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Hi guys!

So, I just got my LSAT back, and I got a 174. I got a 169 on my first test but was under some unordinary stress so that likely accounts for the big jump.

Right now I go to a strong undergrad university and have a 3.81 GPA. I am in one of the most challenging "pre-law" type majors, and am in the top 10% of my class. I am part of an elite honor society, have really great extra curriculars and lots of strong, impactful leadership positions. My work experience is also very good and reflects my interest as well as my competitiveness as an applicant.

However, on my transcript I have a number of "W"s. I went through a very traumatic situation which resulted in my having to withdraw from a number of classes and take lighter courseloads across two semesters. It also meant that this most recent semester, I had to go home for safety reasons and take courses at a local community college (all credits will transfer over, I got straight A's there). I have written a good addendum, however I am worried that my 12 and 13 credit courseloads during my second semester second year and first semester third year, as well as my easier time at community college will hurt me. Like I said, my situation was very reasonable in that I did what I did for my sanity and mental health, but I still worry. A lot of my involvement in school has also focused on preventing this type of thing from happening to others, so hopefully that will help.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is, will law schools look badly upon that type of thing? I know that they shouldn't, but does that mean they won't?

Secondly, my UG school is a T14 law school and is in fact probably my number one choice, however I am worried about two things:
1. That they will not want me because I came with 'drama'. Ie, my situation resulted in the expulsion of another student at my UG school (who was later convicted of a felony) even though it was not my fault
2. If they aren't worried about that, that they'll waitlist me because they think I'll get into other schools like Harvard or Columbia, and then I'll have to fight my way off the wait list. They do have an early binding decision program, but I am kind of interested in seeing about HYS and whether I get merit from my school when I apply.

Everything considered, what do you all think, and do you think I'd be competitive for HYS?

Sorry this was a bit rambly, still trying to collect all my thoughts.

R

What is your LSAC GPA? W's are counted as 0's IIRC.

You can write an addendum. Keep in mind that, ultimately, your LSAC GPA is what law schools care about.

dabigchina wrote:What is your LSAC GPA? W's are counted as 0's IIRC.

You can write an addendum. Keep in mind that, ultimately, your LSAC GPA is what law schools care about.

If they are non-punitive like all of mine, they just count as non-grades and don't hurt your gpa. If they are WF or withdrawal fails, they count as 0s. But yeah, LSAC gpa is king and if they don't count them OP is all good

dabigchina wrote:What is your LSAC GPA? W's are counted as 0's IIRC.

You can write an addendum. Keep in mind that, ultimately, your LSAC GPA is what law schools care about.

W's are only counted as zeros if they are punitive:

Grades Excluded from Conversion:

Withdraw, Withdraw/Pass—only if the issuing school considers the grade nonpunitive.

https://www.lsac.org/aboutlsac/policies ... marization

In my experience, it's very rare for W's to be considered punitive. I haven't ever seen a school policy book that considers pure Ws punitive (most schools count WFs as punitive, but getting those is itself kind of hard to do), and I've looked at quite a few over time. That doesn't mean OP won't be at the one school in 20 that does that, but I wouldn't fret about it if he withdrew before the deadline or otherwise had it counted as non-punitive.

Edit: Reading LSAC's rules and given I accurately calculated my GPA when I first sent it in, it seems to me the only common ways your LSAC and cumulative UG GPA (including any transfer credits) are more than a tenth or so off are two scenarios:

1. Academic Amnesty/Forgiveness at some point and the credits are still on the transcript even though they aren't counted for UG GPA. (Some schools, such as my alma mater, entirely remove the attempted credits as if they never happened).

2. Failing to properly fill out paperwork for a withdrawal. Some people just stop showing up to class and get WFs (this is usually how WFs are awarded).

The way that sucks is when you had some old CC record that reflects the fact you were once too busy drinking to focus on class, reformed yourself, and you got a 4.0 when you went back. This usually falls under (1) above, though.

TrashSplitter wrote:

dabigchina wrote:What is your LSAC GPA? W's are counted as 0's IIRC.

You can write an addendum. Keep in mind that, ultimately, your LSAC GPA is what law schools care about.

W's are only counted as zeros if they are punitive:

Grades Excluded from Conversion:

Withdraw, Withdraw/Pass—only if the issuing school considers the grade nonpunitive.

https://www.lsac.org/aboutlsac/policies ... marization

In my experience, it's very rare for W's to be considered punitive. I haven't ever seen a school policy book that considers pure Ws punitive (most schools count WFs as punitive, but getting those is itself kind of hard to do), and I've looked at quite a few over time. That doesn't mean OP won't be at the one school in 20 that does that, but I wouldn't fret about it if he withdrew before the deadline or otherwise had it counted as non-punitive.

Fair, OP should def figure the above out though. His/Her LSAC GPA may be significantly lower than what she thinks it is.