Overlooking a semester of grades Forum

[nadurakmm]

I'm in the process of applying for law during a post-bachelor gap year as an immigration legal assistant. My degree is interdisciplinary between poli sci, human rights, and religious studies. My cummulative gpa isn't the best (3.38) because I did really poorly my first semester of college (2.11), but improved dramatically over the course of the remaining 7 semesters. My gpa excluding that first semester is a 3.6 and I made the dean's list (honor roll) in my last semester. I have a couple questions as a result which are: Are Law Schools going to to see that 3.38, and just turn their noses up at my application? Do you think they'll see what my gpa is without that semester, or is that something I should highlight somewhere? and, should I be applying to schools based on who accepts 3.38 or who accepts 3.6? I ask the last one because I want to pick a couple of "reach" schools that are theoretically achievable rather than a waste of an application fee. Thank you so much for answering literally any other these questions!

[dvlthndr]

Law schools will definitely see the 3.38, and it will definitely work against you. You can write an addendum to try to explain your low grade, but the impact will be marginal. No law school is going to put on blinders and just treat you like a 3.6. It sucks, but you should have realistic expectations.

Unless you have something special going for you (e.g., URM), your best bet is doing phenomenally well on the LSAT and hoping it is a good cycle for splitters.

[nixy]

Agree with the above. They will see your upward trajectory, and on the margins it’s better than a downward trajectory - it means they should have less concern about your ability to handle the workload. But I don’t think you need to discuss it (it’s very common to do badly first semester and then improve so schools don’t need an explanation), and, unfortunately, the overall GPA is what schools report for ranking purposes. That’s why it matters more. So while you might edge out someone else with a 3.38 who has no high grades to show, you won’t be treated like a 3.6.

[Wubbles]

Conveniently enough, there are a number of great schools who will accept people with 3.38 and a number of good schools who will throw money at someone with a 3.38. You just have to have a good LSAT score, which you can still control. I'm not sure what your LSAT currently is, but if you get a 167+ a lot of doors will be open.

[Stratus_Counseling]

Agree with the above. Your cumulative GPA is a 3.38, which is what the schools will need to report for ranking purposes (so that is your GPA "value" to them), however, a transcript that shows a strong upward grade trend with consistently high marks following this low semester GPA is a positive factor. I actually think you should include a brief addendum to your application that just provides a bit of mature explanation for that one semester and a discussion about how the following semesters (which together represent a 3.6) better reflect your academic abilities. Keep it short. This won't show the Adcoms anything that they will not have already deciphered from your transcript, but it will at least show them that you are thoughtful enought to process that experience and learn from it and that you care enough about going to law school that you are willing to take the time to offer an explanation. These things will certainly help your admissions chances, but the fact remains that your cumulative GPA is a 3.38.

In your case (and in anyone's case that has a lower GPA), the LSAT is really really important. If you get a 180, you are competitive at all schools, a 170+ you are competitive at nearly all schools including some T14. Even if your LSAT score is not top notch, you can still get into some decent schools. I'm not sure what your LSAT score is, so it is difficult to discuss this in detail. As with all applicants, you absolutely should include some reach schools in your strategy - you never know if your application will resonate strongly with a school that may be just slightly out of your target group. Good luck to you!