Canadian GPA to LSAC GPA conversions?

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• 1 Like

  keets993 Alum Member ⭐ ⏰ 🍌

  November 2017 6050 karma

  @jerryguitarist They have a method for each university to make it as even as possible. Here's the chart the OLSAS uses https://www.ouac.on.ca/guide/olsas-conversion-table/; There's also an app called OLSAS calculator you can use to manually convert all your grades (it's pretty accurate).
• jerryguitarist Member

  November 2017 edited November 2017 54 karma

  @keets993 Ah okay, makes sense! I am aware of the OLSAS table. I just found out that according to that table, my GPA is a bit lower than what my university (I'm from Atlantic Canada) calculates. So I am just terrified of how LSAC will calculate it. Thanks, though, I appreciate your help!
• thisissparta Alum Member

  November 2017 edited November 2017 1363 karma

  AFAIK, LSAC will take your letter grade and then convert into a GPA!
• lsattaker10 Free Trial Member

  November 2017 76 karma

  Hey! Did you see this resource: https://7sage.com/gpa-calculator/ ?

  Does your school use percentages or letter grades? I went to a school that's on a 4.33 scale and as far as I know, my CGPA is considered as is (no conversions necessary).
• jerryguitarist Member

  November 2017 54 karma

  @lsattaker10 I used that tool yes. The problem is my transcript reports both numerical percentages and letter grades so I am just worried because if they take my numerical percentages, my GPA might be lower, but if they take the letter grade, it will be higher.
• 1 Like

  thisissparta Alum Member

  November 2017 1363 karma

  @jerryguitarist said:
  @lsattaker10 I used that tool yes. The problem is my transcript reports both numerical percentages and letter grades so I am just worried because if they take my numerical percentages, my GPA might be lower, but if they take the letter grade, it will be higher.

  My university does both too. They will take your letter grade, I'm pretty sure.

  http://lawstudents.ca/forums/topic/46704-canadian-university-gpa-to-usa-system/
• 1 Like

  chicaryss Alum Member

  November 2017 edited November 2017 143 karma

  @jerryguitarist This is something that I've agonized over as well. I'm from a west coast school that operates in a percentage system instead of a GPA system (you can probably guess which based on that description alone, haha) and there was no way I could have known what my overall percentage equated to in the form of a GPA. Each school does the conversion differently, so it's difficult to know unless you get your answer from the school directly.

  OLSAS is harsher with the conversion than some west coast schools. Some people even say that their GPA drops a significant amount when converted to OLSAS (ex: 3.8 to 3.7). It might be worth checking out west coast schools to see what your GPA might look like when they do their conversion.

  EDIT: I was told by UVic that they convert each percentage (not letter grade) individually and then take the average of everything.
• jerryguitarist Member

  November 2017 54 karma

  @chicaryss: Its so messed up honestly. I have a 3.8 at my school according to their grade conversion but I didn't find out about OLSAS until recently and learned that my 3.8 goes down to 3.65 on the OLSAS scale. I still have a year and a half of university left to make up for it but its a big drop in numbers that would ruin my chances at even Osgoode and University of Toronto, let alone HYS. University of Toronto was (ans still is) my top choice for Canada, Osgoode being a close second! Say if I have a 3.7 on the OLSAS scale (a worst case scenario), I'll have to have a jaw dropping LSAT in order to compensate for my GPA. I'm not too worried about the LSAT, I'm pretty obsessive and probably won't sleep till I get my target score, but still my OLSAS GPA broke my fragile little heart!
• chicaryss Alum Member

  November 2017 143 karma

  @jerryguitarist I haven't applied to any of the Ontario schools in part due to the OLSAS issue and in part because I'm hoping to stay on the west coast (UBC is an excellent school, btw). Nature of the beast, I guess.

  Best of luck this Dec!
• jerryguitarist Member

  November 2017 54 karma

  @chicaryss: UBC has been on my mind for a bit now honestly! And I think I'll definitely apply (also, I love Vancouver). Thanks for your help! At the end of the day, I hope that being a better lawyer and having excellent grades matters more to Bay St. (which is where I would practice at least for some time) than what school you went to!
• 1 Like

  RGBeetobe Alum Member

  November 2017 142 karma

  @jerryguitarist 3.7 is totally fine for U of T or Osgoode if you have a strong LSAT score. I went to McGill where it’s really rare to get a GPA above 3.75 and plenty of people I know got into U of T.
• jerryguitarist Member

  November 2017 54 karma

  @"ila.k1482" Thanks so much! I hope it is honestly because UofT has been my dream school for years.
• RGBeetobe Alum Member

  November 2017 142 karma

  @jerryguitarist No problem, good luck! Btw, do you know where we can see our GPA on OLSAS? I can't find it for some reason.
• 1 Like

  __emsss__ Alum Member

  November 2017 edited November 2017 65 karma

  LSAC uses letter grades, not percentages, from Canadian schools! I had a huge disparity between letter grade- and percentage-based grades when using the LSAC conversion table. They have processed my transcripts now and they only used my letter grades (phew!)
• jerryguitarist Member

  November 2017 54 karma

  @"ila.k1482" I have no idea actually, sorry. I haven't applied yet. I just called the OLSAS customer help line and they explained to me how to calculate it using the table which is how the OLSAS app on Android calculates it.

  @floripa17 Thanks so much! Oh I hope so that's the case with me too! The messed up part is that if that is true and they only take my letter grades, I'll have a better chance at Harvard and Stanford than at the University of Toronto in terms of GPA. When it comes to GPA, Ontario law schools are ridiculously hard to get into and have a GPA median that beats Harvard and Stanford and rivals Yale! The acceptance rate at UofT is 9% the last time I checked, which is the same as Yale!!!!
• __emsss__ Alum Member

  November 2017 65 karma

  @jerryguitarist said:
  The messed up part is that if that is true and they only take my letter grades, I'll have a better chance at Harvard and Stanford than at the University of Toronto in terms of GPA. When it comes to GPA, Ontario law schools are ridiculously hard to get into and have a GPA median that beats Harvard and Stanford and rivals Yale! The acceptance rate at UofT is 9% the last time I checked, which is the same as Yale!!!!

  Right?! I didn't even apply to U of T... Apparently they (and other Ontario unis) grade in a way that makes the application process much fairer for Ontario students, but for out of province students, it's a really tough conversion. That's just what my friend from Ontario told me, so maybe it's not completely true for everywhere, but I sort of believe it after checking out the OLSAS conversions... it's unreal. Anyways, it's a good motivator for earning T14 acceptance for sure
• 2 Likes

  ymca.choi Free Trial Member

  November 2017 36 karma

  @jerryguitarist Actually, U of T only takes into calculation your best 3 years of undergraduate studies, so that might give you an edge over how HYS would process your GPA. I think many of the Canadian law schools only take few of your best years or credit grades into calculation. Hope this helps!
• jerryguitarist Member

  November 2017 54 karma

  @"ymca.choi": Yeah I know that UofT does, and that might honestly get me accepted because my grades have a clear upwards trend. Let's see how it goes! For now its time to ace the LSAT! Good luck and thanks!