GPA question/ application Forum

[cmg2199]

Hello everyone I am new to the forum so please excuse me if I am posting in the wrong section. Ok let me get to it. Basically, I went away for college straight out of high school at 17 and did not do well academically and moved back and finished my associates degree at a community college with a rather low 2.4 gpa. I took some time off to regroup and continued my education at Florida International University and i currently have a 3.8 GPA and I am one semester awayfrom graduating. I want to know what are my chances of getting into University of Miami Law School and similiar law programs? Will my associates GPA or my bachelors GPA be of importance? Also will they take into consideration the dramatic change I made academically? Thanks in advance everyone.....

[pwyoung]

I'm assuming your credits from your associates were transferred in and you're using them towards your bachelor's, meaning GPA's from both institutions count.

[clarsen]

I'm assuming your credits from your associates were transferred in and you're using them towards your bachelor's, meaning GPA's from both institutions count.

+1

My GPA wasn't as poor, but I also spent two years at community college and earned an associate's degree. I assume that when you started at FIU you were a junior and jumped right into your major? That's what my situation was, and my LSAC profile lists my cumulative GPA. I tossed around the idea of submitting an addendum, but decided against it because many people struggle or don't commit themselves in their first year or two of college, and adcomms will see the upward grade trend. Something I did not do, but wish I had, was list my degree GPA on my resume. It is listed on my LSAC report, but it would have been nice to also highlight it on my resume.

[StillHerexxx]

LSAT is what matters the most. Do well on that and it will make up for your gpa.

[cmg2199]

I'm assuming your credits from your associates were transferred in and you're using them towards your bachelor's, meaning GPA's from both institutions count.

+1

My GPA wasn't as poor, but I also spent two years at community college and earned an associate's degree. I assume that when you started at FIU you were a junior and jumped right into your major? That's what my situation was, and my LSAC profile lists my cumulative GPA. I tossed around the idea of submitting an addendum, but decided against it because many people struggle or don't commit themselves in their first year or two of college, and adcomms will see the upward grade trend. Something I did not do, but wish I had, was list my degree GPA on my resume. It is listed on my LSAC report, but it would have been nice to also highlight it on my resume.

Yes, when I started at FIU as a Junior I went straight into classes for my major (Criminal Justice) ... So did your LSAC profile show all of your grades in order? I am asking because I did exactly what you stated above and basically did not commit any time to school my first year and a half of college. Luckily I realized how important school was and I have received almost straight A's since which I would want to make known. Do you think submitting an addendum stating how immature I was my first year of college and how I have changed since would be a good idea or not? I still have time until I apply but I want to be prepared. Thanks again I greatly appreciate it.

[TommyK]

Why did you post the exact same question twice?

[StillHerexxx]

No wonder this looked so familiar.

[cmg2199]

I wasn't sure where to post it so I put it in the two categories I though were fitting. This is the first online forum I have ever used so I wasn't sure if people would find it and I have been stressing about getting into law school so I wanted to make sure I would get feedback.

[TommyK]

I wasn't sure where to post it so I put it in the two categories I though were fitting. This is the first online forum I have ever used so I wasn't sure if people would find it and I have been stressing about getting into law school so I wanted to make sure I would get feedback.

Welcome to the Internet. They don't like when you do that.

Hope this helps.

[clarsen]

I'm assuming your credits from your associates were transferred in and you're using them towards your bachelor's, meaning GPA's from both institutions count.

+1

My GPA wasn't as poor, but I also spent two years at community college and earned an associate's degree. I assume that when you started at FIU you were a junior and jumped right into your major? That's what my situation was, and my LSAC profile lists my cumulative GPA. I tossed around the idea of submitting an addendum, but decided against it because many people struggle or don't commit themselves in their first year or two of college, and adcomms will see the upward grade trend. Something I did not do, but wish I had, was list my degree GPA on my resume. It is listed on my LSAC report, but it would have been nice to also highlight it on my resume.

Yes, when I started at FIU as a Junior I went straight into classes for my major (Criminal Justice) ... So did your LSAC profile show all of your grades in order? I am asking because I did exactly what you stated above and basically did not commit any time to school my first year and a half of college. Luckily I realized how important school was and I have received almost straight A's since which I would want to make known. Do you think submitting an addendum stating how immature I was my first year of college and how I have changed since would be a good idea or not? I still have time until I apply but I want to be prepared. Thanks again I greatly appreciate it.

If you have all your transcripts submitted to LSAC, you should be able to view your grade report. It breaks down your GPA in a few different ways. There is a cumulative GPA across all schools, a cumulative GPA for each school you attended, and lastly they show your cumulative GPA for each year you attended. Also included is a general breakdown of what your grades were, such as percentage of A's, B's, etc.

As mentioned above, I opted not to submit an addendum because I did not have some grand realization that caused me to do better. I feel almost everyone can say they matured as they progressed through school, and that doesn't warrant an addendum. If you feel you have a compelling reason to submit an addendum, go for it, but most advice I have seen suggests against it. They will see your GPA trend and understand that you matured and grew as a student.