Graduate Transcript and etc LSAC Forum

[Red_Bird]

On LSAC, it explains that the transcripts needed are:
undergraduate degree-granting institution
institutions attended even though a degree was never received
graduate degree-granting institution(s)
etc...

Since graduate courses do not count toward the calculation of GPA, do I not submit those if I did not receive a graduate degree?
Do I submit transcripts of undergraduate courses taken after a degree was already granted from a different institution?
I have moved around a lot and would like a little help understanding the transcript requirements so I don't spend money where it is not needed.

Also: If I am required to turn in a graduate transcript and transcripts from undergraduate courses after earning a bachelor's degree:
I know graduate courses and courses taken after the undergraduate degree are earned are not counted toward LSAC GPA, but I made A's in those courses and would like the law schools to see those grades as they're more in line with pursuing a law degree (my undergraduate degree is in science). Will law schools be able to see those grades earned?

[QContinuum]

You must submit all transcripts to LSAC, including all undergraduate courses (whether taken before or after you received your first Bachelor's degree) and all graduate courses, regardless of whether a particular course was taken as part of a degree program.

The only grades that will included in determining your LSAC GPA are undergraduate courses taken before you received your first Bachelor's degree. But you still need to send in your other transcripts, and those will be "summarized" in the LSAC report that goes to law school admissions offices.

Grad school grading is, unfortunately, typically pretty lenient (even though I know there are some graduate programs that grade very harshly) so law schools are unlikely to be overly impressed with a 4.0 grad school GPA.

[Dipsychus]

The only grades that will included in determining your LSAC GPA are undergraduate courses taken before you received your first Bachelor's degree. But you still need to send in your other transcripts, and those will be "summarized" in the LSAC report that goes to law school admissions offices

Just how does LSAC "summarize" those grades in the report? And does that report say you did graduate work at University of X but did not receive a degree?

[cavalier1138]

The only grades that will included in determining your LSAC GPA are undergraduate courses taken before you received your first Bachelor's degree. But you still need to send in your other transcripts, and those will be "summarized" in the LSAC report that goes to law school admissions offices

Just how does LSAC "summarize" those grades in the report? And does that report say you did graduate work at University of X but did not receive a degree?

The grades aren't really addressed. But LSAC will indicate where you did graduate work and where you received a degree.

[Dipsychus]

The only grades that will included in determining your LSAC GPA are undergraduate courses taken before you received your first Bachelor's degree. But you still need to send in your other transcripts, and those will be "summarized" in the LSAC report that goes to law school admissions offices

Just how does LSAC "summarize" those grades in the report? And does that report say you did graduate work at University of X but did not receive a degree?

The grades aren't really addressed. But LSAC will indicate where you did graduate work and where you received a degree.

If I understand this correctly, *only* the undergrad transcript will be sent to each school you're applying to, and not the grad school transcripts. Instead, simply (a) the names of the grad schools and (b) whether or not a degree was received at said said schools. This is good and useful information to have, but I can't seem find anything on LSAC *confirming* this in such a specific way.

[nixy]

So, I don't know if they do things differently now compared to when I applied, but my academic summary report from LSAC includes all the detailed information about my grades, hours, etc for my undergrad degree, then also indicates that I did graduate work, when I did it, and at what school. In the grades portion for the grad degree, it says "see transcript." To be honest, I'm not sure the academic summary report actually indicates that I earned a graduate degree. BUT LSAC also sends copies of all your transcripts directly to schools, so they have that information and can see that I earned the grad degree and what my GPA for that was.

I think the idea is that the academic summary report, which addresses all the UG stuff, is what gets reported for ranking purposes and what schools can easily use to compare candidates against each other, which is why it's what "counts." But schools will also get all the relevant info about your grad programs/experience.

(If you google "credential assembly service," you get this:

The Credential Assembly Service simplifies your law school application process. With CAS, your transcripts, letters of recommendation, and any other documents required for each of your law school applications only need to be sent one time, to LSAC. All ABA-approved law school applications are available electronically through your CAS account as well, saving you time and effort. LSAC combines your documents with your LSAT score and forwards a full report to all the schools you apply to.

Somewhere else on the LSAC website it explains:

The Credential Assembly Service (CAS) creates your law school report by combining

an academic summary report;
LSAT score(s) and writing sample(s);
copies of all undergraduate, graduate, and law/professional school transcripts; and
copies of letters of recommendation, if applicable.

[cavalier1138]

The only grades that will included in determining your LSAC GPA are undergraduate courses taken before you received your first Bachelor's degree. But you still need to send in your other transcripts, and those will be "summarized" in the LSAC report that goes to law school admissions offices

Just how does LSAC "summarize" those grades in the report? And does that report say you did graduate work at University of X but did not receive a degree?

The grades aren't really addressed. But LSAC will indicate where you did graduate work and where you received a degree.

If I understand this correctly, *only* the undergrad transcript will be sent to each school you're applying to, and not the grad school transcripts. Instead, simply (a) the names of the grad schools and (b) whether or not a degree was received at said said schools. This is good and useful information to have, but I can't seem find anything on LSAC *confirming* this in such a specific way.

No. They send the transcript, but they don't do the kind of detailed analysis and "summarizing" you asked about in your post.

Any college or graduate-level transcript must be included in your application materials, even if you didn't receive a degree from that institution. That doesn't mean that LSAC is going to write up a summary like they do for your undergraduate grades, but they're still going to pass on the information from the transcript.

[Dipsychus]

Procedural question: nixy, you were able to edit your post: I didn't think that was possible! (To correct typos or add/subtract better or bad information: with the "Edited once at X time" at the bottom of the post of course.) I am in awe. Share your method, publicly (transparency would thereby be served) or by PM? Thanks!

D

[Dipsychus]

"Last edited by nixy on Sat Sep 07, 2019 8:30 pm, edited 1 time in total."

[cavalier1138]

Procedural question: nixy, you were able to edit your post: I didn't think that was possible! (To correct typos or add/subtract better or bad information: with the "Edited once at X time" at the bottom of the post of course.) I am in awe. Share your method, publicly (transparency would thereby be served) or by PM? Thanks!

D

You can edit a post for a short time after making it. I don't know what the limit is, but I think it's somewhere in the realm of 15 minutes. You'll see a button for it when you're viewing an eligible post in a thread.

[nixy]

Yeah, I don't know what the time limit is, but invariably I hit post, re-read what I wrote, and realize I made a typo or said something misleading, so edit very shortly after I first posted. I can't go back and edit that post now.

[Dipsychus]

So, I don't know if they do things differently now compared to when I applied, but my academic summary report from LSAC includes all the detailed information about my grades, hours, etc for my undergrad degree, then also indicates that I did graduate work, when I did it, and at what school. In the grades portion for the grad degree, it says "see transcript." To be honest, I'm not sure the academic summary report actually indicates that I earned a graduate degree. BUT LSAC also sends copies of all your transcripts directly to schools, so they have that information and can see that I earned the grad degree and what my GPA for that was.

Filling out the CAS "My Institutions Attended" section, and after the undergraduate institution, you're asked to name other institutions attended -- and in each case the kind of degree awarded AND the date when it was awarded are required (red *) fields! If the degree was not awarded, how can I fill out the date??

Edited to add: I see now that there are two options, one is for degree-granting institutions (from which you have or will be receiving a degree, another is for "other" institutions (which might grant graduate degrees but from you did not receive one).

[iar]

I'm going to assume the answer to this is "yes" -

But should international applicants also send transcripts from courses that are less than undergrad but more than high school?

I have what we call a "diploma" or "BTEC" that sort of fits right in between these two. I can't really compare it to any American qualifications. It's a nightmare to get hold of since the school no longer exists, but I'm trying anyway. I assume I should keep trying?

[cavalier1138]

I'm going to assume the answer to this is "yes" -

But should international applicants also send transcripts from courses that are less than undergrad but more than high school?

I have what we call a "diploma" or "BTEC" that sort of fits right in between these two. I can't really compare it to any American qualifications. It's a nightmare to get hold of since the school no longer exists, but I'm trying anyway. I assume I should keep trying?

I'd call/email LSAC on that one. They have to have encountered that before.