Two Solid Years - or 69 Credits - of Straight A's... Forum

[North]

...have brought my GPA up to a 3.35. No, I didn't show up to my entire freshman year. Mine is an upward grade trend like nobody's business. Will my recently renewed interest in overachieving hold any positive sway with Admissions Committees? My forum search revealed that the consensus is that that final LSAC GPA is the only thing they'll give any thought to, and that makes me sad. But, really, this is two years of nothing but 4.0. Is there no chance they'll go "my, the tyke had it in him all along: he will certainly bring perspective to our college."

Note: I'll be taking a year off to work before applying early during the next cycle.

[cinephile]

Time off will definitely help provide some distance from your LSAC GPA. And, of course, an upward grade trade is better than someone with the same GPA who got a 3.2 throughout college. And, honestly, a 3.2 isn't that bad. As long as your 3.0 or above and have a high LSAT score, you have good options.

[Sandro]

.

[tea_drinker]

...have brought my GPA up to a 3.21. No, I didn't show up to my entire freshman year. Mine is an upward grade trend like nobody's business. Will my recently renewed interest in overachieving hold any positive sway with Admissions Committees? My forum search revealed that the consensus is that that final LSAC GPA is the only thing they'll give any thought to, and that makes me sad. But, really, this is two years of nothing but 4.0. Is there no chance they'll go "my, the tyke had it in him all along: he will certainly bring perspective to our college."

Note: I'll be taking a year off to work before applying early during the next cycle.

First, imagine if you don't have those two years of 4.0, your GPA will not be as high as of now. Don't regret.

Second, You will have an advantage over someone with the same GPA but with no upward grade trend.

Third, you can use those two years of 4.0 as life-changing moments in your personal statement.

Finally, study hard on lsat, get 170+, ED to UVA or Northwestern.

[FeelTheHeat]

Any school in the top 100 will likely have a 25% gpa above yours. So any school willing to admit you will do so not because of your GPA, but because of your LSAT. IMO I dont think schools see a major difference in a 3.0 vs a 3.2. It will be a nice sign of your upward trend but a school will have to decide first whether they are willing to eat your GPA. Some schools are more prone than others.

And yes, standard TLS advice applies here, retake, 170, ED UV or NW.

[BrianGriffintheDog]

How'd you manage to get straight A's (4.0s)? I mean I've gotten straight 3.7s but never 4.0s. Any advice?

[gothamm]

How'd you manage to get straight A's (4.0s)? I mean I've gotten straight 3.7s but never 4.0s. Any advice?

sack-up

[Justathought]

How'd you manage to get straight A's (4.0s)? I mean I've gotten straight 3.7s but never 4.0s. Any advice?

I earned 39 credits at 4.0 to finish my UG. Honestly it was pretty easy: I went to every class, paid attention, contributed frequently, finished work well before it was due, and read what was assigned. Never crammed or anything like that; in fact I don't think I stayed up past 10:30pm for anything school related.

Law school will be different.

[paulinaporizkova]

How'd you manage to get straight A's (4.0s)? I mean I've gotten straight 3.7s but never 4.0s. Any advice?

sack-up

study more

/advice

[Marionberry]

Some schools might care, but most won't. This was my experience, at least, and I had a similar grade trend, with a compelling explanation for the lackluster first two years. Most schools will only look at the bottom line.

[dr123]

How'd you manage to get straight A's (4.0s)? I mean I've gotten straight 3.7s but never 4.0s. Any advice?

sack-up

study more

/advice

or take easy classes

[quetzal_bird]

i've had a 4.0 the past 5 semesters. its really just about good organization. I try to do assignments a week ahead of the due date

[paulinaporizkova]

How'd you manage to get straight A's (4.0s)? I mean I've gotten straight 3.7s but never 4.0s. Any advice?

sack-up

study more

/advice

or take easy classes

yes, or less credits.

[unc0mm0n1]

I would graduate or just take a lot more classes to boost that GPA up. If you took 30 more hours at a b.s. Community college and got straight A's your GPA would around 3.6-3.7. If you get 170+ with that GPA you're looking at maybe T6.

[JamMasterJ]

It will have more weight in determining whether you get in than affecting scholarship offers. If you're on the fence between WL and Admit it could boost you to Admit but scholarship offers will have much more to do with overall numbers so don't expect any help there.

[23402385985]

How'd you manage to get straight A's (4.0s)? I mean I've gotten straight 3.7s but never 4.0s. Any advice?

sack-up

study more

/advice

or take easy classes

Become friends with all your professors and go to office hours.

[aspire2more]

4.0 GPAs are practically non-existent at the undergrad I attended. It really depends on the school.

As far as whether or not you'll be at a disadvantage, the answer is yes. Will it necessarily keep you from attending a great school? Definitely not.

You'll need to come up with a good addendum to explain the upward grade trend that doesn't make excuses or whine. Taking time off to work is an excellent idea. Take some time to show them that you've increased your focus and maturity level.

You'll also want to achieve splitter status. You cannot really go back and redo college and master's degree GPAs are barely relevant. The best thing to do to make yourself attractive is to get a great LSAT score. Splitter-friendly schools will look favorably on your application, barring no other problems with it (i.e. criminal convictions, terrible personal statement, etc.).

I personally do not think you need to apply ED anywhere depending on your LSAT score, but it's always an option as long as $$$ is not an issue for you.

[09042014]

If you actually never showed for the first year, try to get a retroactive withdraw.

[ihp12]

Any school in the top 100 will likely have a 25% gpa above yours. So any school willing to admit you will do so not because of your GPA, but because of your LSAT. IMO I dont think schools see a major difference in a 3.0 vs a 3.2. It will be a nice sign of your upward trend but a school will have to decide first whether they are willing to eat your GPA. Some schools are more prone than others.

+1. I have been in exactly the same situation as the OP for this cycle and haven't seen much of a bump from my upward grade trend (mine was also 4.0 for the last two years). IMO, I think alot of schools will realize that you're probably not a 3.2 student, but don't want to take the hit in rankings, especially if its a small school (one bad gpa can pull down their numbers).

I don't think the trend will be meaningless, but you won't be on even ground with someone in the 3.4 - 4.0 range.

[FiveSermon]

No

[Sandro]

.

[bartleby]

I did this. sub-1.5 to 3.3. I don't think schools cared. I'm having a pretty good cycle though, given all my other crap (multiple LSATs, C&F).

[bigvinny]

Top 30 is your best bet, well really your only bet. You have 0 shot at T14.

[top30man]

Top 30 is your best bet, well really your only bet. You have 0 shot at T14.

This is bad advice. There are multiple t14s that would take OP with a good LSAT.

[North]

Wow, I think this was my first post. Thank you, random necroing dude.

This is bad advice. There are multiple t14s that would take OP with a good LSAT.

Been working on achieving that since I posted this.

Still looking for opinions, I guess.




ETA: Oh, it was Big V.