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I'm a splitter (173 / 3.0 currently) and I'm planning on applying to law school during my last year of undergrad. I'm looking to break into the top-14, and I'm expecting to have to ride out some waitlists because of that. I was planning on sending GPA updates to whatever schools I end up on the waitlist at as my grades continue to come in throughout my final school year.

I was just wondering if law schools use the GPA you initially apply with, or if they update it as you send in fresh transcripts. I'm asking because I'm expecting to be able to raise my GPA by another .1, or .2 points in my final year of school, so obviously with a GPA as low as mine that could make the difference.

Thanks in advance for any help.

kjj4 wrote:I'm a splitter (173 / 3.0 currently) and I'm planning on applying to law school during my last year of undergrad. I'm looking to break into the top-14, and I'm expecting to have to ride out some waitlists because of that. I was planning on sending GPA updates to whatever schools I end up on the waitlist at as my grades continue to come in throughout my final school year.

I was just wondering if law schools use the GPA you initially apply with, or if they update it as you send in fresh transcripts. I'm asking because I'm expecting to be able to raise my GPA by another .1, or .2 points in my final year of school, so obviously with a GPA as low as mine that could make the difference.

Thanks in advance for any help.

ANECDOTAL ALERT: I don't know if this is what they "used" but I did send my updated transcript when my GPA rose mid cycle from a batch of fresh A's (quarter system school). Admitted to law school I sent it to, but again I don't know if that made an impact. I would recommend updating the law schools with a higher GPA regardless.

I did this as well, and I think it definitely helped my cycle. I sent in 18 units of A's and I got an unsolicited scholarship bump from a couple schools and an acceptance from another I was waiting on. I can't say for sure if it was the .2 GPA bump or what, but it definitely didn't hurt.



I think it especially helps splitters with low GPAs. for example my LSAC GPA was <3.0 so I needed every bit of help I could get.

Appreciate the responses guys. It's sounding like the consensus is that this will almost definitely give me a bump, which is great.

kjj4 wrote:Appreciate the responses guys. It's sounding like the consensus is that this will almost definitely give me a bump, which is great.

I don't know if that is the consensus. It would be safer to say there is almost no way it could hurt to send in an update of a higher gpa. You will learn that the application process is unnescarily long and arbitrary. I sent in updated grades, and who knows if it actually changed any school's minds or if they were going to do what they did anyway.They are just slow.

kjj4 wrote:Appreciate the responses guys. It's sounding like the consensus is that this will almost definitely give me a bump, which is great.

Yeah I mean with a stellar LSAT and a below average GPA every little bit can help!

Just a precaution, apply broadly. As a super splitter your cycle will be very unpredictable and you will need to apply broadly to make sure you give yourself options. Also apply to peer schools of the schools you want to go to for negotiation purposes(even if you have no intention of ever attending).

Last thing, as a super splitter it is also crucial to get your apps out as early as possible before the ad coms have a chance to get a good idea of what their applicant pool is going to look like for the cycle.

cdotson2 wrote:

kjj4 wrote:Appreciate the responses guys. It's sounding like the consensus is that this will almost definitely give me a bump, which is great.

I don't know if that is the consensus. It would be safer to say there is almost no way it could hurt to send in an update of a higher gpa. You will learn that the application process is unnescarily long and arbitrary. I sent in updated grades, and who knows if it actually changed any school's minds or if they were going to do what they did anyway.They are just slow.

This is totally correct as well. The two stories above were anecdotes and it is hard to tell if it was the GPA or other factors out of our control that helped. It is much much safer to say that it won't hurt to send updates