Concerns About Lower Grades Post Transfer Forum

[Maybeohmaybe]

Hello!

I attended a few community colleges for several years as a part-time student and accumulated about 120 units. I earned a 4.0 while there. Not all of my classes transferred; I wasn’t sure where to transfer to and switched majors a couple times. When I eventually transferred, I earned a 3.65 at my degree school and took about 65 units. When I transferred, I began attending full-time. My academic summary shows that my degree gpa is a 3.65 and my cumulative gpa is a 3.90.

1) Do you think I should address the dip in grades post transfer?
2) Do you believe schools will still treat me like a 3.9 candidate despite the lower post-transfer grades and most of my classes coming from CC?
3) Do you think I should be very concerned or is this a non-issue?

I’d appreciate your honest advice.

Thank you.

[cavalier1138]

You posted a variation on this question already, and the answer hasn't changed: Your LSAC GPA is all that matters.

[nixy]

Schools use your cumulative GPA, and they don't have to report "it was from a CC" or "there was a downward trend" on the rankings, so it won't matter how you got that GPA. If there was a vast difference, like you'd come close to flunking out at your degree school, adcomms might be concerned about whether you're capable of succeeding in law school, but the difference between a 3.9 and a 3.65 isn't really significant (for the purpose of assessing your ability; obviously the difference is significant for admissions, but not for your competence).

If there was some *significant* factor *outside your control* that affected your grades at the degree school - like you or a loved one was battling a serious illness, you were homeless, something at that level - you could possibly consider writing a very brief addendum. If you just did a little worse at the degree school for very ordinary reasons - it just had higher grading standards, or you had a hard time adjusting to the change, or you changed the topics you were studying, or you had a longer commute - then absolutely do not write about it; you will look defensive and like you're making excuses, and will be making a much bigger deal out of it than it merits. You certainly don't want to say/suggest anything like "attending full-time was more work than attending part-time" because law school will be full-time.

This is a non-issue, and to the extent any of it matters, you can't do a darn thing about it, so there's no point in worrying.