2 years of pass/fail Forum

[Geon]

What would law schools t-20, think of someone who did 2 years of courses on prior learning assessment aka pass/fail basis but otherwise had solid numbers in the median (gpa and lsat) and very good experience. I know a guy doing his degree online - through a state school, works at a hedge fund - but is basically doing half his degree off his experience. What do you think his chances are. Will law schools care that he has only 2 years of actual gpa?

[bdole2]

What would law schools t-20, think of someone who did 2 years of courses on prior learning assessment aka pass/fail basis but otherwise had solid numbers in the median (gpa and lsat) and very good experience. I know a guy doing his degree online - through a state school, works at a hedge fund - but is basically doing half his degree off his experience. What do you think his chances are. Will law schools care that he has only 2 years of actual gpa?

All that matter is how LSAC calculates your GPA. Your LSDAS GPA is what law school admissions will care about. Doesn't matter how you got it.

[Geon]

What would law schools t-20, think of someone who did 2 years of courses on prior learning assessment aka pass/fail basis but otherwise had solid numbers in the median (gpa and lsat) and very good experience. I know a guy doing his degree online - through a state school, works at a hedge fund - but is basically doing half his degree off his experience. What do you think his chances are. Will law schools care that he has only 2 years of actual gpa?

All that matter is how LSAC calculates your GPA. Your LSDAS GPA is what law school admissions will care about. Doesn't matter how you got it.

Just to clarify, I think it would be credit/ no credit not pass/fail - these types of courses do not allow one to receive a grade.

[Tom Joad]

What would law schools t-20, think of someone who did 2 years of courses on prior learning assessment aka pass/fail basis but otherwise had solid numbers in the median (gpa and lsat) and very good experience. I know a guy doing his degree online - through a state school, works at a hedge fund - but is basically doing half his degree off his experience. What do you think his chances are. Will law schools care that he has only 2 years of actual gpa?

If he has a job better than most T30 grads get, why does he want to go to lawl school?

[bdole2]

Just to clarify, I think it would be credit/ no credit not pass/fail - these types of courses do not allow one to receive a grade.

I don't know how LSAC handles that. But like I said, all that matters is your LSDAS GPA, whatever that may be.

[Geon]

What would law schools t-20, think of someone who did 2 years of courses on prior learning assessment aka pass/fail basis but otherwise had solid numbers in the median (gpa and lsat) and very good experience. I know a guy doing his degree online - through a state school, works at a hedge fund - but is basically doing half his degree off his experience. What do you think his chances are. Will law schools care that he has only 2 years of actual gpa?

If he has a job better than most T30 grads get, why does he want to go to lawl school?

Outlook is not good for people in finance, especially in our city it is particularly grim. 300 traders were laid off in a firm down the street and some banks have closed entire divisions.

[thecynic69]

What would law schools t-20, think of someone who did 2 years of courses on prior learning assessment aka pass/fail basis but otherwise had solid numbers in the median (gpa and lsat) and very good experience. I know a guy doing his degree online - through a state school, works at a hedge fund - but is basically doing half his degree off his experience. What do you think his chances are. Will law schools care that he has only 2 years of actual gpa?

If he has a job better than most T30 grads get, why does he want to go to lawl school?

Oy comments like this are not helpful. These are the sorts of remarks that have led me to abandon the boards. But Geon messaged me, and I figured I'd put my response out there so it can help everyone, to the extent to which it is accurate/applicable.

Pass/fail courses are not a huge deal. What matters is the overall rigor of your course of study, so I hear. Too many pass/fail courses can make it seem like you took it easy. By and large, adcoms know what they are doing--if you took it easy, they will know, and it may influence their decision (in the end, the influence is not large, although at top 3 schools, I expect it matters relatively more, as distinguishing between the candidates gets difficult).

As to your specific case, we probably need more details. I don't know what "prior learning assessment" is, but your friend sounds like he has had a non-traditional undergraduate education. In my eyes, this warrants an addendum. On a related note, make sure your friend sends in a LOR from a former/current employer.

Back to the question at hand, so long as your friend graduated from an accredited school, and has a strong LSDAS GPA and LSAT score for whatever schools he is applying to, he will be fine. Write the addendum, and a strong application, and don't worry so much about it--this is a relatively small issue, and certainly will not affect his ability to get into a top 20 school (again, assuming he has the numbers); top 3 schools may be a different story.

[bdole2]

You don't need an addendum unless you have a poor GPA.

[thecynic69]

You don't need an addendum unless you have a poor GPA.

Depends how common this "prior learning assessment" situation is. If something relevant to your lsat or gpa is true of 1% or less of law school applicants, then I think you should write an addendum. Addenda don't mean anything bad--it just means there is something unusual abut your application. To me, this counts as unusual.