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this may be on the site somewhere, but without advanced search capabilities, i'm at a loss. beginning with the assumption that the 25-75 gpa ranges for admissions statistics are determined by matriculating students, how do adcomms interpret applicants still completing their undergraduate degrees. to clarify, my gpa is near the 25% range at a few target schools. but with a full 2 semesters worth of classes before graduation, i'm confident i can raise my gpa closer to the median. i plan on applying early, but i fear without these senior year grades, my gpa will be a major negative factor in my reach applications.

vestedinterest wrote: how do adcomms interpret applicants still completing their undergraduate degrees.

They look at all your grades so far. If you need your next year of grades to be calculated to have an acceptable GPA then it sounds like you need to wait a year to apply; they won't just take your word for it that you're going to do great.

vestedinterest wrote:this may be on the site somewhere, but without advanced search capabilities, i'm at a loss. beginning with the assumption that the 25-75 gpa ranges for admissions statistics are determined by matriculating students, how do adcomms interpret applicants still completing their undergraduate degrees. to clarify, my gpa is near the 25% range at a few target schools. but with a full 2 semesters worth of classes before graduation, i'm confident i can raise my gpa closer to the median. i plan on applying early, but i fear without these senior year grades, my gpa will be a major negative factor in my reach applications.

You know there is a big link that says "advanced forum search" write at the top of the screen right?

thanks for keeping everyone in line, officer. your service is REALLY appreciated.

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vestedinterest wrote:this may be on the site somewhere, but without advanced search capabilities, i'm at a loss. beginning with the assumption that the 25-75 gpa ranges for admissions statistics are determined by matriculating students, how do adcomms interpret applicants still completing their undergraduate degrees. to clarify, my gpa is near the 25% range at a few target schools. but with a full 2 semesters worth of classes before graduation, i'm confident i can raise my gpa closer to the median. i plan on applying early, but i fear without these senior year grades, my gpa will be a major negative factor in my reach applications.

Yeah I'm not sure what you're hoping for but your current cumulative is what they will consider for admissions purposes. If you want a better shot at getting into your targets you may have to apply next cycle w/higher GPA/

If you've gotten crappy grades for your first 6 semesters of college, what on earth makes you so sure you're going to ace your last 2 semesters? My bet is that the needle on your GPA will hardly move between now and graduating.

Since you have given us no reason to believe (changing majors? Changing schools? Taking a reduced courseload? Quitting a job?) that your GPA is going to change at all, I'm inclined to say that it won't, and therefore in the interest of time, you might as well apply to law school now.

The LSAT is important for everyone, but for applicants with low GPAs, it's even more important, as in basically your only hope of getting into a school worth attending, so study hard.

ok thanks softboiled. university just isnt hard anymore now that i'm in my major track. it just sucks that a couple of early Bs can keep my gpa at a lackluster 3.6, esp when im testing 170+. borderline t14 is great fun.

I have a similar question. I am currently getting a masters degree with a GPA of 3.9 I'm hoping to bump it up to a 3.93 before I graduate.

The problem I have is that as an undergrad I was immature and not focused on my studies. Do most law schools even look at my undergrad record given that I am in grad school?

Thanks!

redsoxfan77 wrote:I have a similar question. I am currently getting a masters degree with a GPA of 3.9 I'm hoping to bump it up to a 3.93 before I graduate.

The problem I have is that as an undergrad I was immature and not focused on my studies. Do most law schools even look at my undergrad record given that I am in grad school?

Thanks!

Law schools only care about your undergrad grades. Grad school is seen as a soft, and that's it. Grad school grades don't matter at all.

redsoxfan77 wrote:I have a similar question. I am currently getting a masters degree with a GPA of 3.9 I'm hoping to bump it up to a 3.93 before I graduate.

The problem I have is that as an undergrad I was immature and not focused on my studies. Do most law schools even look at my undergrad record given that I am in grad school?

Thanks!

Law schools will look at nothing but your undergraduate grades whilst calculating your GPA. Sorry dude.

blowhard wrote: You know there is a big link that says "advanced forum search" write at the top of the screen right?

Lol, I thought you were trying to make fun of him, but then I couldn't find the term write in his post.

I'm having trouble imagining a scenario where the year will make a huge difference. 3.6 after three years means HYS+B are likely out--with a 4.0 maybe you have an outside chance. Columbia and Chicago? If you hit a high enough LSAT (173ish probably, check LSN), you can get in this year.

Apply this year and if you fail re-apply with a potentially higher GPA. You can also update the schools after fall semester.

Think about this, too: I applied after two years of college (I graduated in three years). They only saw my GPA for those two years with my application. My last year, my GPA dropped a bit, but I already had several acceptances and scholarship offers.

So where is this going? The school will only report the initial GPA that I sent them. Why? Because I didn't send my final transcripts to LSAC to update my file and the school only reports LSAC reported GPAs. My school got my final transcript directly from my UG, but for reporting purposes that number doesn't matter because it's not LSAC official.

I hardly think I'm alone here: After you decide where to attend, there is no reason to send finalized transcripts to LSAC. In fact, your school will want them to come directly from your undergraduate institution. So while matriculating students' GPAs are all that matters, it's unlikely that they're reporting FINAL GPAs of all of their incoming class. Instead, it's far more probable that those are the averages pulled from the application on which the admissions decision was based.

Does anybody see sending an update to the schools with a significant increase in GPA for the fall semester as a good idea? or is this just futile...

ert335 wrote:Does anybody see sending an update to the schools with a significant increase in GPA for the fall semester as a good idea? or is this just futile...

If your GPA goes up after your applications are in then you should definitely let schools know about it.

Is this what you're asking: If you apply in Sept/Oct and your GPA goes up, is it worth it to send an update to schools who haven't made an admissions decision yet?

Absolutely it is. Have your transcripts sent to LSAC so every school to which you apply has your updated, increased grades. It's definitely worth doing. It might push you from the wait-list to admit pile, or from admit to admit with money.

What I was saying in my above post was that once you've graduated from undergrad and deposited at the law school of your choice, there's no need to continually update LSAC, which is where the school's reported GPA data originates.

Before you're admitted, or while scholarships are being decided, it DEFINITELY makes sense to tell them about any increase in GPA.

alright, that's awesome. i raised my gpa .07 with my grades from this past spring and i'm going to do it again with another .07 increase in the fall. but what about applying ED to a school? you think i should not do ED and apply regular so it gives me time to send in the transcript from the fall?

To fully answer that we need:

1. Your GPA (as it stands if you were to ED on Sept. 1);
2. Your LSAT score(s); and
3. The school to which you would ED.

GPA would be a 3.38 (eventually to a 3.45)
Haven't taken the LSAT
Reach school is UCLA, so ED there

I wasn't asking for an admissions prediction, because I know i have to beast the LSAT and I haven't taken it yet...

Okay, sorry about that then. To answer your broad hypothetical about EDing with the prospect of a .07 GPA increase, I'd say go for it. While your LSAT might determine on WHICH school you should use your ED application, I don't think that a difference of 3.38 to 3.45 will have a substantial impact. If you're on the edge, are willing to pay sticker, and want to find out quickly: ED.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the ED, but I like to keep all of my options open. My advice would be to apply on September 1 and write an additional "Why X" essay for every school. Mine were generally about 200 words and I think made a difference between being simply accepted and being accepted with money. I used them to concentrate on specific aspects of the school that I liked and thought that I would both benefit and benefit from. These are submitted as an addendum separate from the personal statement.

I just figured that a 4.0 for my last two semesters might say SOMETHING... like an upward trend. I just wasn't sure that, if I applied ED, they would make a decision before I could send the last semester transcript. Also, I know I'm going to move to LA, so UCLA would be my number one choice in any case.

I thought that when somebody mentioned "Why X" additions that they were referring to incorporating their reasons for why X into their personal statement... not an addendum. any difference?

Does anybody have advice on whether the "Why X" should go in the PS or in a special addendum? And if it's an addendum, should I still mention X in the PS?

blurbz wrote: So while matriculating students' GPAs are all that matters, it's unlikely that they're reporting FINAL GPAs of all of their incoming class. Instead, it's far more probable that those are the averages pulled from the application on which the admissions decision was based.

thanks for the clarification, blurbz. you seem to always be write on with this stuff. seems like applying early will do more good here than an extra year of grades.

Thanks for your kind words!

I certainly think so--an upward trend is definitely worth something, and it's easier to show that if you don't apply early.

As for whether or not the "Why X" should be located within the PS or in a separate addendum, I personally think it should be separate. I believe that the PS should tell the school about you and should devote the full space to that. A small mention to a school will sound contrived and generic, even if the sentence mentions something specific. On the other hand, a 200 word addendum discussing the intricacies of a specific program/opportunity at a school that interests you is only going to help you! Give the school as many reasons to accept you as possible. Like I said, I put in the extra time to do this this cycle and I ended up getting generous scholarship offers from schools I had hoped to simply be accepted to.