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Two Degrees

lsatgirl-1lsatgirl-1 Alum Member
edited August 2019 in General 256 karma

Hey guys,
I am planning to apply this November for all the law schools in Ontario. I did really badly on my first degree (2.5) However, I did decide to go back to school for a second degree and will be finishing with a 3.8. I rounded it up and my GPA increased to a 3.4. I don't know how the admissions committee will look at my profile ? Will they count my cumulative ? Should I apply outside of Ontario as well ? Just to be safe ? Has anyone gotten in with two degrees ? Where they had a major shift in marks
Let me know :)

Comments

  • MissChanandlerMissChanandler Alum Member Sage
    3256 karma

    Your LSAC GPA is every course you've taken until you completed your first bachelor's degree. So, your GPA for the sake of law school applications is 2.5. I'm not sure if Canadian schools are different, but that's how it is in the U.S. I think that your best bet would be to retake the LSAT. Again though, I'm not super familiar with Canadian schools and their gpa/lsat standards so take my advice with a grain of salt.

  • Kermit750Kermit750 Alum Member
    2124 karma

    Is your second degree a Master's? I've seen that when applying LSAC uses just your undergraduate gpa to calculate the LSAC gpa, which is what law schools look at. I don't know anything about law schools in Canada, so I unfortunately can't offer much help there.

  • lsatgirl-1lsatgirl-1 Alum Member
    256 karma

    My second degree is a bachelors degree

  • Kermit750Kermit750 Alum Member
    2124 karma

    I'm pretty sure your LSAC gpa is calculated only using your first degree, but don't take my word on it. I would call LSAC to confirm.

  • Leah M BLeah M B Alum Member
    8392 karma

    @keets993 do you know about Canadian schools? I feel like I've seen you on some of the Canadian threads.

  • keets993keets993 Alum Member 🍌
    edited October 2018 6050 karma

    @"Leah M B" yes I do! :)

    @nimra123 if it's two undergrad degrees then you're fine. Based on admissions council I've talked to, Ontario law schools mainly care about progression. So they look favorably on that kind of progression you've shown. It would be similar if had there been an upward trend between 1st year and 4th year. That's why, while they do look at cGPA, they focus on last 2 years even more since that's a better indication of your most recent acadmic skills. So while they will look at your first degree, there should be a bigger emphasis placed on your second one. I'd try to briefly mention in your personal statement why there's such a big difference between the two and why the second one is a better indicator of your ability to handle law school.

    If you can, maybe retake the LSAT for something in the mid-160s based on what your first choice is.

  • lsatgirl-1lsatgirl-1 Alum Member
    256 karma

    Thanks everyone :)

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