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Is it appropriate to include somewhere in my essays that I would be devastated to be turned away from my top choice because of some bad grades I got when I was 18 and 19 years old and a different person? Or will they just laugh and spit their gum on my essay and then have a snack?

username99 wrote:Is it appropriate to include somewhere in my essays that I would be devastated to be turned away from my top choice because of some bad grades I got when I was 18 and 19 years old and a different person? Or will they just laugh and spit their gum on my essay and then have a snack?

Given the flippant and somewhat resigned tone of your description of the second scenario, I think you already know the answer to this question. It's a popular one, as the search function will verify.

stratocophic wrote:

username99 wrote:Is it appropriate to include somewhere in my essays that I would be devastated to be turned away from my top choice because of some bad grades I got when I was 18 and 19 years old and a different person? Or will they just laugh and spit their gum on my essay and then have a snack?

Given the flippant and somewhat resigned tone of your description of the second scenario, I think you already know the answer to this question. It's a popular one, as the search function will verify.

Thanks - and I gotcha about searching. But isn't it a valid point? Do schools notice and appreciate the upward trend and then take into account the distance in time between those grades and now (7-8 years)? I have a 3.47 lsdas and 3.63 in real life, so it's not like I'm talking about bombing. Is there a way to gently point them toward this upward trend without turning in the same bland thing that everyone will say?

username99 wrote:Is it appropriate to include somewhere in my essays that I would be devastated to be turned away from my top choice because of some bad grades I got when I was 18 and 19 years old and a different person? Or will they just laugh and spit their gum on my essay and then have a snack?

Unless you're 30 now, saying you were a different person at 18 or 19 is unconvincing. Even if you're 30 now, 'I'll be sad if you consider my bad grades' isn't the best argument.

..

username99 wrote:

stratocophic wrote:

username99 wrote:Is it appropriate to include somewhere in my essays that I would be devastated to be turned away from my top choice because of some bad grades I got when I was 18 and 19 years old and a different person? Or will they just laugh and spit their gum on my essay and then have a snack?

Given the flippant and somewhat resigned tone of your description of the second scenario, I think you already know the answer to this question. It's a popular one, as the search function will verify.

Thanks - and I gotcha about searching. But isn't it a valid point? Do schools notice and appreciate the upward trend and then take into account the distance in time between those grades and now (7-8 years)? I have a 3.47 lsdas and 3.63 in real life, so it's not like I'm talking about bombing. Is there a way to gently point them toward this upward trend without turning in the same bland thing that everyone will say?

Not being snarky about the search thing, these threads just pop up all the time so if you don't believe me... I feel your pain about the bad grades, though. Upward trends, experience, etc. are very, very minor factors. LSAT determines the tier/sub-tier available to you, GPA determines which members of those groups you can choose from. Few things will render that concept invalid, unfortunately. Could be worse, a lot of people seem to get screwed by community college classes they blew off while still in high school.

Thanks - yeah I feel ya. I appreciate the responses. I'm hoping to get into a few in the 15-22 range. Hopefully they'll be kind.

username99 wrote:Thanks - yeah I feel ya. I appreciate the responses. I'm hoping to get into a few in the 15-22 range. Hopefully they'll be kind.

167+ and you're golden, retake if necessary

Really? I got a 167.

stratocophic wrote:

username99 wrote:Thanks - yeah I feel ya. I appreciate the responses. I'm hoping to get into a few in the 15-22 range. Hopefully they'll be kind.

167+ and you're golden, retake if necessary

TITCR.

For me, it was 10+ years between terrible grades as a teenager and returning, retaking, and getting a 4.0. It's tough to say, but in the era of USNWR dominance, most (or all) T14 schools above simply won't care. The GPA wouldn't be the huge barrier to entry that it is if it came with an expiration date, unfortunately for us both.

However, once you get into the 167+ range, there are plenty of splitter friendly schools in the 15-22 territory.

username99 wrote:Really? I got a 167.

Yup. In at Illinois, Minnesota and WUSTL, good shot at GW/BC/BU/ND. Probably not much scholarship money, but I'd say that if you're an average, non-outstanding applicant like the rest of us you'll get into at least 3 of the schools I listed above. The GPA fetishes of UCLA-USC (15-18) make WUSTL your USNWR ceiling.

Check LSN for more specific info and chances. You're a semi-splitter so LSP may or may not be accurate, but the graphs don't lie (except sometimes at the extremes).

stratocophic wrote:

username99 wrote:Really? I got a 167.

Yup. In at Illinois, Minnesota and WUSTL, good shot at GW/BC/BU/ND. Probably not much scholarship money, but I'd say that if you're an average, non-outstanding applicant like the rest of us you'll get into at least 3 of the schools I listed above. The GPA fetishes of UCLA-USC (15-18) make WUSTL your USNWR ceiling.

Check LSN for more specific info and chances. You're a semi-splitter so LSP may or may not be accurate, but the graphs don't lie (except sometimes at the extremes).

Sounds good. I live in DC and have worked here for 4-5 years, so GW is actually my top choice.

Kohinoor wrote:

username99 wrote:Is it appropriate to include somewhere in my essays that I would be devastated to be turned away from my top choice because of some bad grades I got when I was 18 and 19 years old and a different person? Or will they just laugh and spit their gum on my essay and then have a snack?

Unless you're 30 now, saying you were a different person at 18 or 19 is unconvincing. Even if you're 30 now, 'I'll be sad if you consider my bad grades' isn't the best argument.

Oh, come on, I hope most people mature a whole lot from Freshman year to Senior. Or I hope so. But agreed, thats not really a good argument. Or...any argument.

Pearalegal wrote:

Kohinoor wrote:

username99 wrote:Is it appropriate to include somewhere in my essays that I would be devastated to be turned away from my top choice because of some bad grades I got when I was 18 and 19 years old and a different person? Or will they just laugh and spit their gum on my essay and then have a snack?

Unless you're 30 now, saying you were a different person at 18 or 19 is unconvincing. Even if you're 30 now, 'I'll be sad if you consider my bad grades' isn't the best argument.

Oh, come on, I hope most people mature a whole lot from Freshman year to Senior. Or I hope so. But agreed, thats not really a good argument. Or...any argument.

WOOOOOOOORD.