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Hi everyone.

I'm new here and I wanted to know how foreign applicants' grades and personal situations are , generally speaking, taken into account by law schools in the US.

I'm french and therefore currently studying in french universities. Over here, we do not have a gpa-like grade system but a range of marks on a 0-20 scale (0 being the lowest score and 20 the highest). Therefore, one might says that, for instance, 12/20 could be the equivalent of a 60% average grade, and then something like a 2.4 gpa.
However, if getting 60% in the US is kind of bad results, in France, on the contrary, 12/20 is already good job, when 14/20 and above is something merely unreachable (especially in law).

This is why I've been really worrying about the way I will be evaluated by law school committees since I decided to take the LSAT and apply to several law schools in the US (wish I could attend NYU or UT, even though they appear to be hardly accessible to me...)
Majoring next year in chinese studies, japanese studies, and in french/american-english law (double bachelor), and my average grade being 12/20 in each of those degrees, do you think that, considering those elements (majoring 4 degrees in a foreign country at the age of 21 with this average grade), I do or do not stand a chance to be admitted to a good US law school if I manage to get a high score (let's say above 165-170) at the LSAT exam next June ?

I've read so many articles and so many different comments on forums about studying law in the US, that I must say I'm quite lost now and don't really know what to think ... ^^

Sorry for bothering you all, but some froggy madly needs your help at the moment ...

noctali7 wrote:Hi everyone.

I'm new here and I wanted to know how foreign applicants' grades and personal situations are , generally speaking, taken into account by law schools in the US.

I'm french and therefore currently studying in french universities. Over here, we do not have a gpa-like grade system but a range of marks on a 0-20 scale (0 being the lowest score and 20 the highest). Therefore, one might says that, for instance, 12/20 could be the equivalent of a 60% average grade, and then something like a 2.4 gpa.
However, if getting 60% in the US is kind of bad results, in France, on the contrary, 12/20 is already good job, when 14/20 and above is something merely unreachable (especially in law).

This is why I've been really worrying about the way I will be evaluated by law school committees since I decided to take the LSAT and apply to several law schools in the US (wish I could attend NYU or UT, even though they appear to be hardly accessible to me...)
Majoring next year in chinese studies, japanese studies, and in french/american-english law (double bachelor), and my average grade being 12/20 in each of those degrees, do you think that, considering those elements (majoring 4 degrees in a foreign country at the age of 21 with this average grade), I do or do not stand a chance to be admitted to a good US law school if I manage to get a high score (let's say above 165-170) at the LSAT exam next June ?

I've read so many articles and so many different comments on forums about studying law in the US, that I must say I'm quite lost now and don't really know what to think ... ^^

Sorry for bothering you all, but some froggy madly needs your help at the moment ...

Just tell the academics office to provide a GPA that you think is appropriate on a 4.0 scale when they send their results. My friend from Scotland had the same difficulty, so he just talked to the Transcripts office, and convinced them to give him a 3.7.

I'm have the same trouble now, having grown up in the US and now being immersed in the European grading system. I freaked out when I got a 70 and demanded to see the Professor, not realizing that was a first and what everything means here.

1) Your foreign GPA will be given a ranking from the following: Superior, Above Average, Average, and Below Average, by LSAC when you submit your transcripts to be processed. I'm not sure how french grades are processed, for UK ones generally a first means a Superior, 2:1 = Above average, etc. Your foreign GPA will not be given a numerical U.S. GPA equivalent.

2) Your LSAT score will be even more important for you, since you will not have a solid U.S. GPA for law schools to weigh. The rule of thumb for foreign applicants is to decide on reaches, targets etc. according to the median LSAT of that school - if your LSAT is at or higher than the median LSAT of that particular school, you have a solid chance at getting in.