How do law schools judge applicants without grades?

<p>If you went to a school like Evergreen State College where you do not recieve letter grades would admission to law school be based mainly on your LSATs?</p>

<p>*** no grades? How does that work?</p>

<p>Well, Brown, for example, doesn't release grades, but it seems to do fairly well at HLS admissions:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.law.harvard.edu/admissions/jd/colleges.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.law.harvard.edu/admissions/jd/colleges.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
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Well, Brown, for example, doesn't release grades, but it seems to do fairly well at HLS admissions:

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<p>I believe Brown does release grades.</p>

<p>Ah, does it? I've always believed it didn't. My mistake.</p>

<p>If a student earns below a C, the grade only appears on Brown's internal transcript, but the grade never appears on transcripts sent to third parties. Instead of the traditional grading system, students can also opt to do their courses on a pass/fail system. For both grading schemes, GPA is not calculated and neither is class rank.</p>

<p>..has an excellent pre-law advisor. At least it did a couple of years ago. I'd suggest contacting him to ask your question. Its grads do well in the law school admissions process from what I've seen. </p>

<p>I thought Wildflower considered ESC a couple of years ago and looked into the process then?</p>

<p>I did. I talked to a lot of people (professors, their pre-law advisor, students, law school admission consultants), did research, etc.</p>

<p>PM me if you have any specific questions about the school, I am sure I can provide some insight. Nonetheless, I'll say this: if your goal is a top 25 law school, you'll be better off attending an institution that gives you traditional grades. Evergreen regularly sends people to the U of WA LS (#26 or so in US News rankings) and Seattle U LS (#95 or so). However, successful students tend/need to have a strong LSAT (165+). Without a GPA, the LSAT becomes the only quantitative factor on your app -- some people consider that a disadvantage, sort of like going into battle with a sword, but not a shield. </p>

<p>It can be a good school for the right student; it is certainly excellent if you plan to major (although they have no formal majors) in Environmental Studies/ Environmental Sciences/ I want to save the environment type of major.</p>

<p>Again, feel free to PM if you have specific questions.</p>

<p>Oh, their pre-law advisor is a Harvard Law graduate. However, in the past few years, no student has graduated from Evergreen and attended HLS the following fall. (I believe the one person accepted in 2005 had a successful career in environmental work prior to HLS, though I am not entirely sure.)</p>

<p>Anecdote: a recent Evergreen student, after doing some research on LS admissions, transferred to the U of WA. He did his Jr and SR years there, graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude, and with a 4.0. He was a first generation immigrant and, according to the professors who knew him, a remarkable student. He failed to get acceptance to HLS, but got into Seattle U LS and U of Wa LS. His LSAT was good, but not outstanding (165 or so). His recommendations were compelling, including one by the Evergreen Pre-law advisor, who also happened to be his professor for a few classes and, as I understand it, almost requested that the student be admitted to HLS in the letters. </p>

<p>Was it the LSAT? Was it the lack of GPA for two years? Was it a subjective factor, such as transferring? I don't know, but think about it. </p>

<p>I also contacted an Evergreen grad, currently a lawyer at a top DC firm, who graduated from HLS. Half of this attorney's grades were earned at the U of WA, so she had grades -- which she acknowledged were essential in her admission to HLS.</p>

<p>I think that what it really comes down to is fit (and your goals). If you want to go to Harvard, go to a school that will give you grades, get a 4.0 (or close), ace the LSAT, and put together a good, compelling, application. But even if HLS is your goal, you also have to consider how much you are willing to sacrifice to get there; four years is a long time to be spent somewhere you'll be unhappy. You may not want to be a lawyer in a few months or years. You may not get into HLS anyway (and I say this in the best possible light, as something to consider).</p>