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First, a question regarding transcripts and how they are read:
I am Canadian, and our scaling and percentage scores differ from yours (i.e. A+ is a 90+, A is 85-89). According to this grading scale, I would have a 4.14 GPA. My transcript includes both letter grades and percentages. If a transcript includes both letter grades and percentages, which one will they use in the calculation of my GPA? I am hoping it would be the letter grades, because my LSDAS GPA would be very low otherwise.

I am not an expert on LSAT scores and how they match with GPAs, but I am assuming that if my GPA is 4.14 then I would be able to afford having a slightly lower LSAT than a person with a 3.95 or maybe even 4.0.

What LSAT score should I be aiming for to lock myself in to the T6?

Thanks

179+

if you are smart enough to get a 4.14 gpa, use that brain of yours to look up their 25th and 75th percentiles and make an educated guess because that is what the rest of us will be doing.

i did that just now and the answer is 171 - 172 for a moderate chance, 173 - 174 for a strong chance, and a 175+ for a lock

187

Play around with the graphs on lawschoolnumbers.com

3.95/4.0 vs. 4.14 won't make a big difference, I think, because so many ugrads don't give A+'s. You're in good shape GPA-wise so just focus on getting the highest score you can at this point. Shoot for that 180, there is no reason not to.

I never understand these questions. Your goal should be to do as well as you possibly can. If you find out that the number you need is 171 and you're capable of getting 175, what are you going to do? Miss a couple questions on purpose?

nixxers wrote:Play around with the graphs on lawschoolnumbers.com

3.95/4.0 vs. 4.14 won't make a big difference, I think, because so many ugrads don't give A+'s. You're in good shape GPA-wise so just focus on getting the highest score you can at this point. Shoot for that 180, there is no reason not to.

Yeah just look at the window where it is mostly green, but those T3 windows are damn small

Reason: slightly lowers the pressure I guess, even though it is really just a false sense of security, I guess.

And yeah you guys are right, I just had to look at the graphs on Law School Numbers. For HYS there doesn't seem to be any way to necessarily lock yourself.

Although it has been insinuated, do they look at your letter grades or percentages? Just to be sure.

well they do ask for a copy of your transcript for a reason.....i imagine they have a basic understanding of the canadian system and likely the relative difficulty of courses you took if you came from a well-known institution.

not that i'm either an admissions dean or canadian.....

bd1131 wrote:Reason: slightly lowers the pressure I guess, even though it is really just a false sense of security, I guess.

And yeah you guys are right, I just had to look at the graphs on Law School Numbers. For HYS there doesn't seem to be any way to necessarily lock yourself.

Although it has been insinuated, do they look at your letter grades or percentages? Just to be sure.

http://www.lsac.org/AboutLSAC/faqs-and- ... -different

Doesn't really clear it up there, so you could be looking at either...

My suggestion is to wait until you get your LSDAS GPA from the LSAC. When I gave them my McMaster transcript it really dropped from what I thought. It seems like they consider 90 and above an A, 80-90 a B, etc in the American style, which can really drop your grade. It may be different with other schools (I dont know which university you went to) but I wouldnt count all your eggs yet. Unfortunately you will have to accept what they decide and just deal with it.

iShotFirst wrote:My suggestion is to wait until you get your LSDAS GPA from the LSAC. When I gave them my McMaster transcript it really dropped from what I thought. It seems like they consider 90 and above an A, 80-90 a B, etc in the American style, which can really drop your grade. It may be different with other schools (I dont know which university you went to) but I wouldnt count all your eggs yet. Unfortunately you will have to accept what they decide and just deal with it.

Did your school's transcript include both % and letter grades?

Just number grades which is likely different from your system. Mac rates on a 12pt system so its a pretty weird translation. Not much help maybe, but just want you to be aware it might be different than you think. Hopefully not tho!

If anyone knows whether GPA is calculated by % or letter grades, please let me know. Thanks.

id call LSAC or something to figure out how they'd do your LSDAS GPA...that is what law schools will look at

now you said your transcript has both the % and the letter grade...so im not sure which LSAC will choose to use, but i could see it affecting your chances lol

IF your LSDAS GPA ends up being a 4.14, id go w/ 175+ for lock at HYS (one of the 3, prob H)

that being said, my gut says LSAC will not give you 4.33 for your A+'s but will go w/ the #% grade on your transcript

their site says they use whats on the transcript...you have both, thus my uncertainty/ignorance

I hate to say it...but you should anticipate a drop.

--LinkRemoved--

According to this website, those 85-89 that are A's right now, will be calculated as B/B+....Some of those A+'s that are a 90, expect an A- in return.

Good luck. I wish you the best on the LSAT!

<3

has everyone answered your question enough that we can degenerate this thread into canadian jokes yet?

Well, even though that last link was inconclusive, go ahead to Canadian jokes.
Canada is a joke, why do you think I am leaving to the States?

ahhh wonderful. i expect you to make more jokes than your american peers during your time here........otherwise we'll deport you

Speaking from *some* experience (at least with this cycle) - with that GPA, a 173 didn't cut it

So I'd say at LEAST 174, 175+ (maybe 176+) if you want to be comfortable

Don't believe that past results will completely predict future results, I believe that getting in is going to continue to be more difficult

Kilpatrick wrote:I never understand these questions. Your goal should be to do as well as you possibly can. If you find out that the number you need is 171 and you're capable of getting 175, what are you going to do? Miss a couple questions on purpose?

Maybe because trying to raise your average from 171 to 175 requires like another 4 months of study time for most people...

Here's my question - what grades do most people get in this Canadian scale?

Is the 91 that is an A+ like getting a 91 on a very difficult science exam in which no one is expected to be capable of answering all of the questions?