A .9 and a 3.5 Forum

[prematurecatlady]

The first time through undergrad, I was under severe mental duress (un-medicated bipolar disorder, manic and depressive episodes) and I got a .9 and was asked to withdraw (120 credits, no classes dropped, just failed). Now, after 8 years working as a professional in property management, and returning for an undergrad degree at St. John's College, I have a 3.5 and a good chance at a 170+ on the LSAT. What schools would take into consideration this information about my first time through undergrad? Into which tier could I hope for admission?

Any advice or personal experience is much appreciated.

[rinkrat19]

Put all the grades in the calculator and figure out what your overal LSAC GPA would be.
http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com/wp-co ... ulator.htm

ETA: Is that 3.5 your overall cumulative or just the GPA after you returned to school?

[20130312]

I see many comments of "Northwestern" or "ED UVA" in your future.

[TripTrip]

Northwestern

[Tiago Splitter]

I see many comments of "Northwestern" or "ED UVA" in your future.

With 120 credits at a .9, this could get ugly. Would Northwestern take a sub-2.0?

OP how many credits did you earn at St. John's?

[bernaldiaz]

I see many comments of "Northwestern" or "ED UVA" in your future.

With 120 credits at a .9, this could get ugly. Would Northwestern take a sub-2.0?

OP how many credits did you earn at St. John's?

How on earth do you get 120 credits (which is like a full degree) at a .9 without having failed out

[suralin]

I see many comments of "Northwestern" or "ED UVA" in your future.

With 120 credits at a .9, this could get ugly. Would Northwestern take a sub-2.0?

OP how many credits did you earn at St. John's?

How on earth do you get 120 credits (which is like a full degree) at a .9 without having failed out

This.

[PRgradBYU]

OP how many credits did you earn at St. John's?

[prematurecatlady]

Parents were paying and I was making excuses. They didn't kick me out until the end. I should have 120 credits at St. John's, but because of the curriculum, 5 of those are pass/fail and won't matter, and it's a rather unconventional education. (Classics).

Do Northwestern and UVA have a history of looking kindly on gpa addendums?

[rinkrat19]

Parents were paying and I was making excuses. They didn't kick me out until the end. I should have 120 credits at St. John's, but because of the curriculum, 5 of those are pass/fail and won't matter, and it's a rather unconventional education. (Classics).

Do Northwestern and UVA have a history of looking kindly on gpa addendums?

They are known to accept splitters (high LSAT/low GPA). I've never heard of anyone below like a 2.3 or something.

Have you calculated your overall GPA yet?

[dowu]

Just tell us what your overall gpa is (all classes taken). We will tell you what you need to hear.

[TripTrip]

Just tell us what your overall gpa is

Yeah, that will be important. If it was exactly 120 credits at both institutions, you could be be sitting on a 2.2. But if there were P/F like you're saying for the latter, that could drop to under 2.0.

The shock of seeing GPA: 1.90 might be enough to make an adcomm faint.

[albanach]

The shock of seeing GPA: 1.90 might be enough to make an adcomm faint.

I don't think it's going to be that big a deal as long as the school is splitter friendly, the LSAT score is good and there's a decent addenda. It might help to chat to admissions officers before hand so they know to expect your application.

The scores they report are medians and percentiles. Admitting a 1.2/173 isn't going to change their reported scores and more than admitting a 3.0/173 would.

I think the good temporal gap and the solid performance this time round should stand in your favor. It's still likely that you're be asked to pay sticker at any T14 which bites though.

[TripTrip]

Admitting a 1.2/173 isn't going to change their reported scores and more than admitting a 3.0/173 would.

That's statistically true but in practice it doesn't happen that way. Sub-3s are enough of a rare bunch in the T14. I've never even heard of a sub-2 that I had any reason to believe wasn't a fake.

[albanach]

Admitting a 1.2/173 isn't going to change their reported scores and more than admitting a 3.0/173 would.

That's statistically true but in practice it doesn't happen that way. Sub-3s are enough of a rare bunch in the T14. I've never even heard of a sub-2 that I had any reason to believe wasn't a fake.

I think sub 3.0s are so rare because there are few reasons to end up sub 3.0, and there are plenty of 3.0+ splitters available to take their spot.

If, however, your an adcom who trusts the explanation for the earlier score and can see a recent and genuine 3.5 with a 99th percentile LSAT score, I think there are a few that would guess that person is more likely to succeed in law school than the person who recently graduated and has a 3.0 or 3.1.

It's bound to be a bit of a crapshoot, but if he can document the reasoning for the low score, I think someone will bite.

[francesfarmer]

Parents were paying and I was making excuses. They didn't kick me out until the end. I should have 120 credits at St. John's, but because of the curriculum, 5 of those are pass/fail and won't matter, and it's a rather unconventional education. (Classics).

Do Northwestern and UVA have a history of looking kindly on gpa addendums?

If you haven't graduated from St. John's yet, you have the option of delaying graduation and getting your GPA up by taking community college classes/etc.

[paranoia4ya]

...dont take college courses just to boost your grades, pick something that would help you career wise. If you have 240 credits, know that your next 3 credit A would only move your cumulative grade from a 2.00 to a 2.025

[uvabro]

...dont take college courses just to boost your grades, pick something that would help you career wise. If you have 240 credits, know that your next 3 credit A would only move your cumulative grade from a 2.00 to a 2.025

that sucks. it might not be worth the trouble of applying. if u do don't get a 170 don't go. even if u do, meet with admissions ppl bec ur issue is unique.