GPA and test scores on resume? Forum

[Anonymous User]

About top 25% at T6, very high LSAT and SAT. career services recommended not putting any of these on the resume. I'm inclined to listen, but would like to get a second opinion before finalizing the resume. What do you guys do?

Note: anon because don't want to out my grades.

[oneforship]

No.

[A'nold]

This is a question that can only be asked if you are experiencing tunnel vision where you only see the world through your own lens.

What would you do if you received an application from somebody and he posted his SAT score on the resume? That would be insta-reject and the impression that you are socially impaired.

[Richie Tenenbaum]

This sounds like a great idea. Please do it. Do you have an ACT score to put on there as well?

[Anonymous User]

In your situation I wouldn't do it. Everyone at your school has a high LSAT so any benefit that can be gained by scoring a couple points higher than others will be offset by the perceived douchiness of writing it on your resume. And definitely forget about listing your SAT score..

However if you attend a lower ranked school and scored an lsat well above the 75th percentile i don't see anything wrong with doing this. For what it matters, I know several people from my top undergrad school that had high SATs and stated so on their resumes. They work for the Goldmans/JP Morgans of the world now.

[bgdddymtty]

This is a question that can only be asked if you are experiencing tunnel vision where you only see the world through your own lens.

I can't tell you how wrong you are about this. Only in law, and more specifically with law firms, is this the case. (For example, most federal legal jobs require you to furnish your LSAT score.) It is not OP who suffers from tunnel vision here.

What would you do if you received an application from somebody and he posted his SAT score on the resume? That would be insta-reject and the impression that you are socially impaired.

Nevertheless, this is apparently the way that people inside the law bubble tend to react to test scores. Thus, the implied advice is correct, even if the rationale behind it is severely flawed.

[bdubs]

DO NOT include your LSAT or other standardized test score. The Law School Admission Council has issued a statement declaring this inappropriate. Also, do not include college scholarships awarded based on high school performance on a standardized test.

http://www.law.duke.edu/career/pdf/2011careermanual.pdf

[Richie Tenenbaum]

This is a question that can only be asked if you are experiencing tunnel vision where you only see the world through your own lens.

I can't tell you how wrong you are about this. Only in law, and more specifically with law firms, is this the case. (For example, most federal legal jobs require you to furnish your LSAT score.) It is not OP who suffers from tunnel vision here.

What would you do if you received an application from somebody and he posted his SAT score on the resume? That would be insta-reject and the impression that you are socially impaired.

Nevertheless, this is apparently the way that people inside the law bubble tend to react to test scores. Thus, the implied advice is correct, even if the rationale behind it is severely flawed.

What federal job applications require you to provide your LSAT score? Honestly curious.

But even if there are some legal jobs that require this in your application, it doesn't change the fact that it is utterly douchetastic to include your LSAT score when it's not asked for (and SAT score is just ridiculous).

[HarveyBirdman]

To intersect, how do you guys feel about a current college student putting their GPA on their resume? I mean damn gotta have something good.

[random5483]

GPA is always fine on your resume. I list both my UG and LS GPAs on my resume (2L). Just don't list them if they suck.

[bgdddymtty]

What federal job applications require you to provide your LSAT score? Honestly curious.

At least military (JAG) and IRS Office of Chief Counsel.

But even if there are some legal jobs that require this in your application, it doesn't change the fact that it is utterly douchetastic to include your LSAT score when it's not asked for (and SAT score is just ridiculous).

While I agree that the SAT score is inappropriate simply because it's stale, I must reiterate that this idea that promoting oneself using standardized test scores demonstrates a lack of social intelligence is absolutely unique to the legal profession. My b-school CSO told me I'd be a fool not to include my GMAT on my resume; many if not most of my interviews began with the interviewer remarking about how impressive my score was. Likewise, many top-flight employers such as i-banks, consulting firms, trading firms, etc., begin with the test scores and move on from there. For whatever reason, the legal profession has decided that it's appropriate to have a test score determine 70-80% of an applicant's chances at law school, but then somehow it turns into Fight Club once you get in the door. That's fine, I suppose, but folks here ought to realize that the rest of the world doesn't play by the same rules.

[Grizz]

If you were applying for ibanking or consulting, probably yes.

Not for law though.

[A'nold]

What federal job applications require you to provide your LSAT score? Honestly curious.

At least military (JAG) and IRS Office of Chief Counsel.

But even if there are some legal jobs that require this in your application, it doesn't change the fact that it is utterly douchetastic to include your LSAT score when it's not asked for (and SAT score is just ridiculous).

While I agree that the SAT score is inappropriate simply because it's stale, I must reiterate that this idea that promoting oneself using standardized test scores demonstrates a lack of social intelligence is absolutely unique to the legal profession. My b-school CSO told me I'd be a fool not to include my GMAT on my resume; many if not most of my interviews began with the interviewer remarking about how impressive my score was. Likewise, many top-flight employers such as i-banks, consulting firms, trading firms, etc., begin with the test scores and move on from there. For whatever reason, the legal profession has decided that it's appropriate to have a test score determine 70-80% of an applicant's chances at law school, but then somehow it turns into Fight Club once you get in the door. That's fine, I suppose, but folks here ought to realize that the rest of the world doesn't play by the same rules.

Dude, way to set up a nice straw man there. Are we talking about non-legal jobs here? If so, dang, I completely misread the entire op........

And once more: lol at the idea of putting SAT scores on a law student's resume.

[sundance95]

This sounds like a great idea. Please do it. Do you have an ACT score to put on there as well?

You forgot the PSAT. You were a National Merit Scholar Finalist! If you don't tell them that, how will they know?

[MrPapagiorgio]

AP scores too.

[fanmingrui]

AP scores too.

What about the 6th grade science fair?

[lawgod]

Lawgod say: Excellent.

[A'nold]

AP scores too.

What about the 6th grade science fair?

Like the only thing I ever put any effort into in all of my k-12 life.

My cousin and I (with the help of his dad) created a tent with a black tarp where we placed a couple of strobe lights, made it pitch black, and had everyone throw sponges at each other. We got a good grade on it, lol.

[sundance95]

(with the help of his dad) created a tent with a black tarp where we placed a couple of strobe lights, made it pitch black, and had everyone throw sponges at each other. We got a good grade on it, lol.

Was it an epilepsy experiment?

[fanmingrui]

AP scores too.

What about the 6th grade science fair?

Like the only thing I ever put any effort into in all of my k-12 life.

My cousin and I (with the help of his dad) created a tent with a black tarp where we placed a couple of strobe lights, made it pitch black, and had everyone throw sponges at each other. We got a good grade on it, lol.

That alone is probably worth a callback at Wachtell.

[A'nold]

AP scores too.

What about the 6th grade science fair?

Like the only thing I ever put any effort into in all of my k-12 life.

My cousin and I (with the help of his dad) created a tent with a black tarp where we placed a couple of strobe lights, made it pitch black, and had everyone throw sponges at each other. We got a good grade on it, lol.

That alone is probably worth a callback at Wachtell.

I knew I'd been going about this the wrong way.....is it too late to update my resume with the v10's?

[3ThrowAway99]

Wow.. Surprised to hear that a law school career services office recommended this (re: LSAT and SAT). That sounds odd to me, and I am somewhat wondering if this is a troll.

Re: the LSAT, I actually thought there was an LSAC policy that is part of signing up for the LSAT where the test-taker agrees that the score is only to be used for law school admissions purposes and not for job or other purposes, though I'm not sure about that and I'm not sure how it could be enforced if so.

[fanmingrui]

Wow.. Surprised to hear that a law school career services office recommended this (re: LSAT and SAT). That sounds odd to me, and I am somewhat wondering if this is a troll.

Re: the LSAT, I actually thought there was an LSAC policy that is part of signing up for the LSAT where the test-taker agrees that the score is only to be used for law school admissions purposes and not for job or other purposes, though I'm not sure about that and I'm not sure how it could be enforced if so.

RC fail.

[dixiecupdrinking]

As a general rule, I think it's gauche and braggy to put a standardized test score on your resume. Nobody is going to give you a cookie for doing well on a test; they exist for school admissions and school admissions alone. Maybe there are exceptions I don't know about for specialized industries (consulting, whatever) but generally speaking, not just in law but in most industries, I think it will turn off way more people than it will impress.

If you did well on the LSAT, it's reflected in what school you attend and, maybe, what scholarship you're on (which you should put on your resume). The average T6 student probably has an LSAT score in the 98th or 99th percentile anyway, so I'm not really sure why you think it would make you stand out. As for SAT, I think it's generally a poor idea to be leaning on achievements from when you were 17, even putting aside the question of whether test scores on resumes in general are okay.

[fanmingrui]

Wow.. Surprised to hear that a law school career services office recommended this (re: LSAT and SAT). That sounds odd to me, and I am somewhat wondering if this is a troll.

Re: the LSAT, I actually thought there was an LSAC policy that is part of signing up for the LSAT where the test-taker agrees that the score is only to be used for law school admissions purposes and not for job or other purposes, though I'm not sure about that and I'm not sure how it could be enforced if so.

RC fail.

Wow. I've become an arrogant TLS douchebag. My apologies.