what would my chances be to have negative grades changed Forum

[marievanpelt]

I will be applying to law school early this Fall. As I have stated in another recent posts, my gpa is around a 2.58 (abysmal I know) and I took the June LSAT and scored a 169. The reason for the low gpa was because I suffered a stroke in undergrad. I am not excusing the lower grades, I am just simply stating that my illness made it difficult for me to achieve my potential for a while until I learned how to deal with it and function the very best that I could.

Yes, a 169 is non quite excellent, but certainly not unpromising and I know in some circumstances could somewhat offset the 2.58 gpa, especially in a school possibly ranked 35-50. I am planning on taking the LSAT again and aiming for the 170 mark, which I feel is not unreasonable given the amount of time and effort I have put into my LSAT preperation.

That said, my gpa is clearly not anything to write home about (2.58), so its in my best interest to do whatever I can to raise it as high as possible. One option that I have is:

My school has something called, "Petition to registration procedures and retroactive withdrawal" where you can submit a request for a grade/grades to turn into withdrawals and it goes to a committee for review. Before that can occur, the student must submit a written statement stating what transpired during that period that they wish to retroactively withdrawal, along with any verifiable documentation and paperwork, and if possible, letters of support from faculty members.

Before the 'petition to registration procedures' was implemented in 2009, a student could initiate the request with the University Dean to petition for late withdrawals. I did this once in 2009, and the dean approved.

I suffered my stroke in 2010, which resulted in 2 semesters of negative grades and I barely attended class that semester from being ill, and I was thinking about petitioning for late withdrawals that semester, which a receptionist at my school, told me that I was eligible and certainly could do.

Given my circumstances, the fact that each of the faculty members already told me they would be happy to send letters of support (which isnt required), and I have verifiable documentation, DO you think I stand a fair chance of getting these grades changed to W's?

Clearly this will bump my gpa from 2.58 to 3.3, which clearly makes a drastic difference, especially in the minds of Law School Admission committees since I already have a 169 LSAT score.

Again, what do you think my chances are? fair? good? poor? in getting these changed?

[BerkeleyBear]

You've got a very good chance. Good luck OP!

[cgw]

Without knowing the school and having knowledge of its history in this area, I think it difficult for anyone to offer any meaningful insight here. You're better off asking around your UG. That said, even if the chance was 1%, I don't really see how you have a choice. Obviously, you have to try.

[kalvano]

You're better off asking around your UG.

Or just starting another 17 threads on here about the same topic in the hopes that the answer will change somewhere,

[Ti Malice]

Yes, you should definitely give it a shot. No one here can tell you how your particular university is likely to rule on your petition. Just make your strongest possible case (including the professor letters) and see what happens.