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LSAT vs. GPA

NotoriousCMMNotoriousCMM Member
in General 16 karma
I know LSAT is the most important part of the admissions decision, in most cases.

For pretty much all of the schools I want to apply to, I am in the 25th or just below the 50th percentile for the LSAT. My GPA is usually at the 75th or above though. I plan to apply ASAP, most of these schools are rolling admissions.

Basically, asking if a high GPA will level off an okay LSAT score.

Thanks!
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Comments

  • PacificoPacifico Alum Inactive ⭐
    8021 karma
    Absolutely depends on the school and also how long you wait in the cycle. While most schools are more kind to splitters than they are to reverse splitters, a high GPA can often at least get you on some wait lists that your LSAT would not otherwise. Once schools have locked in their LSAT medians then they should be more willing to shore up their GPA medians. I would say you can outperform your LSAT if you're willing to wait until the summer to get off a wait list as those decisions start to trickle down.

    Also, most apps aren't open yet and to call law school admissions rolling is somewhat misleading since most schools will admit the candidates with the strongest apps first and push decisions back on everyone else. If you've got a GPA that is that high I wouldn't waste it by resigning yourself to a low LSAT. Sure you might not be able to score higher, but retaking can only help you.
  • KimberlyKKimberlyK Alum Member
    217 karma
    @Pacifico said:
    Sure you might not be able to score higher, but retaking can only help you.
    So, I have a question. Doesn't it look bad if you have 2 LSAT scores on application if one is really low? And what if someone is just a bad test taker and doesn't improve much at all on second try. Wouldn't that look bad????
  • PacificoPacifico Alum Inactive ⭐
    8021 karma
    @KimberlyK it is not an issue at almost any school out there since everyone wants that sweet sweet highest score since that's what gets reported for rankings. Yale is the most prominent exception as they don't seem to like more than one score which they can do as the top law school... While some schools say they average scores I think it's mostly a ruse since there is nothing for them to gain by doing so.

    That being said if you go from a 140 to a 170 you will need to write an addendum to explain the jump. The general rule of thumb seems to be anything over a 10-15 point jump would necessitate an addendum. It doesn't really matter if you're a bad test taker since a 140 will look bad regardless of how many times you scored that. Sure if it's on there multiple times it is a further indictment that it is a true representation of your LSAT skills, but it's not like schools that would take a 140 are going to scoff at a second one, the same is true for 170s.

    This is why when people ask about whether or not they should retake, the advice 90% of the time is yes.
  • KimberlyKKimberlyK Alum Member
    217 karma
    @Pacifico Thank you for clearing that up for me!
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