So...GPA question for someone aiming for a T14 Forum

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jonjon1324

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So...GPA question for someone aiming for a T14

Post by jonjon1324 » Wed May 02, 2012 12:45 am

I'm having like a mini-panic attack right here. I was using that online calculator that calculates your law school GPA and I was estimating the grades I was gonna have for the end of this semester (which I won't know for sure for 3 weeks) and I saw that if all goes as expected, I'll get a 3.39. Now I'm freaking out because this would be the grade I'd get if I get an A- in French, which is what I expect, but if I got an A, which is still a very real possibility, I'd have a 3.42. Now, from what I've heard, any time you move up like..a higher .1 level (like from the 3.3s to the 3.4s) it makes a huge difference (this is all assuming I get a 170+, and I know hypothetical scenarios here aren't really liked and it's easier said than done to get that score). How much of a difference is a 3.39 to a 3.42? I know neither is very high, but would a 3.39 maybe just be rounded up to a 3.4 in their eyes? Will it not make enough of a difference to stress about it? Should I calm myself and just wait 3 weeks to know what my grades and new gpa is? Should I study for the actual french final that I have tomorrow instead of freaking out?

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elterrible78

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Re: So...GPA question for someone aiming for a T14

Post by elterrible78 » Wed May 02, 2012 12:47 am

jonjon1324 wrote:Should I study for the actual french final that I have tomorrow instead of freaking out?
Yes.

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Re: So...GPA question for someone aiming for a T14

Post by jonjon1324 » Wed May 02, 2012 12:48 am

I know the answer is obvious but like..I've just been so on edge this week. I'm usually calm about the whole law school thing but like...I don't know, I can't focus on anything else right now

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elterrible78

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Re: So...GPA question for someone aiming for a T14

Post by elterrible78 » Wed May 02, 2012 1:00 am

jonjon1324 wrote:I know the answer is obvious but like..I've just been so on edge this week. I'm usually calm about the whole law school thing but like...I don't know, I can't focus on anything else right now
I honestly have no idea how much the difference between 3.39 and 3.42 will affect your admission chances at T14 schools. What I do know is that if by chance there *is* a meaningful difference, the 3.42 is better than the 3.39. I also know that for every minute you spend hand-wringing over it on TLS, the more likely you are to end up with the 3.39 rather than the 3.42. So get your ass to studying!

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smaug_

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Re: So...GPA question for someone aiming for a T14

Post by smaug_ » Wed May 02, 2012 1:05 am

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Last edited by smaug_ on Sat Aug 11, 2012 9:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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howlery

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Re: So...GPA question for someone aiming for a T14

Post by howlery » Wed May 02, 2012 2:23 am

hibiki wrote:
jonjon1324 wrote:I'm having like a mini-panic attack right here. I was using that online calculator that calculates your law school GPA and I was estimating the grades I was gonna have for the end of this semester (which I won't know for sure for 3 weeks) and I saw that if all goes as expected, I'll get a 3.39. Now I'm freaking out because this would be the grade I'd get if I get an A- in French, which is what I expect, but if I got an A, which is still a very real possibility, I'd have a 3.42. Now, from what I've heard, any time you move up like..a higher .1 level (like from the 3.3s to the 3.4s) it makes a huge difference (this is all assuming I get a 170+, and I know hypothetical scenarios here aren't really liked and it's easier said than done to get that score). How much of a difference is a 3.39 to a 3.42? I know neither is very high, but would a 3.39 maybe just be rounded up to a 3.4 in their eyes? Will it not make enough of a difference to stress about it? Should I calm myself and just wait 3 weeks to know what my grades and new gpa is? Should I study for the actual french final that I have tomorrow instead of freaking out?
1) Study. 2) Calm down. I applied this cycle with a GPA in your range. I don't think a 3.42 versus a 3.39 will be a huge difference. Your goal should be to do well, but the bigger hurdle will be to get above the 75th percentile LSAT at NYU or Columbia because that's probably as high as you're going to get unless you're a URM. I don't think either of those GPAs would utterly lock you out of the T6.
Isn't Columbia's GPA floor 3.5? You can do a search for the thread where someone collected the floors for the t50. Either way, shoot for an A in every course and see what you get when you graduate.

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JDizzle2015

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Re: So...GPA question for someone aiming for a T14

Post by JDizzle2015 » Wed May 02, 2012 2:28 pm

Negligible difference between those two GPAs; you obviously still should be trying to get the highest GPA you can, but in this case it really doesn't matter since those two GPAs both put you (correct me if I'm wrong) below the 25th%tile mark at all of the T14s.

Ultimately, you'll be looking for a high LSAT (median or above) to really help with LS admissions.

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realhero

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Re: So...GPA question for someone aiming for a T14

Post by realhero » Wed May 02, 2012 4:55 pm

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Same boat. Bonne chance btw, I was a French major > hence LS. Lolz.

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2014

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Re: So...GPA question for someone aiming for a T14

Post by 2014 » Wed May 02, 2012 8:25 pm

Hopefully you did well but it won't matter much. If you could have gotten up to 3.47ish or even better 3.5 that would have been a big difference for Columbia, Chicago, Berkeley, and Duke I believe, but 3.42 v 3.39 is negligible.

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jonjon1324

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Re: So...GPA question for someone aiming for a T14

Post by jonjon1324 » Tue May 08, 2012 10:11 pm

I got an A in the class and now have a 3.41. I know it won't make much of a difference but it still feels nice lol

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Band A Long

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Re: So...GPA question for someone aiming for a T14

Post by Band A Long » Tue May 08, 2012 10:16 pm

jonjon1324 wrote:I got an A in the class and now have a 3.41. I know it won't make much of a difference but it still feels nice lol
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smaug_

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Re: So...GPA question for someone aiming for a T14

Post by smaug_ » Tue May 08, 2012 11:07 pm

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Last edited by smaug_ on Sat Aug 11, 2012 9:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: So...GPA question for someone aiming for a T14

Post by jonjon1324 » Tue May 08, 2012 11:09 pm

hibiki wrote:
howlery wrote:
Isn't Columbia's GPA floor 3.5? You can do a search for the thread where someone collected the floors for the t50. Either way, shoot for an A in every course and see what you get when you graduate.
I think that the soft floor is around a 3.5, but I got in with a 3.40. I think the hard floor might be a touch lower still.
What was your LSAT? Did you get in anywhere else?

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smaug_

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Post by smaug_ » Tue May 08, 2012 11:26 pm

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