Graduate Grades Negative Impact? Forum

[LongLiveHiro]

Hi,

I graduate from a STEM undergraduate field this spring- most likely with a 3.87 GPA. During my undergraduate, I took 4 graduate courses. I can receive a graduate degree with an additional year/6 courses in graduate school. I would like to work during potential graduate enrollment, thus my graduate grades would likely be Bs and Cs.

Potential benefits of a graduate degree:
Increased salary while I prepare for the LSAT
Additional soft skill for law application
Low financial cost
Enjoy the faculty and campus

Will Bs and Cs during graduate school negatively impact my law school admissions (specifically T14)? If so, I will not pursue graduate school.

Thanks for the input.

[nixy]

Why do you think you’d get Bs or Cs? Or, why would you work so much that you couldn’t complete the work for the graduate degree? I’m a little confused.

The grades won’t officially count for anything - you UGPA is what matters - but having a graduate GPA that’s lower than normal for field could raise some concerns. For many (most?) graduate degrees, Bs and Cs would definitely be lower than normal. (I’m not certain here since you’re likely talking about STEM. In a lot of non-STEM grad fields, getting an A is sort of assumed and getting a B or C is like a sign that the program may not be right for you. But I have the impression some STEM fields are different.)

In any case, what benefit would the grad degree bring independent of law school applications? That should probably determine whether you do it or not. I wouldn’t do a grad degree in which you expect to get average to mediocre grades if the only reason is to have an amorphous soft for law school apps. If it’s a degree that would actually help you get a legal job (a STEM field that would help in getting IP jobs) then it’s a closer call.

[dvlthndr]

My sense is that the norm for STEM graduate degrees is a mix of A’s and B’s. If people want to get experience and make some money the usual approach is to work a normal engineering job and just do 1-2 classes per semester (many big shops will also have a benefit where they will cover tuition for some small number of classes).

Having random C’a on your transcript would be abnormal/damaging. I don’t know if it would be actively damaging to law school admissions... but it certainly isn’t going to help your much. A noticeably bad transcript would also be a red flag for people hiring at (1) engineering companies and (2) law firms that do hard IP.

[LongLiveHiro]

Thank you for the helpful replies! I most likely will not pursue a graduate degree.

I believe I will get Bs and Cs because I am not truly motivated to complete graduate school. I fine the field of law drastically more interesting and hopefully a much better fit for me. I was contemplating a graduate STEM degree, as a 'side-achievement' while I focus studying for the LSAT and working.

[Dsquar3d]

My graduate degree weighed down my undergrad GPA from a 3.97 to a 3.66. Assuming you’ll be in the same college, not worth the risk if you’re not confident you will maintain your GPA through grad school.

[cavalier1138]

My graduate degree weighed down my undergrad GPA from a 3.97 to a 3.66. Assuming you’ll be in the same college, not worth the risk if you’re not confident you will maintain your GPA through grad school.

That cannot happen unless you're in some program where you finish the graduate and undergraduate degrees at the same time (or at least complete a portion of your graduate coursework before getting your undergrad done). Once you get your first bachelor's degree, your LSAC GPA is set in stone.

[Dsquar3d]

Understand your point, but not separate schools nor separate transcripts in my case. Same school with single transcript provided a cumulative GPA between the programs. I didn’t want my graduate degree on my transcript considered, but what’s on the transcript is ultimately what admissions sees.

[nixy]

Have you had LSAC actually calculate your UGPA? If you took the graduate courses while you were still completing your BA, yes, they’ll count. If you completed your BA before you took the graduate courses, they won’t count. The OP is talking about potentially getting poor grades in classes that they will take towards a master’s after they graduate from their BA program; those grades won’t get calculated as part of their LSAC UGPA. The four grad classes they already took will count.

What’s on your transcript is what adcomms will see, because it’s there, but it’s not necessarily what LSAC calculates. Being in the same college doesn’t make a difference. If you did some kind of program where you graduated with a BA and MA (or MS) simultaneously, yeah, your grad work would probably count for your LSAC UGPA, but that’s not what the OP is talking about and also extremely unusual.

[CanadianWolf]

Without responding to your question, I would like to raise another issue: When will you have time to prepare for the LSAT if in grad school & working ?