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Law School GPA
Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 10:34 pm
by lawschool111
LSAC calculated my LSAC Cumulative GPA as 3.5, and my Degree GPA as 3.00.
A 3.5 GPA is sufficient enough to get me into a top 20 law school, which is what I am aiming for, assuming that I get above the 160's on my LSAT.
BUT, I was thinking about writing an addendum to explain why I received a 3.00 GPA. I attended University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business and as a business major, a majority of my classes were curved. Outside of the classes that I was required to take for my major, I received mostly B+'s and A's. If you have heard about the HAAS Curve, you would know that it is something every business major at UC Berkeley dreads.
The average GPA for HAAS business students is 3.12.
With this being said, I find myself to be at a disadvantage when it comes to my Degree GPA as there are English, Legal studies and etc majors, applying whose classes do not follow a strict curve.
Is this worth writing an addendum for, or do law schools tend to focus more on Cumulative GPAs? Should I avoid talking about this...perhaps law schools understand that students who graduate from elite business schools have to deal with strict curves?
Personally, I feel like it can go either way. It's subjective, the committee could either feel like I am nagging and looking for an excuse or they could understand my situation and realize that a 3.5 Cumulative GPA is a better reflection of where I stand academically.
Re: Law School GPA
Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 10:51 pm
by MichNole19
Law Schools have to report your cumulative GPA so that is what they are going to focus on. I had the complete opposite situation, 3.41 Cumulative and 3.8 major GPA (Business School but thankfully no crazy curve) and all they cared about was the 3.41. While they might take into consideration that your degree was harder at the end of the day they have to report the Cumulative GPA and it’s all about the numbers/ rankings, in my opinion. When comparing your application from people with similar numbers I feel that you will have the edge due to the difficulty of your major.
Good Luck with your cycle!
lawschool111 wrote:LSAC calculated my LSAC Cumulative GPA as 3.5, and my Degree GPA as 3.00.
A 3.5 GPA is sufficient enough to get me into a top 20 law school, which is what I am aiming for, assuming that I get above the 160's on my LSAT.
BUT, I was thinking about writing an addendum to explain why I received a 3.00 GPA. I attended University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business and as a business major, a majority of my classes were curved. Outside of the classes that I was required to take for my major, I received mostly B+'s and A's. If you have heard about the HAAS Curve, you would know that it is something every business major at UC Berkeley dreads.
The average GPA for HAAS business students is 3.12.
With this being said, I find myself to be at a disadvantage when it comes to my Degree GPA as there are English, Legal studies and etc majors, applying whose classes do not follow a strict curve.
Is this worth writing an addendum for, or do law schools tend to focus more on Cumulative GPAs? Should I avoid talking about this...perhaps law schools understand that students who graduate from elite business schools have to deal with strict curves?
Personally, I feel like it can go either way. It's subjective, the committee could either feel like I am nagging and looking for an excuse or they could understand my situation and realize that a 3.5 Cumulative GPA is a better reflection of where I stand academically.
Re: Law School GPA
Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 10:55 pm
by alwayssunnyinfl
lawschool111 wrote:LSAC calculated my LSAC Cumulative GPA as 3.5, and my Degree GPA as 3.00.
A 3.5 GPA is sufficient enough to get me into a top 20 law school, which is what I am aiming for, assuming that I get above the 160's on my LSAT.
BUT, I was thinking about writing an addendum to explain why I received a 3.00 GPA. I attended University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business and as a business major, a majority of my classes were curved. Outside of the classes that I was required to take for my major, I received mostly B+'s and A's. If you have heard about the HAAS Curve, you would know that it is something every business major at UC Berkeley dreads.
The average GPA for HAAS business students is 3.12.
With this being said, I find myself to be at a disadvantage when it comes to my Degree GPA as there are English, Legal studies and etc majors, applying whose classes do not follow a strict curve.
Is this worth writing an addendum for, or do law schools tend to focus more on Cumulative GPAs? Should I avoid talking about this...perhaps law schools understand that students who graduate from elite business schools have to deal with strict curves?
Personally, I feel like it can go either way. It's subjective, the committee could either feel like I am nagging and looking for an excuse or they could understand my situation and realize that a 3.5 Cumulative GPA is a better reflection of where I stand academically.
They won't care. Congrats on the good GPA. Don't be neurotic about it, go kill the LSAT.
Re: Law School GPA
Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 11:00 pm
by CalAlumni
OP speaks the truth about Haas. You're in a tough spot, but I don't see how an addendum could hurt you. It may make a difference in a positive way at the margins. Overall though, I don't think they will really care.
Re: Law School GPA
Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 11:05 pm
by alwayssunnyinfl
CalAlumni wrote:OP speaks the truth about Haas. You're in a tough spot, but I don't see how an addendum could hurt you. It may make a difference in a positive way at the margins. Overall though, I don't think they will really care.
I think the risk of the addendum being poorly written and/or taken the wrong way by the adcom far outweighs any benefit in this case.
Re: Law School GPA
Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 11:08 pm
by CalAlumni
alwayssunnyinfl wrote:CalAlumni wrote:OP speaks the truth about Haas. You're in a tough spot, but I don't see how an addendum could hurt you. It may make a difference in a positive way at the margins. Overall though, I don't think they will really care.
I think the risk of the addendum being poorly written and/or taken the wrong way by the adcom far outweighs any benefit in this case.
Yeah, looking at it that way, I think you are right.
Re: Law School GPA
Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 11:10 pm
by shntn
Nope, they won't care.
Re: Law School GPA
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 10:06 am
by bp shinners
Don't write this addendum. You're expected to do well in whatever course of study you take. Engineering majors don't get a break - just be glad you didn't major in that.
Re: Law School GPA
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 10:50 am
by Br3v
shntn wrote:Nope, they won't care.
Re: Law School GPA
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 2:24 pm
by WhiskeynCoke
in my opinion. When comparing your application from people with similar numbers I feel that you will have the edge due to the difficulty of your major.
The difficulty of a BUSINESS MAJOR? LOL. You may get some "brownie points" because Haas may be known for deflating grades but you definitely won't get "the edge" because of your "difficult major." Overall, business majors are considered to be a cakewalk, especially when compared to actual difficult majors like Physics and Engineering.
Just be happy with your 3.5 and try to get a 170+ on the LSAT. You should be in decent shape for T14.
Re: Law School GPA
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 2:26 pm
by shntn
WhiskeynCoke wrote:Just be happy with your 3.5 and try to get a 170+ on the LSAT. You should be in decent shape for T14.
This is working well enough for me at this, albeit early, point in the cycle.
/thread