What to do? 176 LSAT PT Forum

[hopefulsplitter93]

This post was written after a long night of anxiety and hours of searching on law school numbers so please bear with me. Right now I am a junior in UG with his heart set on NYU (a combination of starry eyes and some personal reasons as to why I have tremendous respect for the program). I transferred into my current UG with a high GPA and they "wiped" my grades (as they do all other transfer students). During my first semester at my current program I received a 3.7 but has since dropped to a 3.1 (due to last 2 semesters). 2 of my immediate family members were diagnosed with cancer and one passed away this summer. I spent most of my time visiting them in the different hospitals they were in and totally disregarded my coursework. I have roughly 43 credits left and by my calculations can only have a 3.5 at best. I've been scoring between a 172-176 on my PT's. My questions are: do I take another major to help boost my GPA, are summer CC classes viewed negatively by adcoms (seeems to be a lot of mixed sentiment), how f***ed are my chances of getting into NYU? Average softs, strong LOR if that makes any difference. Also I forgot to mention my GPA from my past UG programs was more in the range of 3.5, I keep forgetting that because my school does not calculate that into my current GPA. This probably lands me at a 3.2 with 43 credits remaining (if I do not take another major).

TLDR Notes:
Want NYU
3.1 GPA, 43 credits left this can yield a 3.4-5 at best
176 was my highest PT so far
Grades took a significant downturn when 2 of my immediate family members were diagnosed with cancer, would an addendum matter?
Do I take an additional major and minor to boost my GPA (I am highly motivated right now)
Which building do I jump off of if I don't get in to my 1st choice?


Thanks in advance for all useful input

[malleus discentium]

Do everything you can to boost your UGPA now. Worry about everything else later.

[phillywc]

Do everything you can to boost your UGPA now. Worry about everything else later.

This. NYU is gettable with a 3.1/3.2 but you are talking a long time on the waitlist and likely no money. Focus on that GPA.

[hopefulsplitter93]

Do everything you can to boost your UGPA now. Worry about everything else later.

This. NYU is gettable with a 3.1/3.2 but you are talking a long time on the waitlist and likely no money. Focus on that GPA.

That is absolutely what I am doing. I have put more effort into this semester than I have ever before and the results are there; I haven't received a grade below an A- on any test, quiz, essay, homework etc. What I forgot to mention was my plan of taking classes at a CC this summer to mix in some more A's. I also go to a fairly selective UG if that matters, I believe they have a ~20% acceptance rate.

[phillywc]

Your UG doesn't matter. I went to a UG that no one here at NYU has ever heard of, and I still got in with a below median GPA.

[hopefulsplitter93]

Your UG doesn't matter. I went to a UG that no one here at NYU has ever heard of, and I still got in with a below median GPA.

Congrats, I really mean that. Would you mind giving me a rundown of your other stats? PM maybe?

[hopefulsplitter93]

Do everything you can to boost your UGPA now. Worry about everything else later.

Would GPA padding at cc fall under "everything I can?" The sentiment seems to be polarizing.

[WichitaShocker]

I would contact LSAC, even though your undergrad wiped your transfer grades, LSAC will still probably count them.

[phillywc]

Your UG doesn't matter. I went to a UG that no one here at NYU has ever heard of, and I still got in with a below median GPA.

Congrats, I really mean that. Would you mind giving me a rundown of your other stats? PM maybe?

In my profile.

It really is a numbers game. Get that GPA up, do decently well on the LSAT, enjoy NYU.

[phillywc]

I would contact LSAC, even though your undergrad wiped your transfer grades, LSAC will still probably count them.

oh missed this in the op, but yeah your pre transfer grades count. I was curious, so I just sent all my transcripts in to LSAC early in my senior year, to get an idea what my gpa was like, as I took classes at several different schools and I wasn't sure how my gpa would shake out. I recommend doing that.

[hopefulsplitter93]

I should have made it clear that I was aware of the calculation of all grades before earning my degree. What I am most curious about at this point is the CC "padding". Will NYU adcoms find it disconcerting if you take CC courses over the summers leading up to graduation or will they just care more about their bottom line i.e LSAC GPA? BTW, Philly you're the man thanks for the inspiration.

[WichitaShocker]

I should have made it clear that I was aware of the calculation of all grades before earning my degree. What I am most curious about at this point is the CC "padding". BTW, Philly you're the man thanks for the inspiration

If you can reasonably do so. I think it would be better to just take easy classes at your university rather than a CC. I don't think doing it at a CC will kill you, and probably won't be a big deal, but it may raise a flag.

[Rigo]

I should have made it clear that I was aware of the calculation of all grades before earning my degree. What I am most curious about at this point is the CC "padding". BTW, Philly you're the man thanks for the inspiration

Edited to clarify: Padding will not matter. You will not be dinged for padding. Pad away!

Echoing all the previous posts, focus on your GPA. 43(+) credits is a long way to go and you can definitely pull it up with hard work.

[hopefulsplitter93]

I should have made it clear that I was aware of the calculation of all grades before earning my degree. What I am most curious about at this point is the CC "padding". BTW, Philly you're the man thanks for the inspiration

If you can reasonably do so. I think it would be better to just take easy classes at your university rather than a CC. I don't think doing it at a CC will kill you, and probably won't be a big deal, but it may raise a flag.

This was my more preferable route. I was thinking of delaying graduation a little and taking on an additional major and minor to boost my GPA.

[phillywc]

I should have made it clear that I was aware of the calculation of all grades before earning my degree. What I am most curious about at this point is the CC "padding". Will NYU adcoms find it disconcerting if you take CC courses over the summers leading up to graduation or will they just care more about their bottom line i.e LSAC GPA? BTW, Philly you're the man thanks for the inspiration.

It won't kill you, and the GPA boost you get from will outweigh any negative thoughts for taking classes at a CC.

Personally, I don't think it's super ethical so I didn't do it, but I wouldn't force my moral beliefs on anyone else. Focus first on getting good grades at your current school.



And thanks!

[hopefulsplitter93]

I should have made it clear that I was aware of the calculation of all grades before earning my degree. What I am most curious about at this point is the CC "padding". BTW, Philly you're the man thanks for the inspiration

Won't matter.

Echoing all the previous posts, focus on your GPA. 43(+) credits is a long way to go and you can definitely pull it up with hard work.

For some reason when I use my schools GPA calculator it claims with 43 credits left I would have to achieve over a 4.0 to end up with a 3.5. This is why I keep going back and forth in my mind of an additional major & minor, CC classes, etc.

[McAvoy]

do a ton of basketweaving CC classes, get an A in all your real classes and kill the lsat

[hopefulsplitter93]

I should have made it clear that I was aware of the calculation of all grades before earning my degree. What I am most curious about at this point is the CC "padding". BTW, Philly you're the man thanks for the inspiration

Edited to clarify: Padding will not matter. You will not be dinged for padding. Pad away!

Echoing all the previous posts, focus on your GPA. 43(+) credits is a long way to go and you can definitely pull it up with hard work.

Thank you!

[hopefulsplitter93]

do a ton of basketweaving CC classes, get an A in all your real classes and kill the lsat

How many grains of salt do I take this with? I'm asking bc the classes I have on my radar for this summer are "easy" to say the least.

[Rigo]

do a ton of basketweaving CC classes, get an A in all your real classes and kill the lsat

How many grains of salt do I take this with? I'm asking bc the classes I have on my radar for this summer are "easy" to say the least.

Zero grains of salt.
You're simply exploring your hobbies.

[hopefulsplitter93]

do a ton of basketweaving CC classes, get an A in all your real classes and kill the lsat

How many grains of salt do I take this with? I'm asking bc the classes I have on my radar for this summer are "easy" to say the least.

Zero grains of salt.
You're simply exploring your hobbies.

Thank you for confirming my suspicion

[hopefulsplitter93]

Do any matriculates have any experience with taking summer CC classes? Really want to see some hard evidence that adcoms will not weigh this

[Tiago Splitter]

how bad was your GPA last semester? To go from a 3.7 after 2.5 years to a 3.1 after 3 years is pretty remarkable.

If last semester you really got like straight D's or whatever then yes you'll want to write an addendum.

[hopefulsplitter93]

how bad was your GPA last semester? To go from a 3.7 after 2.5 years to a 3.1 after 3 years is pretty remarkable.

If last semester you really got like straight D's or whatever then yes you'll want to write an addendum.

EDIT: I am shying away from an addendum if my padding can yield a median GPA as to not draw attention. I'm really torn in a lot of directions, I wish I was done with all of this UG business because I really enjoyed studying for the LSAT, now I have to put that to the side as I can only receive A's, A-s from here on out. I will also be delaying graduation and taking a fair amount of summer courses (pending someone proving to me that CC courses will ruin my admission chances). I have a sneaking suspicion that schools are still more concerned about their bottom line.

Yeah, it was really bad. At the time I was taking finance honors classes (the regular finance classes at my school yield a 3.3). My grandfather and my aunt being diagnosed with cancer really ended up hitting me hard, I spent most of my time with them in the hospital and that didn't bode well for my derivatives classes. On a lighter note, what is your opinion on GPA padding? I have some master scheme for the rest of my days at UG that should land me right in between the 25-50 mark GPA wise at NYU. I understand that my actual LSAT may (probably) deviate from my highest diagnostic of 176 but I feel that with a median GPA this wont really be an issue. Thoughts/suggestions?

[JamMasterJ]

how bad was your GPA last semester? To go from a 3.7 after 2.5 years to a 3.1 after 3 years is pretty remarkable.

If last semester you really got like straight D's or whatever then yes you'll want to write an addendum.

EDIT: I am shying away from an addendum if my padding can yield a median GPA as to not draw attention. I'm really torn in a lot of directions, I wish I was done with all of this UG business because I really enjoyed studying for the LSAT, now I have to put that to the side as I can only receive A's, A-s from here on out. I will also be delaying graduation and taking a fair amount of summer courses (pending someone proving to me that CC courses will ruin my admission chances). I have a sneaking suspicion that schools are still more concerned about their bottom line.

Yeah, it was really bad. At the time I was taking finance honors classes (the regular finance classes at my school yield a 3.3). My grandfather and my aunt being diagnosed with cancer really ended up hitting me hard, I spent most of my time with them in the hospital and that didn't bode well for my derivatives classes. On a lighter note, what is your opinion on GPA padding? I have some master scheme for the rest of my days at UG that should land me right in between the 25-50 mark GPA wise at NYU. I understand that my actual LSAT may (probably) deviate from my highest diagnostic of 176 but I feel that with a median GPA this wont really be an issue. Thoughts/suggestions?

I don't think you can mathematically have a median GPA. If even possible, having a pile of Cs and Ds is going to raise some eyebrows. You really should write something short and to the point.