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Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 8:46 pm
by MattM
Somewhat serious question for LS.
Am i better off dropping ( non punitive at my school) a current B to take again for an A later.
My overall GPA can fall between anywhere from a 3.49 to a 3.57 this semester .....one more left after this.
I know LSAT is obviously the most important factor but I don't want to punting away GPA points since schools have certain GPA floors even with high LSAT
In my opinion GPA is harder since once you graduate you can;t change it...since the LSAT you have more control over in some ways in that you should take inly when fully ready and you can always retake the LSAT if you had a bad test day and vast majority only care about highest LSAT
tldr: Drop course or not
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 8:49 pm
by UnicornHunter
MattM wrote:Somewhat serious question for LS.
Am i better off dropping ( non punitive at my school) a current B to take again for an A later.
My overall GPA can fall between anywhere from a 3.49 to a 3.57 this semester .....one more left after this.
I know LSAT is obviously the most important factor but I don't want to punting away GPA points since schools have certain GPA floors even with high LSAT
In my opinion GPA is harder since once you graduate you can;t change it...since the LSAT you have more control over in some ways in that you should take inly when fully ready and you can always retake the LSAT if you had a bad test day and vast majority only care about highest LSAT
tldr: Drop course or not
If your only concern in life is going to law school, it is better to have as high of a GPA as possible. If you can drop the B with no consequences and get an A later, then go for it.
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2014 5:27 pm
by Cpt Zapp Brannigan
Eek! Dude, this is the wrong attitude for your education. Making these drastic changes just to manipulate your GPA slightly isn't worth it. If you were in danger of completely tanking the class, that's one thing, but don't quit/retake a class over a B! Also BEWARE. LSAT calculates you LGPA with different standards than your school. I think in the scenario you described, you would be fine. But sometimes retaken classes can devast your LGPA (I think only in case of an initial bad grade rather than a drop but still be careful and read your schools drop/retake policy closely).
You should really talk to your advisor! We're just weirdo's on the internet.
You should really try to avoid being overly concerned with law school, focus on your undergraduate experience. It breaks my heart every time I read about kids in undergrad spending buku amounts of time studying for the LSAT/prepping for law school application while still in college. SIGN OFF OF TLS, FINISH YOUR MIDTERM PAPER, AND GO CHUG BEER WITH A SEXY CO-ED ONTOP OF THE STUDENT UNION ROOF!!! Seriously, you will miss this time in your life once you get older...
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2014 5:36 pm
by Mullens
Cpt Zapp Brannigan wrote:Eek! Dude, this is the wrong attitude for your education. Making these drastic changes just to manipulate your GPA slightly isn't worth it. If you were in danger of completely tanking the class, that's one thing, but don't quit/retake a class over a B! Also BEWARE. LSAT calculates you LGPA with different standards than your school. I think in the scenario you described, you would be fine. But sometimes retaken classes can devast your LGPA (I think only in case of an initial bad grade rather than a drop but still be careful and read your schools drop/retake policy closely).
You should really talk to your advisor! We're just weirdo's on the internet.
You should really try to avoid being overly concerned with law school, focus on your undergraduate experience. It breaks my heart every time I read about kids in undergrad spending buku amounts of time studying for the LSAT/prepping for law school application while still in college. SIGN OFF OF TLS, FINISH YOUR MIDTERM PAPER, AND GO CHUG BEER WITH A SEXY CO-ED ONTOP OF THE STUDENT UNION ROOF!!! Seriously, you will miss this time in your life once you get older...
You shouldn't give advice when you have no idea what you're talking about. Telling someone to talk to their pre-law advisor is possibly the worst advice I have ever seen on this site. Most pre-law advisors are objectively clueless and give all-around terrible advice.
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2014 5:48 pm
by FSK
I would drop if you really want to go to LS. IF you could push to 3.6 after this semester, thats a lot better for admissions than a 3.45. f
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 3:05 am
by Cpt Zapp Brannigan
Not the crappy "pre-law advisor" that does not exist, his legit regular college advisor. The one the kid hopefully had a ton of classes with and has a relationship with. I'm not sure where you went to school, but for most liberal art schools the advisor system is actually fairly strong both in terms of major advisor and class dean. The point is OP, talk to your adviser or dean or a teacher you trust. If you are at an Ivy, near Ivy or other good school you should be able to get faculty advice that's helpful.
And Mullens, Snark not appreciated, I agree automatically assigned pre-law advisors are irrelevant and dumb but if you're going to post please at least contribute and give the kid constructive advice.
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 4:18 pm
by LET'S GET IT
Cpt Zapp Brannigan wrote:Eek! Dude, this is the wrong attitude for your education. Making these drastic changes just to manipulate your GPA slightly isn't worth it. If you were in danger of completely tanking the class, that's one thing, but don't quit/retake a class over a B! Also BEWARE. LSAT calculates you LGPA with different standards than your school. I think in the scenario you described, you would be fine. But sometimes retaken classes can devast your LGPA (I think only in case of an initial bad grade rather than a drop but still be careful and read your schools drop/retake policy closely).
You should really talk to your advisor! We're just weirdo's on the internet.
You should really try to avoid being overly concerned with law school, focus on your undergraduate experience. It breaks my heart every time I read about kids in undergrad spending buku amounts of time studying for the LSAT/prepping for law school application while still in college. SIGN OFF OF TLS, FINISH YOUR MIDTERM PAPER, AND GO CHUG BEER WITH A SEXY CO-ED ONTOP OF THE STUDENT UNION ROOF!!! Seriously, you will miss this time in your life once you get older...
This is really bad advice.
You have the right attitude, OP. If you feel comfortable dropping the class, drop the class. Every GPA point helps, especially if you are aiming for highly ranked schools.
Also, to say he should trust his advisor over TLS is moronic. My advisor was advising people to go to the local TTT even if they had better options.
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 4:21 pm
by LET'S GET IT
Cpt Zapp Brannigan wrote:Not the crappy "pre-law advisor" that does not exist, his legit regular college advisor. The one the kid hopefully had a ton of classes with and has a relationship with. I'm not sure where you went to school, but for most liberal art schools the advisor system is actually fairly strong both in terms of major advisor and class dean. The point is OP, talk to your adviser or dean or a teacher you trust. If you are at an Ivy, near Ivy or other good school you should be able to get faculty advice that's helpful.
And Mullens, Snark not appreciated, I agree automatically assigned pre-law advisors are irrelevant and dumb but if you're going to post please at least contribute and give the kid constructive advice.
Again, why would you ask your college advisor or dean? What do they know about LS admissions? Also, they have agendas. Come on bro. Not trying to be mean, but you shouldn't be giving out advice if you don't know what you are talking about.
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 4:48 pm
by fats provolone
don't go to law school
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 4:54 pm
by Br3v
Just make sure you know how LSAC classifies your schools "non punitive" drop
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 4:56 pm
by FSK
fats provolone wrote:don't go to law school
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 9:34 pm
by MattM
flawschoolkid wrote:fats provolone wrote:don't go to law school
Why not go to law school if accepted into a good school?.....GPA would be a silly reason not to go to law school.
While as far as getting accepted it doesn't matter how/where you got your classes, ....a GPA isn't always the best predictor of performance, different schools, different majors , grading systems and whatnot.....
LSAT is a more reliable predictor since everyone takes the same exam
For example In my college A's are hard to come by as it is very competitive and I'm in the top 20% of my class despite only having a 3.55 ...( I know it won't help me in admissions but as far as wether or not to go to law school , I don;t think my GPA is too low that I would't be able to handle the workload)
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 9:53 pm
by 90convoy
Cpt Zapp Brannigan wrote:Eek! Dude, this is the wrong attitude for your education. Making these drastic changes just to manipulate your GPA slightly isn't worth it. If you were in danger of completely tanking the class, that's one thing, but don't quit/retake a class over a B! Also BEWARE. LSAT calculates you LGPA with different standards than your school. I think in the scenario you described, you would be fine. But sometimes retaken classes can devast your LGPA (I think only in case of an initial bad grade rather than a drop but still be careful and read your schools drop/retake policy closely).
You should really talk to your advisor! We're just weirdo's on the internet.
You should really try to avoid being overly concerned with law school, focus on your undergraduate experience. It breaks my heart every time I read about kids in undergrad spending buku amounts of time studying for the LSAT/prepping for law school application while still in college. SIGN OFF OF TLS, FINISH YOUR MIDTERM PAPER, AND GO CHUG BEER WITH A SEXY CO-ED ONTOP OF THE STUDENT UNION ROOF!!! Seriously, you will miss this time in your life once you get older...
I had/am having the time of my life (big frat, bars 3 times a week, sex, etc) in college and studied for lsat just fine. It's not a one or the other kind of relationship. Take classes where getting As and A+'s is easy and have fun. There is no reason to not drop the class unless you get some kind of withdraw/failure thing
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 12:32 pm
by Kratos
MattM wrote: I don;t think my GPA is too low that I would't be able to handle the workload
Cause college GPA has a direct correlation to being able to handle law school workload
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 1:18 pm
by MattM
Kratos wrote:MattM wrote: I don;t think my GPA is too low that I would't be able to handle the workload
Cause college GPA has a direct correlation to being able to handle law school workload
Not as direct as LSAT.....A 3.3 Engineer is probably smarter/more likely to handle the workload than a 3.5 Liberal Arts student even though they have a lower gpa
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 1:33 pm
by fats provolone
a 3.3 engineer should be smart enough not to go to law school
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 1:51 pm
by Kratos
MattM wrote:Kratos wrote:MattM wrote: I don;t think my GPA is too low that I would't be able to handle the workload
Cause college GPA has a direct correlation to being able to handle law school workload
Not as direct as LSAT.....A 3.3 Engineer is probably smarter/more likely to handle the workload than a 3.5 Liberal Arts student even though they have a lower gpa
Dude, the workload in law school isn't that hard/much. It's also seriously impossible to fail out.
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 6:06 pm
by sodomojo
Mullens wrote:Cpt Zapp Brannigan wrote:Eek! Dude, this is the wrong attitude for your education. Making these drastic changes just to manipulate your GPA slightly isn't worth it. If you were in danger of completely tanking the class, that's one thing, but don't quit/retake a class over a B! Also BEWARE. LSAT calculates you LGPA with different standards than your school. I think in the scenario you described, you would be fine. But sometimes retaken classes can devast your LGPA (I think only in case of an initial bad grade rather than a drop but still be careful and read your schools drop/retake policy closely).
You should really talk to your advisor! We're just weirdo's on the internet.
You should really try to avoid being overly concerned with law school, focus on your undergraduate experience. It breaks my heart every time I read about kids in undergrad spending buku amounts of time studying for the LSAT/prepping for law school application while still in college. SIGN OFF OF TLS, FINISH YOUR MIDTERM PAPER, AND GO CHUG BEER WITH A SEXY CO-ED ONTOP OF THE STUDENT UNION ROOF!!! Seriously, you will miss this time in your life once you get older...
You shouldn't give advice when you have no idea what you're talking about. Telling someone to talk to their pre-law advisor is possibly the worst advice I have ever seen on this site. Most pre-law advisors are objectively clueless and give all-around terrible advice.
As a current UG, I can attest to this. Experienced TLSers offer infinitely superior advice compared to a college advisor (pre-law advisor or not).
OP, I've been in your position and I believe the consensus is that as long as you promise that this will not become a regular thing, then drop the class.
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 8:50 pm
by AReasonableMan
LET'S GET IT wrote:Cpt Zapp Brannigan wrote:Not the crappy "pre-law advisor" that does not exist, his legit regular college advisor. The one the kid hopefully had a ton of classes with and has a relationship with. I'm not sure where you went to school, but for most liberal art schools the advisor system is actually fairly strong both in terms of major advisor and class dean. The point is OP, talk to your adviser or dean or a teacher you trust. If you are at an Ivy, near Ivy or other good school you should be able to get faculty advice that's helpful.
And Mullens, Snark not appreciated, I agree automatically assigned pre-law advisors are irrelevant and dumb but if you're going to post please at least contribute and give the kid constructive advice.
Again, why would you ask your college advisor or dean? What do they know about LS admissions? Also, they have agendas. Come on bro. Not trying to be mean, but you shouldn't be giving out advice if you don't know what you are talking about.
Kind of paranoid, but yeah just retake it for the A. One of the dumber things I did in college was try to get the best education possible, and I took the most challenging classes I could without really planning to study. A lot of things that are basic knowledge to me bewilder others, and I'm sure it's subconsciously impacted my legal reasoning in a positive way. But if it's just gaming GPA, game the GPA.
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 9:13 pm
by pmacob
sodomojo wrote:Mullens wrote:
You shouldn't give advice when you have no idea what you're talking about. Telling someone to talk to their pre-law advisor is possibly the worst advice I have ever seen on this site. Most pre-law advisors are objectively clueless and give all-around terrible advice.
As a current UG, I can attest to this. Experienced TLSers offer infinitely superior advice compared to a college advisor (pre-law advisor or not).
OP, I've been in your position and I believe the consensus is that as long as you promise that this will not become a regular thing, then drop the class.
My case is probably unusual, but I had a pre-law adviser my first year in UG who was actually really good. I told him the day I walked in at freshman orientation that I wanted to go to law school, and he tried to talk me out of it as he was very anti-law school. When I was too stubborn he then basically told me to game my GPA, take 12 hours, and reminded me over and over again my major and difficulty of classes really didn't matter, just protect my GPA and keep it high.
I'm super thankful because dumb freshman me might have tried to take some of the harder classes just to prove I could and my GPA might've suffered for it. I do think he was unusual, my pre-law advisers since have consistently given me terrible advice that I did not follow.
However, OP, just drop the class. Do what it takes to protect your GPA. Law schools won't care about one or even two dropped classes, though three or more might raise a red flag. It is more important that you keep your GPA high, so I'd drop.
Re: Is it a bit anal to drop a class i'm having a B in
Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2014 2:56 pm
by miamiri
I wish I had- I have a 3.96 because I have a B in History 17b- i was considering retaking but did not. I regret a lot. And then one more class that I got a B in was PE!!! Thats a whole other story - the instructor screwed me...
So I would suggest you drop the class and retake.