Top Law Schools

I've recently completed my undergraduate education in three years with two degrees, one a B.S. in Economics and another a B.A. in Philosophy. I'm looking to apply to law school soon and was considering how to market myself best. If you take my two degrees separately, the B.S. in Econ would show a GPA of 3.63; the B.A. in Phil would show a GPA of 3.70. However, my university requires that if one pursues a second degree, thirty additional credit hours must be obtained. These additional classes imposed a lot on my three-year schedule, and it reflects on my institutional GPA. My institutional GPA is a 3.48; far lower than I'd like to report to law schools.

What is the best approach to marketing myself with these numbers? Just report my institutional GPA, and hope that the two-degrees-three-years achievement will compensate and impress? Or should I try to emphasize my individual higher GPAs? Thanks for your help!

So, wait, you basically just have a double major? That is, you only graduated once, right? If so, the GPA you report will be your institutional GPA, the 3.48. I'm still a bit confused, are your higher GPAs just in your major fields?

Rhesus wrote:I've recently completed my undergraduate education in three years with two degrees, one a B.S. in Economics and another a B.A. in Philosophy. I'm looking to apply to law school soon and was considering how to market myself best. If you take my two degrees separately, the B.S. in Econ would show a GPA of 3.63; the B.A. in Phil would show a GPA of 3.70. However, my university requires that if one pursues a second degree, thirty additional credit hours must be obtained. These additional classes imposed a lot on my three-year schedule, and it reflects on my institutional GPA. My institutional GPA is a 3.48; far lower than I'd like to report to law schools.

What is the best approach to marketing myself with these numbers? Just report my institutional GPA, and hope that the two-degrees-three-years achievement will compensate and impress? Or should I try to emphasize my individual higher GPAs? Thanks for your help!

http://www.lsac.org/jd/apply/cas.asp
You don't get to choose. Your GPA will be calculated for you. The numbers count more in law school admissions than 2 degrees in3 years. You can explain this to schools in different ways through an addendum or maybe break out the GPA on any resume you submit. Maybe you should ask mike spivey in his thread.

No, not a double major, but two (separate) degrees, one a bachelor of science, the other a bachelor of arts. The higher GPAs are found by taking all the required classes for one degree and using them to calculate the GPA for that degree. For instance, I took all my philosophy classes and all the gen eds and electives it took to obtain the degree, and calculated GPA for that degree based on the grades I received in those classes.

Rhesus wrote:I've recently completed my undergraduate education in three years with two degrees, one a B.S. in Economics and another a B.A. in Philosophy. I'm looking to apply to law school soon and was considering how to market myself best. If you take my two degrees separately, the B.S. in Econ would show a GPA of 3.63; the B.A. in Phil would show a GPA of 3.70. However, my university requires that if one pursues a second degree, thirty additional credit hours must be obtained. These additional classes imposed a lot on my three-year schedule, and it reflects on my institutional GPA. My institutional GPA is a 3.48; far lower than I'd like to report to law schools.

What is the best approach to marketing myself with these numbers? Just report my institutional GPA, and hope that the two-degrees-three-years achievement will compensate and impress? Or should I try to emphasize my individual higher GPAs? Thanks for your help!

I was in a similar situation: BA in Econ and a BS in Marketing. On your resume, indicate your cumulative GPA and your GPA in the two degrees separately. When you send your transcript to LSAC, though, they convert everything into a single GPA, which is what schools use and report to US News. So the best way to give schools the whole picture is to report the individual degree GPAs on your resume.

sopranorleone wrote:

Rhesus wrote:I've recently completed my undergraduate education in three years with two degrees, one a B.S. in Economics and another a B.A. in Philosophy. I'm looking to apply to law school soon and was considering how to market myself best. If you take my two degrees separately, the B.S. in Econ would show a GPA of 3.63; the B.A. in Phil would show a GPA of 3.70. However, my university requires that if one pursues a second degree, thirty additional credit hours must be obtained. These additional classes imposed a lot on my three-year schedule, and it reflects on my institutional GPA. My institutional GPA is a 3.48; far lower than I'd like to report to law schools.

What is the best approach to marketing myself with these numbers? Just report my institutional GPA, and hope that the two-degrees-three-years achievement will compensate and impress? Or should I try to emphasize my individual higher GPAs? Thanks for your help!

I was in a similar situation: BA in Econ and a BS in Marketing. On your resume, indicate your cumulative GPA and your GPA in the two degrees separately. When you send your transcript to LSAC, though, they convert everything into a single GPA, which is what schools use and report to US News. So the best way to give schools the whole picture is to report the individual degree GPAs on your resume.

Do you really think that would make a difference? Or is there anyone else that might have further input on this too?

I have a situation similar to this as in having a dual degree, and my culm is lower than both of my respective degree major's gpas by around .05.

I can see how writing an addendum would seem to hurt though in case it gets a message like this across, "I have great gpas in my respective majors, but not my culm because I didn't seem to work as hard to get great grades in the non-degree specific classes."

Rhesus wrote:No, not a double major, but two (separate) degrees, one a bachelor of science, the other a bachelor of arts. The higher GPAs are found by taking all the required classes for one degree and using them to calculate the GPA for that degree. For instance, I took all my philosophy classes and all the gen eds and electives it took to obtain the degree, and calculated GPA for that degree based on the grades I received in those classes.

It doesn't matter. They will calculate them as one. Sorry.

Bajam wrote:

sopranorleone wrote:

Rhesus wrote:I've recently completed my undergraduate education in three years with two degrees, one a B.S. in Economics and another a B.A. in Philosophy. I'm looking to apply to law school soon and was considering how to market myself best. If you take my two degrees separately, the B.S. in Econ would show a GPA of 3.63; the B.A. in Phil would show a GPA of 3.70. However, my university requires that if one pursues a second degree, thirty additional credit hours must be obtained. These additional classes imposed a lot on my three-year schedule, and it reflects on my institutional GPA. My institutional GPA is a 3.48; far lower than I'd like to report to law schools.

What is the best approach to marketing myself with these numbers? Just report my institutional GPA, and hope that the two-degrees-three-years achievement will compensate and impress? Or should I try to emphasize my individual higher GPAs? Thanks for your help!

I was in a similar situation: BA in Econ and a BS in Marketing. On your resume, indicate your cumulative GPA and your GPA in the two degrees separately. When you send your transcript to LSAC, though, they convert everything into a single GPA, which is what schools use and report to US News. So the best way to give schools the whole picture is to report the individual degree GPAs on your resume.

Do you really think that would make a difference? Or is there anyone else that might have further input on this too?

I have a situation similar to this as in having a dual degree, and my culm is lower than both of my respective degree major's gpas by around .05.

I can see how writing an addendum would seem to hurt though in case it gets a message like this across, "I have great gpas in my respective majors, but not my culm because I didn't seem to work as hard to get great grades in the non-degree specific classes."

There are tons of people who write GPA addenda and most of them do so without a good reason. This is one of those not good reasons. (Don't mean to be harsh, but just put yourself in the shoes of admissions committees reading 5000+ applications and a bunch of them giving excuses because of their low gpa) Also, I think your reasoning makes you look worse, because it makes me think you only try hard when you think it's important, and otherwise slack. Not saying this is true, but it's one possible way it could be taken as. I think the advice of listing your degree GPAs on your resume is best. With your degree GPAs being higher than your cumulative (and not by that much, really), the automatic story told is that you did better in your major classes and you probably slacked in non-major classes. If there's not a drastically different story I wouldn't say add anything.

alphebetagamma wrote:

Bajam wrote:

sopranorleone wrote:

Rhesus wrote:I've recently completed my undergraduate education in three years with two degrees, one a B.S. in Economics and another a B.A. in Philosophy. I'm looking to apply to law school soon and was considering how to market myself best. If you take my two degrees separately, the B.S. in Econ would show a GPA of 3.63; the B.A. in Phil would show a GPA of 3.70. However, my university requires that if one pursues a second degree, thirty additional credit hours must be obtained. These additional classes imposed a lot on my three-year schedule, and it reflects on my institutional GPA. My institutional GPA is a 3.48; far lower than I'd like to report to law schools.

What is the best approach to marketing myself with these numbers? Just report my institutional GPA, and hope that the two-degrees-three-years achievement will compensate and impress? Or should I try to emphasize my individual higher GPAs? Thanks for your help!

I was in a similar situation: BA in Econ and a BS in Marketing. On your resume, indicate your cumulative GPA and your GPA in the two degrees separately. When you send your transcript to LSAC, though, they convert everything into a single GPA, which is what schools use and report to US News. So the best way to give schools the whole picture is to report the individual degree GPAs on your resume.

Do you really think that would make a difference? Or is there anyone else that might have further input on this too?

I have a situation similar to this as in having a dual degree, and my culm is lower than both of my respective degree major's gpas by around .05.

I can see how writing an addendum would seem to hurt though in case it gets a message like this across, "I have great gpas in my respective majors, but not my culm because I didn't seem to work as hard to get great grades in the non-degree specific classes."

There are tons of people who write GPA addenda and most of them do so without a good reason. This is one of those not good reasons. (Don't mean to be harsh, but just put yourself in the shoes of admissions committees reading 5000+ applications and a bunch of them giving excuses because of their low gpa) Also, I think your reasoning makes you look worse, because it makes me think you only try hard when you think it's important, and otherwise slack. Not saying this is true, but it's one possible way it could be taken as. I think the advice of listing your degree GPAs on your resume is best. With your degree GPAs being higher than your cumulative (and not by that much, really), the automatic story told is that you did better in your major classes and you probably slacked in non-major classes. If there's not a drastically different story I wouldn't say add anything.

No worries about being harsh, what you said is exactly what I thought lol. My culm is relatively high and it's not like my Major GPAs are gonna do anything to make my culm seem better if it's already below a certain median for law schools.

Btw, the reasoning I gave would not be what I hypothetically thought someone would write haha...it was what I think adcomms would think regardless of the message.

For law school admissions purposes, it would have been far better either to have taken four years to do the work or to have sought only one degree during the three years. Your overall GPA is the only thing that matters.

if you want you can include a GPA addendum explaining this, but it will most likely be your institutional GPA that is reported. assuming that you didn't go to any other colleges before graduating.