Questions about my transcript Forum

[Clock]

I have a 3.56 and I am going to raise it to a 3.6 before I apply to law school, but I am still concerned about some of the grades on my transcript: C- in Calculus, B- in Intermediate Accounting 1, C+ in Federal Income Tax, B in Bus Law, B in Comparative Politics and Ws in The New Testament and Financial Management & Markets (currently retaking for transfer credit only). I will also graduate with 9 transfer credits earned from taking summer classes. Could these grades and the amount of transfer credit I have hurt my chances of getting into a top law school? Also, I have not taken a full course load (15 credits) since freshman year and I earned nearly all of my low grades while taking only 12 credits. Does not having taken full course loads reflect negatively on my academic abilities? Should I take a full course load next semester to prove I am capable of handling one?

[Nova]

1.Could these grades and the amount of transfer credit I have hurt my chances of getting into a top law school?

2.Does not having taken full course loads reflect negatively on my academic abilities?

3.Should I take a full course load next semester to prove I am capable of handling one?

1. No

2. No

3. Not for that reason. However, if you can, you should take more courses than necessary before you get your degree to pad your GPA.

[Clearly]

Just seconding the above.
The only thing that matter is your cumulative (LSDAS) GPA. Its a 3 digit number with no back story. This will get your app looked at or dinged. Don't sweat the other stuff...It would only come up if you and an identical applicant are vying for the last spot in the class.

[jbagelboy]

Just seconding the above.
The only thing that matter is your cumulative (LSDAS) GPA. Its a 3 digit number with no back story. This will get your app looked at or dinged. Don't sweat the other stuff...It would only come up if you and an identical applicant are vying for the last spot in the class.

The bolded is often how adcoms approach applications though, but you are underestimating the significance of taking a challenging courseload. "Last spot in the class" is an exaggeration. Tons of applicants will fall in that 25th-median range, and comparing the actual courses from the transcripts is common practice. You do have to hit at or hopefully over median in at least one of GPA/LSAT tho.

That being said, for OP's purposes these are just a selection of bad grades, nothing notable. For very top schools, it would be important not only to have strong grades but to have challenged yourself, in which case yes, a full course load would be necessary. However, HYS are already out for you with a 3.6. So I would focus on maximizing your GPA to hit lower T14, which means don't overload yourself on classes you can't excel in. Take as many graded credits as you can in classes that will not look like total bullshit but also not stretch what you're capable of.

[Ti Malice]

Does not having taken full course loads reflect negatively on my academic abilities? Should I take a full course load next semester to prove I am capable of handling one?

This would matter for YHS and possible for a couple of other schools with small classes or "black box" admissions (Chicago and Berkeley, for instance). Since your GPA bars you from YS and very likely H, it very likely won't matter for you.

[Clock]

Thanks everyone for the advice!