Study Abroad Grades and GPA

ksuper1991

Hey all! I'm thinking about my chances at a T20 and reflecting on my undergraduate transcript. I graduated cum laude with a 3.6 from a top tier liberal arts college. I graduated early and also studied abroad for a full year. My study abroad grades are not factored into my undergraduate GPA and LSAC also does not factor them in. If they had been factored in, I would have received a 3.8 GPA.

How are top law schools going to look at this? Are they really going to see me as a 3.6 or will they consider that full year of study abroad? My study abroad accounts for about 1/3 of my undergraduate coursework so I'm not sure how schools look at this. Is this something I should address in an addendum?

Re my LSAT score, I'm really more towards the low 25% for these schools, so I would be a splitter.

nat2tula

In terms of evaluating your app from a numbers point of view, I think they'll use your CAS GPA. However, if you can write about your study abroad experience, show how you did well, and maybe tie that in with why you'll make a good law student/a specific area of law you want to study, that wouldn't hurt your app!