Is there an undergrad GPA buffer for coming from a difficult undergrad? Forum

[bruceaquizzer1]

lol mew2king

[abl]

Yes, there is. There's probably less of an adjustment for fewer schools than most would believe, but if you went to a Princeton or MIT or Swarthmore or Williams (etc), you will almost certainly outperform your numbers wrt admissions--especially at HYS.

[FredTheFish]

Lol at us dumb state school kids, especially us state school kids who do STEM where the mean is a 2.3.

[totesTheGoat]

or Swarthmore or Williams (etc)

Is it bad that I've never heard of those schools? Am I just stuck in a bubble, or are there like 2 million "preftigious" liberal arts schools?

Also, germane to this topic:
http://www.gradeinflation.com/
http://www.gradeinflation.com/sweet162010.html

[Mullens]

or Swarthmore or Williams (etc)

Is it bad that I've never heard of those schools? Am I just stuck in a bubble, or are there like 2 million "preftigious" liberal arts schools?

Well those are the two most preftigious so you might be in a bubble.

[totesTheGoat]

It wouldn't surprise me that I was. I was enginerd all the way, so didn't pay much attention to the LA schools.

[BigZuck]

It wouldn't surprise me that I was. I was enginerd all the way, so didn't pay much attention to the LA schools.

They're trolling you. Those are made up schools. Could you imagine a place called "Swarthmore" actually existing? "Hey, where did you go to school?" "Actually, I spent the best years of my life at Swarthmore, it's a very prestigious place."

Lol, nobody in their right mind would name a college "Swarthmore." Harry Potter villain, yes. Prestigious place that actually exists, no.

[fliptrip]

It wouldn't surprise me that I was. I was enginerd all the way, so didn't pay much attention to the LA schools.

They're trolling you. Those are made up schools. Could you imagine a place called "Swarthmore" actually existing? "Hey, where did you go to school?" "Actually, I spent the best years of my life at Swarthmore, it's a very prestigious place."

Lol, nobody in their right mind would name a college "Swarthmore." Harry Potter villain, yes. Prestigious place that actually exists, no.

This is all true, but just make sure if you ever encounter one of these fakers that you don't pronounce the "r". If you pronounce the "r", the are guaranteed to freak on you something serious.

[totesTheGoat]

It wouldn't surprise me that I was. I was enginerd all the way, so didn't pay much attention to the LA schools.

They're trolling you. Those are made up schools. Could you imagine a place called "Swarthmore" actually existing? "Hey, where did you go to school?" "Actually, I spent the best years of my life at Swarthmore, it's a very prestigious place."

Lol, nobody in their right mind would name a college "Swarthmore." Harry Potter villain, yes. Prestigious place that actually exists, no.

Well, that's mildly embarrassing.

Some of the private schools in my first link elicited the same "never heard of it" response, so I was ripe for that one.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Oh Zuck.

[fliptrip]

It wouldn't surprise me that I was. I was enginerd all the way, so didn't pay much attention to the LA schools.

They're trolling you. Those are made up schools. Could you imagine a place called "Swarthmore" actually existing? "Hey, where did you go to school?" "Actually, I spent the best years of my life at Swarthmore, it's a very prestigious place."

Lol, nobody in their right mind would name a college "Swarthmore." Harry Potter villain, yes. Prestigious place that actually exists, no.

Well, that's mildly embarrassing.

Some of the private schools in my first link elicited the same "never heard of it" response, so I was ripe for that one.

I'll go ahead and admit it. I'm completely confused now. Just for my own peace of mind, Totes, you do see that Swarthmore and WIlliams are real, right?

Feel free to make fun of me if I missed something.

[totesTheGoat]

I'm completely lost. I think Williams is a real school. I think Swarthmore may be a real school that also appeared as a villain in one of the Harry Potter books. Perhaps Swarthmore is Schroedinger's college? It both exists and doesn't exist.

[Tls2016]

I'm completely lost. I think Williams is a real school. I think Swarthmore may be a real school that also appeared as a villain in one of the Harry Potter books. Perhaps Swarthmore is Schroedinger's college? It both exists and doesn't exist.

Williams is real it's in Williamstown, mass

Swarthmore is real it's in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

[A. Nony Mouse]

I'm completely lost. I think Williams is a real school. I think Swarthmore may be a real school that also appeared as a villain in one of the Harry Potter books. Perhaps Swarthmore is Schroedinger's college? It both exists and doesn't exist.

Williams is real it's in Williamstown, mass

Swarthmore is real it's in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

This always makes them look even less real.

[fliptrip]

^^ I spent a year living in Swarthmore, PA and I swear it looks like a little village you find inside a snow globe.

Basically, Totes, here's a little list, courtesy of flip, of 6 liberal arts colleges you should know:

Williams (MA)
Amherst (MA)
Swarthmore (PA)
Pomona (CA)
Carleton (MN)
Wellesley (MA)-Hillary C.'s alma mater.

And fear not, in law school, you'll undoubtedly encounter folks from other LACs far and wide. You might meet someone from Claremont-McKenna (CA), Agnes Scott (GA), Grinnell (IA), Hamilton (NY), Vassar (NY), or Wesleyan (CT). Those aren't important enough to remember, however. Neither are Bryn Mawr (PA), Haverford (PA), Mt. Holyoke (MA), or Smith (MA). Don't let anyone make you feel bad for not knowing those.

[totesTheGoat]

Before today, I knew about Amherst, Pomona, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Bryn Mawr, and had an inkling that Williams was a thing. The rest all sound like they could be schools, I guess.

Can you tell that I don't have an elite bone in my body?

[fliptrip]

Then, Totes, you have a true gift. To not care about this kind of thing is a blessing.

[KissMyAxe]

Before today, I knew about Amherst, Pomona, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Bryn Mawr, and had an inkling that Williams was a thing. The rest all sound like they could be schools, I guess.

Can you tell that I don't have an elite bone in my body?

You certainly outperformed me. Of those schools, before I began my law school research and encountered all those people talking about "mah preftige" and "GRADE DEFLATION!!!!!!" I had heard of Wellesley. And that was because Lisa Simpson wanted to go there. But now I want to visit this Swarthmore place purely due to fliptrip's description.

[fliptrip]

Don't go, axe...it will enchant you and you'll never want to leave.

[whysoseriousbiglaw]

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. I apologize if I set some drama off -- I didn't realize this was a touchy subject.

No buffer for bad grades but there's some consensus that HYP get a bit of a bump. Also LOL at 3.84 being a bad GPA and you complaining about grade deflation.

Nowhere did I say 3.84 is a bad GPA. In fact, it's a very good GPA at my undergrad. But that's precisely what worried me and what compelled me to make this thread -- a good GPA at my school is below median for admitted students at HYS (and even below 25% at Y!).

What an odd thread. To be fair, this is kind of a bad GPA for a liberal arts major from any school.

And the answer is, no. My friends who went to MIT/Caltech and did real majors (like math/physics/engineering) didn't get GPA buffers. (I thought studying a liberal art was a GPA buffer in itself?)

[heynowheynow]

.

[fliptrip]

And the answer is, no. My friends who went to MIT/Caltech and did real majors (like math/physics/engineering) didn't get GPA buffers. (I thought studying a liberal art was a GPA buffer in itself?)

We don't know what this OP's major is. But we do know now how you feel about liberal arts majors.

[fliptrip]

find an easy online institution, 4.0 a bunch of credits...

To boost a 3.84?

[CicBob17]

The first time I saw 'Haverford' I thought someone just butchered the spelling of 'Harvard'... My little bubble

[87mm]

IMO depending on school/major it could be a very very minor consideration. For example, if you are below median but above 25% it may bump you to the median equivalent. Typically it wont make a huge difference later in the cycle, but earlier it may since schools are more lenient I hear.

I went to a top 5 engineering program (ranked 2nd in my field behind MIT) and ended up with a 3.65. The average GPA in my major was below a 3.0. In my school getting Honors was a 3.2, High Honors a 3.4 and Highest Honor was a 3.55 (I had a 3.53 degree GPA argh).


I didnt underperform my numbers, but I wouldnt say I overperformed much either. LSAT is unfortunately a huge factor. If I had 2 points higher on my LSAT I would have had a much much better cycle.