awful LGPA incline-- still doomed?? Forum

[Barbie]

My LSAC GPA is awful, admittedly. When I applied in Spring of this year (Stetson, Mercer, Ole Miss, WSU) I was 2x waitlisted and 2x rejected with a 2.9/154. I was hoping to bring up my LSAT score dramatically (I was PTing around 163) but Monday makes me feel less than hopeful. I have gotten straight A's for almost 2 years. My university GPA is a 3.7, I'm consistently Dean's Listed, and I'm in the honors program. My downfall is I got an F and two D-'s my freshman first semester. LSAC doesn't count grade forgiveness, so my GPA is hence now (after spring grades) a 3.06. I am expecting a 3.14 after my summer courses. Is there a prayer that admissions will notice the F & 2 D-'s were long ago (5 years) and that since then my GPA has been all A's and B's (mostly A's). I want to go to Stetson, and am hoping my LSAT Monday will at least yield a 156. 156/3.14 with a GPA on the incline (does it make a difference?)... any thoughts? advice?

[Benevolent Despot]

Your GPA trend will be a minor positive soft. Write an addendum if you have a legitimate reason for the F and Ds. If the bad performance really hasn't been repeated in any subsequent semester, you may get a bit of leniency. Admissions is mostly a numbers game, though. If your LSDAS numbers categorically exclude you from a particular school, an upward trend is not going to save you.

EDIT: Law School Predictor has you at "Consider" for Stetson. Do your best on the summer classes, and apply.

[deadpanic]

First of all, I'd recommend not going to Stetson or Mercer at sticker and with your GPA, it looks like you would be. With that being said, here is about what I think you would need with a 3.1:

Stetson-157
Mercer-156, maybe even 155.
Ole Miss - Probably 160. They are tough on out of state residents and view GPA almost as equal as LSAT.

Upward grade trend is going to play a very minor role, and may not be a factor at all. A lot of people have the same pattern.

[Barbie]

First of all, I'd recommend not going to Stetson or Mercer at sticker and with your GPA, it looks like you would be. With that being said, here is about what I think you would need with a 3.1:

Stetson-157
Mercer-156, maybe even 155.
Ole Miss - Probably 160. They are tough on out of state residents and view GPA almost as equal as LSAT.

Upward grade trend is going to play a very minor role, and may not be a factor at all. A lot of people have the same pattern.

As I agree that paying sticker isn't a great idea esp at a private school, money isn't a HUGE issue for me. I had a scholarship for my undergrad and my dad has a well off business and is very generous in helping me pay for my education. That being said, I agree it's always best to save money where one can. I'm also looking at Louisville and Samford (even though I hear bad things about Samford, I know a handful of lawyers that went there that practice in Florida and are doing quite well for themselves and speak highly of the school).

[Kobe_Teeth]

I thought this was a discussion about female golfers dying on hills.



Disappointed.