Rookie! :)

szanelli

Hey everyone,
So I am beginning my 5th year at the University of Guelph, in the Honours Program for Sociology. I would say as of the beginning of 3rd year, I decided that I really did want to go to Law School, and from there my grades increased substantially as I got really serious and I also figured out what studying techniques, etc., worked best for me. With this, I have been reading through the different discussion forums and had noticed that people had been mentioning whether they were on the lower end for their GPA, while other were mentioning they had a decent GPA. So my question for everyone, especially those who may have already have experience with the Law School application/LSAT process, what would you/they consider to be a lower GPA and a decent GPA?

Also! I've also been noticing that people mentioned L2 & B2 (what does this mean?)

When I decided that I wanted to go to Law School I did not do a ton of researching for all of these details because I wanted my concentration to be solely on continuing a trend of increasing my grades. So this is why I have such questions!

Thanks so much! & Good luck to everyone!

Nanchito-1-1

http://employmentsummary.abaquestionnaire.org/

Welcome. Where a GPA constitutes as "low" is relative. Research the schools you'd like to go to and take a look at their stats.

Keep up the good work.

I dunno what b2 could be. L2 is lingo for 2d year law school student.

Sprinkles

@szanelli said:
Hey everyone,
So I am beginning my 5th year at the University of Guelph, in the Honours Program for Sociology.

Hello and congratulations!

@szanelli said:
I have been reading through the different discussion forums and had noticed that people had been mentioning whether they were on the lower end for their GPA, while other were mentioning they had a decent GPA. So my question for everyone, especially those who may have already have experience with the Law School application/LSAT process, what would you/they consider to be a lower GPA and a decent GPA?

This varies since every law school has their own LSAT/GPA class profile. These profiles include numbers of applications received,incoming class size, institutions attended, gender, 25th/median/75th GPA and LSAT scores, etc. (here's an example: http://hls.harvard.edu/dept/jdadmissions/apply-to-harvard-law-school/hls-profile-and-facts/) A "low" GPA is considered to be a GPA that is below the 25th percentile of the school's class profile and same for the LSAT. Usually applicants combat a low GPA by earning an LSAT score at or above the school's 75th percentile and likewise, applicants with a low LSAT score can (sometimes) combat that with a GPA higher than or directly at the 75th percentile. I say "sometimes" because the harsh truth is that the LSAT is worth at least 50% of your application, so it's generally difficult to overcome an LSAT below the 25th percentile of a school you're applying to.

Sprinkles

@nanchito said:
I dunno what b2 could be. L2 is lingo for 2d year law school student.

Same lol. Also, I'm assuming you meant "2L"? if so, then yes, as Nanchi said, it's for 2nd year law students and just for mentions: 1L is for 1st years, and 3L is for 3rd (and final) year students. Those of us applying to Law School are considered 0L's :P

@szanelli said:
When I decided that I wanted to go to Law School I did not do a ton of researching for all of these details because I wanted my concentration to be solely on continuing a trend of increasing my grades. So this is why I have such questions!

Great! But this is also a good time to try getting at least two academic letters of recommendation to add to your LSAC file (assuming you're not in Canada).

EDIT: Just google searched your uni and it turns out you are in Canada lol! so apparently those applying to Canadian schools are allowed to have the recommendation letters on file for only 1 year before they get shredded into pieces and thus deleted from your profile. Not sure why they do this, but if you don't apply through LSAC and want to attend law school in Canada, make sure the letters you have on file don't go to waste once you apply meaning you should only have those letters if you plan on applying that year.

ibashe

Hi! L2 and B2 refer to your undergrad GPA. L2 stands for your last two years GPA, and B2 is your best two years GPA

Sprinkles

@ibashe said:
L2 and B2 refer to your undergrad GPA. L2 stands for your last two years GPA, and B2 is your best two years GPA

Thanks for clarifying! I'm assuming this is under the Canadian system?

ibashe

@montaha.rizeq Happy to help And yeah, its under the Canadian system

MrSamIam

Like @nanchito said, it really does depend on the schools that you are applying to.

I've always considered anything below a 3.2 "somewhat low" and a 3.4 "average." Those numbers are simply my opinion of what is low and what is average in terms of GPA.

LSATisland

@szanelli Another fellow Ontario-ite! Welcome aboard!