No GPA Chances? Forum

Jimi · Post by **Jimi** » Sat Jan 09, 2010 2:04 pm

Hey everyone,

First thanks for this forum it is a great resource. After searching the forums and checking out Lawschoolnumbers.com, I still couldn't find my answer. I will graduate with virtually all pass/fail classes from a regionally accredited college. I went for 0 credits to 120 in less than 6 months, via credit by examination. My age is 29 will soon be 30. My GPA is 4.0 only because I took one class that could not be tested out, so I don't consider that a legitimate GPA. With LSAT practice scores between 172 and 180 I'm hoping to score at least 170 on my LSAT in FEB. I'm the only child of 13 to have graduated from college, coming from a poor African American household.

What do you think my chances are of getting into LS with no GPA and this background? Do you think it is worth it to delay my application and get another degree from a university with a residency requirement of at least 30 hours so I can get a GPA?

Thanks

Also, I've been currently employed by the same company for 10 years with not really any promotion.

rw2264 · Post by **rw2264** » Sat Jan 09, 2010 2:10 pm

your grades from anything beyond working on your first bachelor's degree are not counted. so if you want a real GPA, you can't graduate from the regionally accredited school.

that said, if you're a URM with at least a 170 on the LSAT, exceptions are made for people like you.

Unitas · Post by **Unitas** » Sat Jan 09, 2010 2:13 pm

120 credit hours in six months? Uh did you just buy a diploma? You earned 1 credit hour every school day. Plus you would have had to take a class in person for four of those months. Pretty sure that is unbelievable.

I didn't even know it was possible to take junior and senior level classes by examination.

LSATfromNC · Post by **LSATfromNC** » Sat Jan 09, 2010 2:25 pm

Kakarot wrote:120 credit hours in six months? Uh did you just buy a diploma? You earned 1 credit hour every school day. Plus you would have had to take a class in person for four of those months. Pretty sure that is unbelievable.

I didn't even know it was possible to take junior and senior level classes by examination.

He took exams to get credit. I clepped English, it was worth 6 credits. I was also given approx 30 credits for my military experience based off what I did in the military. Any NCO worth his ass doesn't exactly need to take intro to calisthenics. The three credits in Archery I'm not so sure about

Jimi · Post by **Jimi** » Sat Jan 09, 2010 2:27 pm

@ rw2264, well I guess that lowers my options. I didn't know that it only counted towards my first degree. Thanks for your reply.

Kakarot wrote:120 credit hours in six months? Uh did you just buy a diploma? You earned 1 credit hour every school day. Plus you would have had to take a class in person for four of those months. Pretty sure that is unbelievable.

I didn't even know it was possible to take junior and senior level classes by examination.

It's possible, you can't buy a regionally accredited degree. I'm not here to defend my degree, it's not necessary, but I could explain to you how I did it if you really want to know, just ask.

Jimi · Post by **Jimi** » Sat Jan 09, 2010 2:54 pm

Kakarot wrote: I didn't even know it was possible to take junior and senior level classes by examination.

Just a FYI. There are a few DSST(Dantes ) exams that give upper level credit.

rw2264 · Post by **rw2264** » Sat Jan 09, 2010 3:05 pm

i really think you should avoid graduating from that school. it might hurt your chances, and as a URM with a high LSAT, even if you go to a shitty (though truly accredited) state school to earn your BA and get a 3.8 GPA you could feasibly go anywhere you want for law school.

Vincent Vega · Post by **Vincent Vega** » Sat Jan 09, 2010 3:14 pm

The best level of university accreditation is regional, so if OP is being up-front, his school has the highest level of accreditation.

If I was an adcomm, though, I would be very hesitant to admit someone who has only taken one graded college class.

EDIT: I would probably only admit OP if I would be comfortable admitting someone with his LSAT and say a 2.0 GPA.

Jimi · Post by **Jimi** » Sat Jan 09, 2010 3:30 pm

rw2264 wrote:i really think you should avoid graduating from that school. it might hurt your chances, and as a URM with a high LSAT, even if you go to a shitty (though truly accredited) state school to earn your BA and get a 3.8 GPA you could feasibly go anywhere you want for law school.

I haven't applied for graduation yet, so maybe I can go to a local private or public school and use about 90 credits of pass/fail credits(by exam) and then finish off the last 30 with a year of studying in residence. Do you think even though it is still only 30 credits counting towards my GPA that it will be beneficial?

@ Halibut6

I'm being serious. The college is Thomas Edison State College of New Jersey. Regionally accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

LSATfromNC · Post by **LSATfromNC** » Sat Jan 09, 2010 3:37 pm

Jimi wrote:
rw2264 wrote:i really think you should avoid graduating from that school. it might hurt your chances, and as a URM with a high LSAT, even if you go to a shitty (though truly accredited) state school to earn your BA and get a 3.8 GPA you could feasibly go anywhere you want for law school.
I haven't applied for graduation yet, so maybe I can go to a local private or public school and use about 90 credits of pass/fail credits(by exam) and then finish off the last 30 with a year of studying in residence. Do you think even though it is still only 30 credits counting towards my GPA that it will be beneficial?

@ Halibut6

I'm being serious. The college is Thomas Edison State College of New Jersey. Regionally accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

Get your degree, don't worry about it. You will not be treated like a 2.0 because you will not have a negative effect on their median GPA. Get a great LSAT score and you are golden, there are quite a few people who do not have a GPA (many international students).

Dignan · Post by **Dignan** » Sat Jan 09, 2010 3:54 pm

LSATfromNC wrote:Get your degree, don't worry about it. You will not be treated like a 2.0 because you will not have a negative effect on their median GPA. Get a great LSAT score and you are golden, there are quite a few people who do not have a GPA (many international students).

Yeah, but most of those international students, particularly the ones who are accepted by the very top law schools, went to prestigious universities with rigorous academic standards.

We like to say on here that law school admissions is purely a numbers game. Although that is close to the truth, the top schools do care about academic accomplishment, independent of the numbers. I think that at least the top 6 law schools would hesitate to admit an applicant who earned a degree via "credit by examination," even if that applicant is a URM with a 170+ LSAT.

OP: I'm not trying to give you a hard time. If you can score 172+ on your LSAT, you are going to have some great opportunities. But, in all likelihood, the manner in which you are getting your undergraduate degree is going to count against you at several of the top law schools.

Jimi · Post by **Jimi** » Sat Jan 09, 2010 6:50 pm

Hey everyone thanks for the responses.

I'm gonna take this information and make a decision. I'll probably just wait and see my LSAT score.

One other thing, I wasn't really worried about getting into T14 just regional LS. I'm thinking Baylor,UT, or St. Mary's.

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