2.6 gpa / 176 LSAT Forum

[Asterismos]

So from what I've seen this would make me a super splitter, hahaha. I have no idea if this actually helps, but I was recently told to go see a psychiatrist, who told me that I have a 'severe attention issue' and then referred me to a learning specialist to deal with it; he also told me he'd write a supplemental letter for me when I applied to explain the low GPA, but again, I don't know if this actually helps or not since I've heard a lot of times it really just boils down to the numbers?

I'd really like to go to a t-14 without taking gap years, but I also don't know if that's even possible considering my GPA???

help sos hahahaha

[stego]

No idea if it will help at all but I would write an addendum. Do you have an upward trend to your GPA? My guess would be if you put some years between you and UG and show some progress/improvement in your career w/r/t the underlying attention issues, that would minimize (insofar as that's even possible) the affect of the bad GPA.

[HYPSM]

.

[fliptrip]

Sure, your attention issues might help to mitigate your GPA right up until the point someone sees your 176 LSAT. They'll ask how in the world did you get that great LSAT score if you have a learning disability so serious that it pushed your GPA so low. The answer is you focused and committed yourself to the LSAT and that will imply you didn't do the same for undergrad, so your 2.6 will be treated as it is.

Forget the addenda, do as ^^^ suggests and ED NW and UVA and see what happens.

[personofinterest]

Agree with above: apply to NU, UVA, and Georgetown. Also, Wash U gives out huge scholarships. Outside the T14, I would apply to the rest of the top 20ish schools and regional schools you might attend. More applications will give you more scholarship opportunities to negotiate with.

I don't think you should write a supplemental essay because you are right that it's mostly about numbers. I would focus on something positive you've accomplished/experienced in your PS. If you had a huge upward trend after you figured out what was wrong, then maybe write one, but otherwise, focus on the good in your PS.

[Tls2016]

Sure, your attention issues might help to mitigate your GPA right up until the point someone sees your 176 LSAT. They'll ask how in the world did you get that great LSAT score if you have a learning disability so serious that it pushed your GPA so low. The answer is you focused and committed yourself to the LSAT and that will imply you didn't do the same for undergrad, so your 2.6 will be treated as it is.

Forget the addenda, do as ^^^ suggests and ED NW and UVA and see what happens.

Not an expert but that isn't how ADD works. It is possible to hyper focus but be completely disorganized/ distracted. I think schools will understand this issue.

[fliptrip]

Sure, your attention issues might help to mitigate your GPA right up until the point someone sees your 176 LSAT. They'll ask how in the world did you get that great LSAT score if you have a learning disability so serious that it pushed your GPA so low. The answer is you focused and committed yourself to the LSAT and that will imply you didn't do the same for undergrad, so your 2.6 will be treated as it is.

Forget the addenda, do as ^^^ suggests and ED NW and UVA and see what happens.

Not an expert but that isn't how ADD works. It is possible to hyper focus but be completely disorganized/ distracted. I think schools will understand this issue.

I disagree strongly, but what the hell do I know, I've only worked with many ADD students in an educational setting.

[Tls2016]

Sure, your attention issues might help to mitigate your GPA right up until the point someone sees your 176 LSAT. They'll ask how in the world did you get that great LSAT score if you have a learning disability so serious that it pushed your GPA so low. The answer is you focused and committed yourself to the LSAT and that will imply you didn't do the same for undergrad, so your 2.6 will be treated as it is.

Forget the addenda, do as ^^^ suggests and ED NW and UVA and see what happens.

Not an expert but that isn't how ADD works. It is possible to hyper focus but be completely disorganized/ distracted. I think schools will understand this issue.

I disagree strongly, but what the hell do I know, I've only worked with many ADD students in an educational setting.

Maybe OP didn't have to study much for the LSAT? Maybe he can focus well on standardized tests? Not that unusual. This is just my opinion based on my sister always acing standardized tests but forgetting to hand in her homework her entire life. Agree you have more experience than me.

[fliptrip]

I don't think we disagree about the manifestation of the disability, just the interpretation of its meaning.

Using ADD to explain a lower than expected high school GPA is credible to me because high school grading is in pretty much all cases a game of homework and you have to stay organized to have any chance of getting an A in most classes at a good school. College is different. If you can muster focus at the right times, you can do well. Doing well in college in most majors that lead people to law school is really about focusing well on just a few occasions and nothing to do with keeping up with regular assignments.

Also, hell, just because I wouldn't buy it doesn't really say anything about what an adcomm would buy, obviously. You do have the ability to credibly claim that now that your problem has been diagnosed, you can actively work to address it, so you won't have similar struggles in law school. That could work.

[CFC1524]

Sure, your attention issues might help to mitigate your GPA right up until the point someone sees your 176 LSAT. They'll ask how in the world did you get that great LSAT score if you have a learning disability so serious that it pushed your GPA so low. The answer is you focused and committed yourself to the LSAT and that will imply you didn't do the same for undergrad, so your 2.6 will be treated as it is.

Forget the addenda, do as ^^^ suggests and ED NW and UVA and see what happens.

Not an expert but that isn't how ADD works. It is possible to hyper focus but be completely disorganized/ distracted. I think schools will understand this issue.

I disagree strongly, but what the hell do I know, I've only worked with many ADD students in an educational setting.

Career goals / geographical preferences OP? Since attending a t-14 for sticker is generally a no-no, getting in ED to Northwestern might be your only "good" option within the t-14 (comes with a 150,000 scholarship).

[Asterismos]

um, yeah, as someone above said - i didn't have to study much for the LSATs. my baseline score before i studied was a 169, and after a couple PT's I went up to the mid-high 170's range?? either way that's what the psychiatrist said, that i just happen to do super well on standardized testing / 'hyperfocus' on things but not so well with the rest of life (lmao) and is why i need the learning specialist.

my geographical preferences would be so-cal / los angeles, since it's where I'm from and I'd like to live / practice there after graduating. I'd love USC but I don't know how feasible it is with my numbers.

also: not super relevant but just to clarify up the pronoun situation, i'm a girl haha

[Tls2016]

um, yeah, as someone above said - i didn't have to study much for the LSATs. my baseline score before i studied was a 169, and after a couple PT's I went up to the mid-high 170's range?? either way that's what the psychiatrist said, that i just happen to do super well on standardized testing / 'hyperfocus' on things but not so well with the rest of life (lmao) and is why i need the learning specialist.

my geographical preferences would be so-cal / los angeles, since it's where I'm from and I'd like to live / practice there after graduating. I'd love USC but I don't know how feasible it is with my numbers.

also: not super relevant but just to clarify up the pronoun situation, i'm a girl haha

I think the diagnosis and treatment plan , etc will help you and that it is familiar to ad coms. Sorry if I mixed pronouns.

[stego]

I don't think an addendum will help much, but it won't hurt, so why not write one? We're talking about literally 1-2 paragraphs tops. it doesn't have to be an essay.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I don't think we disagree about the manifestation of the disability, just the interpretation of its meaning.

Using ADD to explain a lower than expected high school GPA is credible to me because high school grading is in pretty much all cases a game of homework and you have to stay organized to have any chance of getting an A in most classes at a good school. College is different. If you can muster focus at the right times, you can do well. Doing well in college in most majors that lead people to law school is really about focusing well on just a few occasions and nothing to do with keeping up with regular assignments.

Yeah, I really don't agree with this. The classic liberal arts --> law majors like history and English often reward regular work over periodic brilliance/focus. One of the best ways to screw up your grades in my history classes (and that of many profs I knew) was to not show up to class and not turn in the regularly-assigned shit (or turn it in so late you couldn't get credit). And as has already been suggested/like the OP said, if you're naturally good at the LSAT it's not going to require that much focus. My experience was that it was pretty common for ADDers to make it through high school coasting on sheer intelligence but then crash and burn when they tried to do that in college.

Which is to say that the addendum isn't going to be able to get schools to overlook the 2.6, but it might help if they need a high LSAT and are considering which splitter to pull the trigger on.

[Nagster5]

I had almost identical numbers, I was WLed at 4-7, in at UVA with $, in at all T14 below that with ~half rides, and full rides+stipends at T20s. Make sure your apps are buttoned up tight, makes a big difference for splitters.

[James.K.Polk]

I had almost identical numbers, I was WLed at 4-7, in at UVA with $, in at all T14 below that with ~half rides, and full rides+stipends at T20s. Make sure your apps are buttoned up tight, makes a big difference for splitters.

This is a good point. I think having a strong (and hopefully genuine!) answer to "Why law school?" will go along way to earning back some ground on your stats.

[kcdc1]

I would write an addendum addressing the low GPA, but I would not include a doctor's note. The point of the addendum is not to excuse your poor performance -- it's to explain why that poor performance is not reflective of your current abilities (i.e., you had an unresolved medical issue in undergrad, and you've since addressed the issue and have demonstrated superior performance thereafter).

Keep the addendum short, declarative, and in your own voice. Unless there is some indication to the contrary, I don't see why you would need or want a doctor's note evidencing your medical condition -- schools will trust what you represent in your application to be true.

I would also strongly advise taking a few years to work between college and law school if you have not already done so. This will not only help mitigate your low GPA, it will also help you develop the productive work habits you will need to succeed in law school. If you are not confident that you can routinely complete 5+ hours of reading and note-taking per day (in addition to attending lectures), you might consider holding off on law school.

[twiix]

Sure, your attention issues might help to mitigate your GPA right up until the point someone sees your 176 LSAT. They'll ask how in the world did you get that great LSAT score if you have a learning disability so serious that it pushed your GPA so low. The answer is you focused and committed yourself to the LSAT and that will imply you didn't do the same for undergrad, so your 2.6 will be treated as it is.

Forget the addenda, do as ^^^ suggests and ED NW and UVA and see what happens.

Not an expert but that isn't how ADD works. It is possible to hyper focus but be completely disorganized/ distracted. I think schools will understand this issue.

I disagree strongly, but what the hell do I know, I've only worked with many ADD students in an educational setting.

Career goals / geographical preferences OP? Since attending a t-14 for sticker is generally a no-no, getting in ED to Northwestern might be your only "good" option within the t-14 (comes with a 150,000 scholarship).

As an eventual super splitter, I never knew ED at NW came with a 50k/year scholarship.. what a game changer. Thank you for that information.

[Tiago Splitter]

Since attending a t-14 for sticker is generally a no-no, getting in ED to Northwestern might be your only "good" option within the t-14 (comes with a 150,000 scholarship).

As an eventual super splitter, I never knew ED at NW came with a 50k/year scholarship.. what a game changer. Thank you for that information.

Just in case it wasn't obvious, it's much harder to get into Northwestern ED than RD. Don't count on getting anywhere near 150k with a sub-3.0 GPA.

[Catsinthebag]

I don't think we disagree about the manifestation of the disability, just the interpretation of its meaning.

Using ADD to explain a lower than expected high school GPA is credible to me because high school grading is in pretty much all cases a game of homework and you have to stay organized to have any chance of getting an A in most classes at a good school. College is different. If you can muster focus at the right times, you can do well. Doing well in college in most majors that lead people to law school is really about focusing well on just a few occasions and nothing to do with keeping up with regular assignments.

Yeah, I really don't agree with this. The classic liberal arts --> law majors like history and English often reward regular work over periodic brilliance/focus. One of the best ways to screw up your grades in my history classes (and that of many profs I knew) was to not show up to class and not turn in the regularly-assigned shit (or turn it in so late you couldn't get credit). And as has already been suggested/like the OP said, if you're naturally good at the LSAT it's not going to require that much focus. My experience was that it was pretty common for ADDers to make it through high school coasting on sheer intelligence but then crash and burn when they tried to do that in college.

Which is to say that the addendum isn't going to be able to get schools to overlook the 2.6, but it might help if they need a high LSAT and are considering which splitter to pull the trigger on.

Yeah, that does not sound like my college experience at all. IR for what that's worth. I don't recall how many exactly, but a good portion of my classes were readings required all semester, a midterm, a final, a few "quizzes", and participation points with a couple profs doing Socratic method. The periodic brilliance method, of which I had become accustomed to in high school actually, got me started on the wrong foot to some extent.

[L_William_W]

So from what I've seen this would make me a super splitter, hahaha. I have no idea if this actually helps, but I was recently told to go see a psychiatrist, who told me that I have a 'severe attention issue' and then referred me to a learning specialist to deal with it; he also told me he'd write a supplemental letter for me when I applied to explain the low GPA, but again, I don't know if this actually helps or not since I've heard a lot of times it really just boils down to the numbers?

I'd really like to go to a t-14 without taking gap years, but I also don't know if that's even possible considering my GPA???

help sos hahahaha

I'm pretty sure with a 176 you could get into any law school except the cream of the crop (Harvard, Columbia, NYU, Stanford...). That will offset the mediocre GPA. Of course, you have to write an excellent personal statement.