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I had a pretty drastic change in grades after my first year at the University, I'm not even 100% myself what caused it; working a night job, maturity, or a change in major/career path (started out pre-med).

At the end of my first year I had a 2.9 UGPA (a C in Spanish, a 5 credit course - the course was at 7:30am 5 days a week, and I'd usually go to class right after working a night job... Also had a C+ in Calculus 2; was orignally an astronomy major). But since that first year I've gotten nearly all A's in everything. I haven't just been taking fluff courses either, I've taken classes in Neuroscience, Comparative Politics, etc.

So after 2 years of nearly all As with the occasional B+/B my UGPA is 3.54. - with an upper division GPA of 3.8.

How forgiving will law schools be towards my GPA?
Should I include an addendum? And if so, which aspect should I primarily attribute the grade shift to (if I'm not 100% myself)?
Think I'd still be competitive for NYU or Columbia with a 174+ LSAT?

Sorry if I'm asking a lot, I've just been obsessing a bit over the admissions process lately. But thank you very much in advance for any responses! Your help is greatly appreciated!

so you fucked up your first two years, not really much you can do about that. come back when you have a real LSAT score.. LSAT should be the only thing on your mind right now.

3.5x isn't a terrible GPA. Get a 170+ and you'll have a shot at lower T14s. 172+ for a shot at MVP. 174+ for a shot at CCN. Your GPA will be below median everywhere, so your score needs to be above median to merit serious consideration.

If you're unsure of the reason, don't bother with an addendum, especially since it was early in college - such a pattern is very normal and folks often greatly overestimate the uniqueness of an upward trend.

That said, your a 3.54 is workable for almost every school (except YHS and sorta Berkeley). In any case, if you're under one 25th you should aim to be above the other 75th - that means 174-176. So yeah, you'd be competitive with 174+.

Thus:

gwuorbust wrote:so you fucked up your first two years, not really much you can do about that. come back when you have a real LSAT score.. LSAT should be the only thing on your mind right now.

No need to stress. A 174+ is a cakewalk.