On your resume, do you put your GPA according to... Forum

[TommyK]

Cool. I think I'm just going to leave my GPA off my resume and let LSAC take care of it.

This is what I did, especially because I'd rather not keep reminding them of something they already know that I would rather they not know (my GPA as a splitter).

That's why on my resume, I just list

Institution State University, Anytown, Ohio
GPA: 3.1 LSAT: 170

Or just put a picture of a ferrari next to the GPA, because everything looks better standing next to a ferrari.

[slacker]

Not applying until next year but question:

Went to community college for two years, and now at a university. Also took one class in high school through another university for college credit. That latter would be nowhere on the resume, correct? Just list GPA from the first two and then the crappy grade from high school shown on LSAC evaluation, right? Should the LSAC GPA be listed anywhere? It will be different/lower.

[GettingReady2010]

Voice of dissent here: Why even put it on your resume? I mean, they already have the LSAC GPA, which is the only one that matters, as a stat in their file?

Always of the opinion with resumes that if it doesn't add anything, take it off. And in this case, it may cause confusion.

Just my $.02

I think I'd agree with this. The only time it'd make sense to put it on your resume is if your degree-granting GPA was far higher than your overall LSAC GPA, to kind of highlight that you ended on a high note... but we're not talking about that here at all.

Putting a GPA on your resume that'll 1) cause confusion and 2) not look stunningly good is not a great idea.

Yes, I think I'm just going to omit my GPA altogether. It's really not necessary and just makes things more confusing.

[oshberg28]

Not applying until next year but question:

Went to community college for two years, and now at a university. Also took one class in high school through another university for college credit. That latter would be nowhere on the resume, correct? Just list GPA from the first two and then the crappy grade from high school shown on LSAC evaluation, right? Should the LSAC GPA be listed anywhere? It will be different/lower.

Right, I went to community college for two years, transferred, and took three courses at a different University (via an Institute) during one summer - I'm putting all three on my resume, with their distinctive GPA's next to each. I'm also including my "cumulative" GPA for all three combined. On my resume, I plan on just inserting my "cumulative" GPA that my degree granting institution calculated (not LSAC) - there is just a 0.2 difference between the two, so it doesn't matter much.

I wouldn't list the one class you took in high school through another university.

If you do put the LSAC GPA on your resume, be sure to put "LSAC GPA: xx"

[Burger in a can]

I agree that GPA on your resume isn't necessary.

[oshberg28]

Personally, I think it's a little goofy not to include your GPA on the resume - sure, the law schools will see your GPA via the LSAC report, but IMO your resume should have sufficient information to stand by itself. Although some people are wary of including the GPA unless it is above a 3.0.

I think it just makes it easier for the admissions folks to see the GPA on your resume, in addition to the LSAC report. But, just my opinion.

[Burger in a can]

Personally, I think it's a little goofy not to include your GPA on the resume - sure, the law schools will see your GPA via the LSAC report, but IMO your resume should have sufficient information to stand by itself. Although some people are wary of including the GPA unless it is above a 3.0.

I think it just makes it easier for the admissions folks to see the GPA on your resume, in addition to the LSAC report. But, just my opinion.

If you think that an office full of people who annually examine literally thousands of applications haven't devised their own system to quickly find your GPA without relying on resumes, then this makes sense.

[oshberg28]

Personally, I think it's a little goofy not to include your GPA on the resume - sure, the law schools will see your GPA via the LSAC report, but IMO your resume should have sufficient information to stand by itself. Although some people are wary of including the GPA unless it is above a 3.0.

I think it just makes it easier for the admissions folks to see the GPA on your resume, in addition to the LSAC report. But, just my opinion.

If you think that an office full of people who annually examine literally thousands of applications haven't devised their own system to quickly find your GPA without relying on resumes, then this makes sense.

Hah - no, that has little to do with it. I'm talking more in general - whether you're applying to law school or for employment after law school.

[Burger in a can]

Personally, I think it's a little goofy not to include your GPA on the resume - sure, the law schools will see your GPA via the LSAC report, but IMO your resume should have sufficient information to stand by itself. Although some people are wary of including the GPA unless it is above a 3.0.

I think it just makes it easier for the admissions folks to see the GPA on your resume, in addition to the LSAC report. But, just my opinion.

If you think that an office full of people who annually examine literally thousands of applications haven't devised their own system to quickly find your GPA
without relying on resumes, then this makes sense.

Hah - no, that has little to do with it. I'm talking more in general - whether you're applying to law school or for employment after law school.

Once you've been out of college for a couple of years your GPA just doesn't really matter any more, and you can actually come across as sort of a douche for still clinging to that 3.89 at age 27.

[oshberg28]

Personally, I think it's a little goofy not to include your GPA on the resume - sure, the law schools will see your GPA via the LSAC report, but IMO your resume should have sufficient information to stand by itself. Although some people are wary of including the GPA unless it is above a 3.0.

I think it just makes it easier for the admissions folks to see the GPA on your resume, in addition to the LSAC report. But, just my opinion.

If you think that an office full of people who annually examine literally thousands of applications haven't devised their own system to quickly find your GPA
without relying on resumes, then this makes sense.

Hah - no, that has little to do with it. I'm talking more in general - whether you're applying to law school or for employment after law school.

Once you've been out of college for a couple of years your GPA just doesn't really matter any more, and you can actually come across as sort of a douche for still clinging to that 3.89 at age 27.

Hm..I'd be careful about that, especially in this economy. The whole point of a resume is to market yourself; if you have a great GPA, why on earth wouldn't you include it? Obviously the GPA's relevance will decrease as you get older and gain work experience, but not including a great GPA because you're afraid that others may perceive it as being conceited seems odd to me. If you graduated summa cum-laude, would you not include that either? (If I did, I would include that or the GPA, but not both).

[GettingReady2010]

The only reason I'm not including it is because I don't want to deal with having to choose between my LSAC GPA, my GPA from my degree granting institution, or including a GPA from a previous college. I think that this would be confusing to adcomms if they do in fact care in the first place.