Undergraduate program not in a US institution

xinhui_xu

If my bachelor degree is not from a US institution, is that a disadvantage for me? Will law schools look at my undergraduate GPA or they only care about my LSAT? Thank you!

aussie_zac

Hey! I am also in this situation.

Basically, this is how it works.

1) You submit your transcript to LSAC. They will evaluate it and give you one of the following results.

Superior
Above Average
Average
Below Average
Don't Bother Applying

(I may have made the last one up because I couldn't remember it but you get the idea).

2) Law schools that you apply to will see this grade and it will factor into your application but from speaking to a few admissions people at top schools they have said "as long as it's superior or above average we don't really care".

In a nutshell, it's impossible to compare a students scores across China, India, Australia, UK etc... so they just want to make sure that you applied yourself and got good grades.

3) This is the important one.
Your GPA will not count towards their calculated GPA for the ABA rankings. This is super important and is both a blessing and a curse.

The easiest way to explain is by giving an example;

You get a 172 on the LSAT and you are on par with two US students. US student 1 has a GPA under the schools median and US student 2 has a GPA over the schools median.

The Good News: You will have preference over the student with the lower GPA because your score will not impact the schools median GPA while their score will lower the schools median GPA.

The Bad News: You will not get preference over the US student with the higher GPA because they will increase the schools median and you will not impact it.

Obviously the situation is not as cut and dry as this. Even just statistically one single students GPA isn't going to have a large impact on the average for an entire class but it's a general rule of thumb to remember.

I've done a lot of research on applying as an international student so if you want to chat or need a hand with anything feel free to DM me.

Also, I just joined up to the 7Sage admissions consulting and within 24 hours I have been contacted by multiple people from 'my team' and I feel much more confident around navigating the US application process. Would highly recommend.

xinhui_xu

Your information is very helpful Thanks a lot!