Success in Fine Arts vs GPA

FlyEaglesFly

Hi all -

Having graduated with an Undergraduate degree (B.M.) in music performance in 2010, I am now set on applying to Law School for the 2018/19 admissions term. I obtained a Master of Music (M.M.) in 2012.

My question relates to the fact that what I feel was my success in these degrees is most evidently shown by my applied work with my instrument. For Example, my GPA was sufficient as an undergrad (though not terribly fabulous), yet I won multiple awards for performance on my instrument, including winning a state wide competition, winning a school wide concerto competition, and receiving an award only given to 1 student per year at my school for excellence in music performance. Due to my focus on my instrument, my GPA does not reflect this success. My GPA was much higher as a Master's Degree student, however.

So, I am wondering if anyone has any advice on translating these achievements to my application for law school. My goal is to show that for a music student, these achievements were as or even more important than my GPA. Not sure if that is even remotely possible, but I suppose I have to try!

Thanks very much.

_oshun1_

There's usually a section to list awards on the apps. You can include whatever you want in your resume. And write about it in your personal statement.
Focus on studying for the LSAT.

Alex

The thing is, those achievements aren't more important than your GPA vis-a-vis law school admissions. At least not in the adcoms' eyes. I also don't think it's to your advantage to make any narrative that diminishes the importance of your GPA.

Also, your Master's GPA also won't matter much for purposes of law school admission. If it's good, it won't hurt though!

Best bet is to focus on the LSAT as @"surfy surf" said above. That's what is going to be the main things that gets you in to law school or keeps you out at this point.

There are also tons of ways to let the schools you apply to know about all of your wonderful musical accomplishments and accolades. You can list them on your resume with a brief description. You can incorporate them into your personal statement, or even write a GPA addenda explaining that part of the reason why your GPA was lower than you would have liked was due to your commitment to your music.

You might also want to look into hiring a professional admissions consultant like @"David.Busis" who has lots of experience with helping applicants craft narratives to explain lower GPAs and the like.

Overall, as long as your GPA isn't disastrously low (like <2.5), with a good LSAT you will be fine