid profession, you're absurdly overqualified for law school. If pay sucks, hit up venture capitalists and start your own company, then sell it for billions. But you'd be completely wasted in this profession.
Edit: But if you do get into Columbia, let's get a beer.
- Mattalones
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
Law schools care about two main things when admitting people: Their USNWR #s, and admitting people who will do good and do well to boost the school's reputation. You'll contribute to the former with your high LSAT (I don't think they have to report foreign GPAs to USNWR, but contact your interest schools to get a clear picture ... that will help you understand your situation A LOT!). Your potential to do the later seems higher than most people that even the most elite schools admit. The majority of people going to T5 law school haven't done anything with their lives besides school (granted, they did it VERY well). You're going to have schools tossing money at you, man. That is especially if you want to get into IP and go to a top IP school (Berkeley, BU, etc).
My main advice: contact the schools because you have a super specific situation and need information that only they can provide.
My main advice: contact the schools because you have a super specific situation and need information that only they can provide.
- ocean
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
Thank you so much for the thorough reply. Getting a PhD doesn't really single me out as someone who has done sth besides school thoughMattalones wrote:Law schools care about two main things when admitting people: Their USNWR #s, and admitting people who will do good and do well to boost the school's reputation. You'll contribute to the former with your high LSAT (I don't think they have to report foreign GPAs to USNWR, but contact your interest schools to get a clear picture ... that will help you understand your situation A LOT!). Your potential to do the later seems higher than most people that even the most elite schools admit. The majority of people going to T5 law school haven't done anything with their lives besides school (granted, they did it VERY well). You're going to have schools tossing money at you, man. That is especially if you want to get into IP and go to a top IP school (Berkeley, BU, etc).
My main advice: contact the schools because you have a super specific situation and need information that only they can provide.
- Dr. Strangelove
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Re: 3.2 GPA, 174 LSAT, PhD in Genetics
You're probably in Michigan/Duke/Cornell/Georgetown.
Seriously? What are you waiting for?
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