GPA questions

shine.on.me

I finally got my GPA according to LSAC today. I had a slightly non-traditional undergraduate experience. I went to a large and highly respected community college for most of my general courses (about 2.5 years) and spent another 2.5 years at NC State University and I graduated from NCSU. According to LSAC, I have a 2.54 Degree GPA and a 3.0 Cumulative GPA. I know T14 schools are out of the question but I'm working my butt off to make sure my LSAT is good enough to attempt to get into T25-50. But I'm worried about my GPA. When it comes time to submit applications, does anyone know on degree or cumulative GPA, will one have more bearing over the other? I think I can write an addendum for the semesters that brought my GPA down. So that may help some. While on that note, does anyone know how mental illness addenda are viewed in law school applications? Furthermore, is community college viewed negatively? Should I write an addendum for it? Lastly, do law schools look at the classes at all or just the GPA? It would be nice if my semester of paralegal courses that made me want to be a lawyer were considered. I did well in them.

Any advice would be appreciated.

ddakjiking

Did you do a lot better at NCSU? Your official LSAC gpa should be the 3.0 cumulative. Don't write off the T14's just yet as you could possibly get into some with a 170+ lsat.

I won't comment on the GPA addenda since I'm in no position to give a legit response but for all intensive purposes, schools will primarily care about your overall LSAC GPA as that is what is being reported to USNR.

jdawg113

So they generally look at the cumulative (they can see the transcripts so can see the degree but who cares, they can also look at classes taken but again, not huge deal) Community school is very common as its cheaper so its not going to hurt you, I wouldnt write a GPA addendum unless theres a very legit reason that explains the grades. You mentioned mental illness, I dont know too much about addendums in that area but if that seriously affects your life and schooling and can account for your gpa then it may be worth getting in an addendum.

blah170blah

Your community college classes count towards your cumulative GPA so your GPA could be higher if that wasn't already counted in.

blah170blah

At any rate, I agree with @ddakjiking in that, if you're at 3.0 CGPA, you still have a shot at T-14s with a 170+.

[Deleted User]

What is degree GPA? I thought there is only cumulative GPA.

jdawg113

schools themselves have a GPA for the classes required for your degree, doesn't really matter with LSAC/LS

shine.on.me

Thanks everyone. I was a bit freaked out with my 2.54 degree GPA. But if cumulative (3.0) is what matters that's good. I'm glad to hear it sounds like I may actually have a chance at T14 with a 170+ LSAT. I'm retaking in October from a poor performance in September 2014. I can explain my low GPA I think but my 145 first attempt LSAT the only explanation is I didn't study effectively. But I'm not too worried about it. I know most schools look at most recent score. Timing is a huge issue for me not intellect. I'm getting there. Practice should make it better.

@jdawg113 Community college was very normal in my mind too. But I've encountered some negativity from educational elitists over the years because I went to community college. That's why it concerned me. But it all sounds good.

Thanks again. :-)

kclubs323

I don't think that you'll be looked down upon because you went to community college, but I don't actually think your grades from community college will apply. From what I've read, only grades from colleges that require 4 years of study for a degree are considered in your LSAC gpa. I think community colleges are only 2 years, but I don't know all the nitty gritty details about this so the best thing to do would be to contact LSAC and ask. Good luck!

ddakjiking

Nope^
Any college class that was taken before your bachelor is awarded counts towards the LSAC gpa. That includes any community college classes you took in high school to "get ahead".

Now, if you already have your bachelors degree, you wouldn't be able to take extra class to pad your gpa.

jdawg113

@ddakjiking yupp, any college level class is considered into your GPA (i believe that also includes AP classes-tho not 100% sure about that)

ddakjiking

@jdawg113
OP, I'm not totally sure on AP classes though. LSAC has all my transcripts in and there's no mention of AP classes...lol.

jdawg113

fair enough, I just know I saw something on the website, didnt look much into it but never took AP so I guess there ya go lol

blah170blah

@jdawg113 Man if only they did take AP classes... That would be amazing!

shine.on.me

No AP classes for me either so I have no idea on that. But a large majority of my community college courses definitely counted towards my BA and GPA. I took some courses after receiving my degree for fun, for lack of a better description. But those classes that I took afterward won't pad my GPA :-( oh well. I think I will be ok.

[Deleted User]

If I were you, I'd shoot for a 175+ with 3.0.

baconandbutter

I have talked with a counselors regarding GPA addendum - and their advice was to not write one unless it was necessary and accurate. Like if that is TRULY the reason why your GPA suffered then go for it. In terms of mental illness, if you choose to write an addendum for it, you need to make sure that you explain that you are no longer affected by the illness because of X, Y, and Z (or how your situation has improved or how it cannot improve etc. etc.).

One of the counselors told me a story about how an applicant wrote an addendum for alcoholism and drug abuse during their undergraduate career, but never mentioned anything of improvement or controlling their issue. Therefore, he said, he assumed the problem was still continuing - that he would not want a student with that type of serious set back in his law school taking on such a rigorous course load.

So make sure if you decide to go with it that you explain the full story, filling any gaps so people can't just "assume". I am sure that applicant did not intentionally do that. Hope that helps!!!!

[Deleted User]

@baconandbutter He talked about drug problems?? Couldn't he just say "i was suffering from an illness." Some people...:/

ddakjiking

@royaimani
It depends. If he had any run-ins with the laws aka got in trouble, he would've had to disclose everything to the law school anyways. You don't want to lie and leave anything out. It'll come back and get you when you're going through the C&F procedure with your state's BAR.

baconandbutter

@royaimani I have no idea what his circumstances were but I just feel so badly that that was what the counselor gathered from the situation. Like that just sucks; I am sure the applicant had no intention of doing that to himself. Addendums are really hard to write, as I have had to write one myself for masters programs- deciding how much information to put in and what to disclose etc. etc. and I truly feel for anyone else who is in that position. BUT with that being said, best of luck to the OP.

shine.on.me

Thanks everyone. I think I do have a compelling case on my mental illness but it is a little tricky to make sure I word everything correctly. One semester my GPA was about 3.0 the next semester it was 2.5 the next it was 1.8. The next it was back up to 3.0. It was recommended to me to drop my classes that 1.8 semester but I was stubborn. My illness definitely effected my class performance but it is under control now. Thanks again everyone for your kind advice.

JCHIU4639

Hello,

I have a 3.07 GPA from a community college, however, I got a 2.59 GPA from a college where I got my bachelor's degree.

My question is do LSAC combine all the grades from both colleges and calculate them into one cumulative GPA?

AnthonyG82

Yes, they take everything you've taken for credit in college at any level and combine them. Unfortunately, people's LSAC GPA is lower than any 'cumulative' GPA that you'll see listed on any one of your college transcripts. I'm still in the process, but once you upload all of your transcripts to LSAC and they're processed, you should see your LSAC GPA. It's recommended to write a 'GPA addendum' in addition to your applications if you want to explain pockets of poor performance, or inconsistencies in your grades.

aforlawschool

1. T14 schools are not out of the question, assuming that you desire attending one. If you were to kill the LSAT, you would be a 'super splitter,' someone with a big gap between their GPA and LSAT. Your success at the T14 would be unpredictable, so the general advice given is to apply to many different law schools.

2. Cumulative GPA carries like 99% of the weight. It's standardized and is the one law schools have to report to the ABA (American Bar Association) and US News Rankings.

3. You definitely should write an addendum. Mental health issues are a popular addendum item and are viewed fine in law school applications, however, you should make it clear (if this is the truth) that, while you once had issues, they have now been resolved and will not negatively affect your ability to succeed in law school. Law school admissions officers want to know that you'll be able to be in a stable headspace because law school is demanding.

4. Community college is not viewed negatively. I have even heard top law schools like Harvard welcome community college applicants because they see them as more diverse.

5. You should not write an addendum for community college merely because you attended it.

6. Law schools will have a copy of all your official transcripts, so they technically will have the ability to see your classes. But, by and large, your GPA is much, much more important than what your transcript says. Most admissions officers don't spend that much time looking at your transcript. For someone with a lower GPA, they may just glance over it to see if you have an upward trend.

Best of luck!

aforlawschool

@JCHIU4639 said:
Hello,

I have a 3.07 GPA from a community college, however, I got a 2.59 GPA from a college where I got my bachelor's degree.

My question is do LSAC combine all the grades from both colleges and calculate them into one cumulative GPA?

LSAC converts everything to a standardized 4.0 scale (A+s count as 4.33) and calculates your GPA according to the number of units/credits taken. So, for instance, let's say you took 10 units/credits at one institution, and 30 units/credits at another. The latter institution would have 3x more weight as far as GPA is concerned.

vichinsky

Do Supersplitters get scholarship money I am curious if they get any type of major money from a top 25?