Adjusted GPA Forum

[mjsjr]

When browsing the "what are my chances" threads, I often come across statements like "yeah, but his 4.0 is really more like a 3.8." My question is this: is there a literal process where schools adjust your GPA based on some sort of scale, or is the above statement more of a figurative saying based on the idea that GPAs are interpreted differently based on a number of factors, such as the caliber of the school that was attended?

Thanks

[Band A Long]

I have read in some admissions dean interviews, etc. that in some cases committees are willing to "bump up" a GPA if the workload in the major is especially challenging or there are extenuating circumstances. For example — if you got an electrical engineering degree at MIT vs. underwater basketweaving at Shitsville U. That said, however, these are only tiny, tiny boosts in an application that is overwhelmingly concerned with the raw numbers, especially because when schools report their admit data to USNWR they cannot edit up the fella from MIT's GPA. I don't believe it is unreasonable to assume that such weighing can in some cases be more likely at the most selective law schools because they have an overwhelmingly talented applicant pool and would not have any difficulty admitting someone with a 3.9 to balance out a lower engineering student's GPA and keep their medians high. Likewise, it's been mentioned quite a few times that the caliber of the school is only the most minor of details and may have a tiny impact if you went to Harvard, Princeton, Yale, etc.

[bernaldiaz]

When browsing the "what are my chances" threads, I often come across statements like "yeah, but his 4.0 is really more like a 3.8." My question is this: is there a literal process where schools adjust your GPA based on some sort of scale, or is the above statement more of a figurative saying based on the idea that GPAs are interpreted differently based on a number of factors, such as the caliber of the school that was attended?

Thanks

If you retook a class at your school where you received a failing grade, and the school took the failing grade out of your GPA after the retake, the LSAC keeps that F factored into your GPA. Also, for schools that make an A- 3.7, LSAC makes it 3.67. Also, people who took classes at community colleges and didn't do well, those classes get added into the LSAC GPA. That's about the extent of it.

[mjsjr]

Okay, great! That basically sums up what I needed to know.

[Band A Long]

Okay, great! That basically sums up what I needed to know.

[Aberzombie1892]

A lot of schools used to scale up gpas from "prestigious" schools and scale down gpas from other schools. However, the rise of the rankings, along with transparency concerning the egregious gpa inflation at prestigious schools slowly ended that.

[phillykid]

When browsing the "what are my chances" threads, I often come across statements like "yeah, but his 4.0 is really more like a 3.8." My question is this: is there a literal process where schools adjust your GPA based on some sort of scale, or is the above statement more of a figurative saying based on the idea that GPAs are interpreted differently based on a number of factors, such as the caliber of the school that was attended?

Thanks

If you retook a class at your school where you received a failing grade, and the school took the failing grade out of your GPA after the retake, the LSAC keeps that F factored into your GPA. Also, for schools that make an A- 3.7, LSAC makes it 3.67. Also, people who took classes at community colleges and didn't do well, those classes get added into the LSAC GPA. That's about the extent of it.

Do they make the 3.3's 3.33's?

[BruceDenton]

When browsing the "what are my chances" threads, I often come across statements like "yeah, but his 4.0 is really more like a 3.8." My question is this: is there a literal process where schools adjust your GPA based on some sort of scale, or is the above statement more of a figurative saying based on the idea that GPAs are interpreted differently based on a number of factors, such as the caliber of the school that was attended?

Thanks

If you retook a class at your school where you received a failing grade, and the school took the failing grade out of your GPA after the retake, the LSAC keeps that F factored into your GPA. Also, for schools that make an A- 3.7, LSAC makes it 3.67. Also, people who took classes at community colleges and didn't do well, those classes get added into the LSAC GPA. That's about the extent of it.

Do they make the 3.3's 3.33's?

Yes, a B+ is a 3.33 from LSAC, while a 3.3 at many undergrads.