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Crossroad in my life
mmoreno142
Free Trial Member
Hello everyone I need some help with an issue I have been struggling with. Any input would be great.
Back story:
I graduated high school in 2007 and started community college
and i am currently doing both and plan to get my associates fall 2019 and bachelors in may 2020
Since 2007 I have been the worst at yoyoing through my enrollment. Most semesters I would start and stop college for whatever reason (i have a lot of Fs from not showing up and Ws because i would withdraw before the date)
I started University in Fall 2018 and will graduate with a 3.8
My community college grades are weighing my 3.8 to a 2.7 total
Here is my question.
I can take some courses over and raise my gpa to a 3.0 (this would need to happen in spring 2020 or I can keep it and invest the time into studying for the LSAT. I plan on taking it in October/November 2020.
So i either take some classes and not start studying until May
Or just write an addendum and use the time to study for the LSAT.
(I have already asked the schools about changing to withdraws and its not possible)
Comments
Sounds like a challenging dilemma.
If you're fairly positive you can bump your GPA up from 2.7 to 3.0, I think that's your best bet, because that could make a considerable difference and it'd be more for certain (whereas, the payoff of extra months of LSAT studying is a bit more uncertain).
But it's not a straightforward choice. If a few extra months means bumping up your LSAT score by 5 points, it could offset that. But I think your best bet is to try to get that 3.0 and then still spend your remaining months to do as well on the LSAT as you can. If you have any breaks before then I would recommend you also try to squeeze in some more LSAT studying.
Depending on the school, i dont think a huge time investment to raise a 2.7 to 3.0 is worth it
Can anyone speak to the notion of GPA cutoffs? i.e. where an admissions board won't even bother with applications below X.XX GPA? I've heard this is a thing and, if so, I may need to work on raising my own GPA even though I am looking forward to a high LSAT coming back from November.
Be careful in thinking you "can take some courses over" because my understanding is your cumulative GPA through LSAC will include ALL grades. However, you will be able to raise your GPA with time and money. I don't mean to be discouraging, in fact I am struggling with a GPA of 2.9 and an explanation as to why it took me eight years to get my bachelor's degree. (I was working too!) I'm still going for it and focusing on the LSAT. That is where my sad pennies fall and all my time goes these days. With the right score, we can both get in to the school we want. Don't give up. You're in the right place
I've heard it said many times in the wedinars David Busis does with admissions people at different schools that a low GPA needs two things: an addendum and a high lsat score. If I were you, I'd invest in the lsat. Get an amazing score, and they'll know you're capable. Best of luck!!
I heard its all about 25th, 50th, 75th percentile? As in, once its below 25th, to a certain point they may treat 2 gpas the same. Obviously a 1.0 not the same as say a 2.5, but perhaps 2.5 and 2.0 wouldnt be treated too differently? Ive heard the same thing about above 75th. Two GPAs above 75th are prettty much treated the same. Which is why Id argue if 2.7-3.0 gets you above 25th or makes you break one of the percentiles, id consider it. Otherwise, just spend ALL that time on the LSAT, that would be a considerable amount of extra time studying
At a certain point they are concerned about your ability to pass classes and pass the bar.
A relative of mine re-took most of his gen ed courses as he worked full time (and tutored) to get his GPA up to get into law school and he barely made it into a ~30-40 ranked school. Once there he graduated #3 in his class and was very successful, but that's what he had to do to get in. He also had a non-competitive LSAT score.
I would try to re-confirm the math on the GPA prediction first.
There are online GPA calculators that will do the math for you, you can google around for this.
Ex: https://gpacalculator.net/college-gpa-calculator/
Can one semester of straight As or A+s really raise it up to a 3.0? I remember my overall (combined) gpa barely barely went up a few decimal points even after all straight As in a semester, I think it depends on how many cumulative credits you've already taken and how many credits you plan to take on.
Note, LSAC adds more weight to A+ grades (4.3 on the grading scale, whereas some undergrad institutions simply value an A+ at a 4.0). Also they average out all grades if you repeat a course, and both the original and repeat grade show up on your transcript.
See the link to the webpage for their grading scale: https://www.lsac.org/applying-law-school/jd-application-process/jd-application-requirements/academic-record
If you can confirm the extra semester will put you in the 3.0 range and you feel confident about your ability to get the highest possible grades, then I would actually try to stay another semester and get that GPA bumped up. A 3.0 is a solid B, and is less of an eyebrow raiser than a 2.7, which is like a C+/B-. It will also help you out when it comes to merit scholarships too.
If you choose this route, then depending on your course load and how much time you have left over, I would begin digging into the basics of LSAT fundamentals. If this is your first time being exposed to the material then it's important to take your time to absorb it and understand it correctly from the beginning of your LSAT prepping period. Set a goal to do a little bit of the Core Curriculum every week.
Take a bit of a break if you need to, and then take the summer to begin timed sections/ PT phase of LSAT prep... going into the Fall. It's important to keep to a steady schedule of taking full-length PTs once you get to this phase. Most people advise between 15-20 PTs or so. Join the free blind review sessions offered on here and get an accountability partner if you can.
One of my biggest regrets post-graduating, is not taking advantage of "easy A" courses while I still had the chance to boost my gpa. You have to be strategic, since applying to law school is (largely) still a numbers game. Once you graduate that number is set in stone.
Post-graduate grades such as those from a master's degree are not counted for your lsac GPA.
The alternative, I suppose, is to gain some valuable work experience instead while you invest your time in the LSAT. Take a diagnostic if you haven't already and see how far you'd need to go to get to your goal score, this will help you build an overall study plan up until your registered exam date.Your goal score btw should be at or above a school's 75th percentile score, since your lsac GPA will likely be below their 25th percentile at many schools. Check the schools you're interested in to see what this number range is (probably above a 168 or so...), ABA 509 reports will have this information.
Feel free to pm me if you have any other qs, I've been in a situation similar to yours before.
And best of luck.