Ws on transcripts

bbrightman10

How many Ws on a transcript do you need before alarm bells go off? Do law schools care a lot about Ws? Does anyone have and advice for writing an addenda about Ws?

CardsnHogz

Are you applying to one of the big boy/big girl schools? Or a less prestigious one? How competitive is it? How competitive are you and your app? Do you want scholarships?

I only clicked this thread to tell you that you are not alone. I have...oh.....hahahaha...probably wayyyyyyy more W's than you. I think about 30? Multiple semesters I had to withdraw. One semester I didnt get to withdraw, so that's a semester of F's.

You know the phrase that someone always has it better?
It goes the other way too. Someone's always got it worse.

If you are not shooting for a top law school, the schools you go for will look at your gpa, lsat score, and criminal record. All good? Admit. They want your money.

If you feel the need to address the W's. Address them. But take solace in knowing there is probably a reason that W's are NOT calculated in LSAC's gpa process. See? That made you feel better didnt it?

ColdBrew180

Some Ws are calculated as Fs, so it's important to know how the Ws you're talking about are calculated.

For example, I have one WU on my transcript which is a an unofficial withdrawal (I missed a lot of class time and did not attend the final). It is unfortunately counted as an F, so I will definitely have to address that in an addendum.

If your Ws don't count against you on GPA, then maybe briefly address them in a short but sweet few sentences, like "I received 2 Ws during my X semester. During this semester, I was working full-time and realized I would not be able to take on such a demanding courseload."

If they do count against you, you'll have to take responsibility and address the fact that whatever caused you to earn a failing grade will not hold you back in the future.

bbrightman10

Thanks everyone! My Ws do not count as Fs and many of them are because I was working full-time. So I think I might be good. I am not really applying to the top top law schools either.

VerdantZephyr

If they did not count against you and you are not looking at a top 25 school I would not think it would matter. The rest of your app will contextualize those Ws. If you have a 3.8 and a bunch of non-factor Ws no one outside of a top 6 school is going to care. If you have a sub 3.0 it won't really matter either because you are going to be essentially asking them to look past it. At the end of the day it is only one factor in your application.

While I am different than most applicants with a grad degree and 10 years post college experience, I had a horrid GPA and several Ws and am shooting for T14s as an extreme super-splitter anyway. If you are an appealing candidate outside the Ws they will definitely not sink your chances.

lilpingling

@CardsnHogz I have two full semesters of straight Fs because I was young, stupid, and overwhelmedoverwhelmed and didn't bother to withdraw in time. If not for those semesters, I'd have a 3.88 as opposed to a 2.99. Obviously, I know these semesters are going to be a big issue, but they were also 20 years ago and I feel reasonably confident that my LSAT score will go a long way toward course correction.

As far as the original post goes, I think it's fair to assume that schools will at least consider a lot of Ws, maybe not against your GPA, but they will likely consider them nonetheless. As many others have said, I think it's fair to address them, explain the situation and take responsibility, then point the application back toward your strengths and why you're not likely to repeat this pattern today. Perhaps even turn this into a positive and a point that makes you a strong/resilient applicant. That's the best any of us can do. Not everyone has the same resources and/or ability to do everything "right" from the start. If they truly want willing and hard working students, they need people who have had a thing or two to overcome. At least, that's how I plan to address my shortcomings.

VerdantZephyr

@lilpingling Well said.

CardsnHogz

@ColdBrew180 said:
Some Ws are calculated as Fs, so it's important to know how the Ws you're talking about are calculated.

I was speaking from my own experience and maybe it's different at different schools. I have every permutation of W in the book. A WF for withdrawal/fail is probably counted against you, I didn't think to include that since it consisted of the word "fail" (I recalculated my gpa to check lsac's version and am 99% sure WF's were counted as F's....I did this a couple of years ago and can't remember now). None of my regular W's or WN "withdrawal nonattendance" were counted as F's.

@lilpingling I too have a shiny semester of F's. My semesterly ugpa is quite the rollercoaster. Semesters of all F's, all W's, couple of two C's and W's, the rest are all A's and a sporadic B. My lsac gpa came out to slightly above a 3.0 but I am right there with you on where it would have been without these issues.
I am 10 years removed from my graduation and I have two years of graduate work at a 3.7. I don't think the questions will be about our academic capacity, but more of do we really want to do this or not. Good luck to you!

CardsnHogz

According to LSAC's Academic Summary Report Key, certain W's are not calculated into LSAC GPA if your school considers those types of W's as non-punitive.