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Hello all,

I am considering getting a Masters in Sports Management from my UG school and waiting until the 2013 cycle to apply for LS. The degree fits logically in my progression to enter the Sports/Entertainment Labor Law Field. My question is how do schools weigh your GPA when you have both degrees?

My plan is:

B.S. Marketing -> M.S. Sports Management -> J.D. Labor/Tax/Contract Law or Sports Law (if school has program)

As the realization sets in that my relatively low GPA (3.38 cumulative, 3.23 LSDAS but with strong upward trend) from George Mason's Business School and bombing the December LSAT (probably 160ish) due to mis-diagramming a LG rule and not realizing it until the end of a game that my best chances will not be in this cycle. I will still apply to a few schools but I was hoping to go somewhere in the Top 50 in VA/CA. I am confident I can re-take in Feb or June and get a 170 and apply ED/RD very early to my top choices. Job prospects are slim now and I believe school would be the best option while waiting out this admissions round.

Opinions?

Thanks!

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stephinmd wrote:From what I hear (and I also have a Masters), a graduate GPA accounts for ... nothing. Graduate GPAs are not factored into your LSAC GPA. Sorry

Thanks Stephin. Well I wasn't under the impression it would go towards raising the UG GPA in LSAC (averaging in, or whatever). But will they even see the transcript/grades at all separately? And if so, is any significant weight placed on it? Just wondering if all they would see is the degree, or degree + courses and GPA.

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Sorry Steph! Thanks for the insight. Maybe I will re-open my UG degree and add a minor or two to raise that more important GPA. Any thoughts on that?

Jordan-in-VA

Jordan89 wrote:Sorry Steph! Thanks for the insight. Maybe I will re-open my UG degree and add a minor or two to raise that more important GPA. Any thoughts on that?

If you've already received your degree then it won't work. Your LSAC GPA is locked at the time you're awarded your first bachelor's degree.

Bildungsroman wrote:

Jordan89 wrote:Sorry Steph! Thanks for the insight. Maybe I will re-open my UG degree and add a minor or two to raise that more important GPA. Any thoughts on that?

If you've already received your degree then it won't work. Your LSAC GPA is locked at the time you're awarded your first bachelor's degree.

Yes, I got it in August. That's a real bummer. I know the school would let me re-open it (spoke with them) but I guess LSAC would not put the rest of the classes in the CAS transcript even if it were on the official one?

Jordan89 wrote:

Bildungsroman wrote:

Jordan89 wrote:Sorry Steph! Thanks for the insight. Maybe I will re-open my UG degree and add a minor or two to raise that more important GPA. Any thoughts on that?

If you've already received your degree then it won't work. Your LSAC GPA is locked at the time you're awarded your first bachelor's degree.

Yes, I got it in August. That's a real bummer. I know the school would let me re-open it (spoke with them) but I guess LSAC would not put the rest of the classes in the CAS transcript even if it were on the official one?

I'm almost certain that your transcript would include a notation showing you were awarded your degree in August. Even if the school will let you undertake additional coursework, you'll still have received the degree.

Jordan89 wrote:Sorry Steph! Thanks for the insight. Maybe I will re-open my UG degree and add a minor or two to raise that more important GPA. Any thoughts on that?

Jordan-in-VA

It's ok Jordan-in-VA. As others have said, raising your GPA probably isn't going to work out. So you'll just have to ace the LSAT. Did you take it in December? You should join in on the waiting thread!

Unfortunately California schools aren't a great option (or even a possibility) for most out of state splitters. But break 170 on the second try and you should have some quality options somewhere.

So, even if the grad GPA isn't factored into your LSAC GPA, do you think the adcomms would view it as part of a positive grade trend (assuming it's higher than the undergrad GPA)?

3v3ryth1ng wrote:So, even if the grad GPA isn't factored into your LSAC GPA, do you think the adcomms would view it as part of a positive grade trend (assuming it's higher than the undergrad GPA)?

I'd think so, but like everything else outside of UGPA/LSAT it'd just be used as a sort of tiebreaker. The other problem with grad school GPAs is that they are almost universally excellent, so it's tough to differentiate yourself.

3v3ryth1ng wrote:So, even if the grad GPA isn't factored into your LSAC GPA, do you think the adcomms would view it as part of a positive grade trend (assuming it's higher than the undergrad GPA)?

No, your graduate school GPA is a minor soft at best because ad coms know (or think they know) how fluffy those programs are. Also, a good grad school GPA doesn't do anything for the lawl school's ranking.

Veyron wrote:

3v3ryth1ng wrote:So, even if the grad GPA isn't factored into your LSAC GPA, do you think the adcomms would view it as part of a positive grade trend (assuming it's higher than the undergrad GPA)?

No, your graduate school GPA is a minor soft at best because ad coms know (or think they know) how fluffy those programs are. Also, a good grad school GPA doesn't do anything for the lawl school's ranking.

+1, in the sense that...a lot of grad GPAs tend to fluff it. I don't think that'd be an upward trend (for however much that mattered in the first place). That being said, having a MD might be a much nicer soft...

DoubleChecks wrote:

Veyron wrote:

3v3ryth1ng wrote:So, even if the grad GPA isn't factored into your LSAC GPA, do you think the adcomms would view it as part of a positive grade trend (assuming it's higher than the undergrad GPA)?

No, your graduate school GPA is a minor soft at best because ad coms know (or think they know) how fluffy those programs are. Also, a good grad school GPA doesn't do anything for the lawl school's ranking.

+1, in the sense that...a lot of grad GPAs tend to fluff it. I don't think that'd be an upward trend (for however much that mattered in the first place). That being said, having a MD might be a much nicer soft...

Oh yah, an MD would be about the only soft that would matter on the grad school front. Although, if you have an MD, why the fuck would you go to law school?