Law school and undergrad GPA

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>3 questions</p>

<li><p>Does it matter how difficult the classes you take as an undergrad are for law school applications or is GPA primarily whats important?</p></li>
<li><p>Can i still get into a top law school after a 3.1 in my first semester( 4 A’s and 1D) if i raise my gpa to a 3.7ish, coming from Cornell undergrad. </p></li>
<li><p>Does a law school weight your gpa differently if you come from a school that gives 4.3 for A+'s. For example is a 3.8 from cornell less than a 3.8 from Umichigan since michigan dosent give you 4.3 for a+'s.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Basically I just want to know if, assuming I do 3.7+, for the next 5 semesters and raise my GPA to a 3 7ish I can still get into a top school. </p>

<p>Also I was wondering if being a part of a fraternity will help with law school applications and basically the overall importance of EC’S.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>A high GPA / LSAT score is key. The rigor of your course load doesn't matter to much. Furthermore a 3.5 at Cornell won't look as good as a 4.0 from... ualbany? Some schools create their own GPA from your transcript, and others don't.</p>

3

<ol>
<li>GPA matters much more, but some law schools (including Harvard) will also look at the specific courses.</li>
<li>Yes, 3.7 GPA is only on the lower side at Harvard/Yale/Stanford/Berkeley. </li>
<li>If you got A+ grades, they will be converted to 4.3 automatically by LSAC. Your LSAC GPA is what matters. </li>
</ol>

<p>Not sure about Greek life, but I think it's better if you have a leadership position.</p>

4

<p>so even if my school give 4.0 for A, I should still go for A+ as the LSAC will convert it to 4.3?</p>

5

<p>^can someone answer the qn above?</p>

6

<p>If your school gives a grade of A+ the LSAC will convert them to a 4.3</p>

<p>Getting an A+ as opposed to getting an A can increase your LSAC gpa. so if your school gives an A+, you should try to get an A+.</p>

<p>If your school does not give grades of A+, you the highest gpa you can get is a 4.0</p>

7

<p>I think my previous post wasn't clear.. my school gives 4.0 for both A+ and A, so I should still go for A+?</p>

8

<p>yes, because the lsac will convert the A+ to a 4.3</p>

9

<p>Then, top students from the colleges that do not give A+ are likely to be less competititive than those from colleges that give A+, right?</p>

10

<p>maybe, but the law schools also get a copy of your official (non-LSAC-converted) transcript with information about your school's grading breakdown, so it's probably a minimal concern at best.</p>

11

<p>What if my school doesn't give A+'s? Am I at a disadvantage then? So the highest I can get is a 4.0 while for some it's a 4.3. Grr.</p>

12

<p>Three types of colleges regarding grading
I. Colleges giving only A (no A- or A+)
II. Colleges giving A+, A-, and A
III. Colleges giving only A and A-
Among these three colleges, IMO, type I colleges benefit their students the most and type III, the least.</p>

13

<p>It's not that big a deal. Law schools will be thrilled to have someone with a 4.0. Or a 3.9. Or, at almost all schools, a 3.6 or 3.7 or 3.8 (especially combined with a good LSAT score). </p>

<p>The truth is, for most people, the thing holding them back from getting grades like this is not the grading system. If you have a 3.3 or something, it's not like you're really getting a lot of As that could have been an A+ somewhere else.</p>

14

<p>It can be a big deal.
Think about a student who got A's from half his/ her classes and A-'s from the rest of classes: his/ her GPA is a 3.84.
Now think about another student who is attending a state school that gives only A's (Without A+ or A-) got all A's in his/ her classes: his/ her GPA is a 4.0.
And both of the students have a same Lsat score: say a 173.
The latter can get into HLS almost authomatically, but the former should wait for many many days without any guarantee.
In addition, if a student goes to a grade deflating college giving a A', A-, and A+, he/ she will be in a much more adverse situation.</p>

15

<p>Great, I get shafted when it comes to GPA, again. I got shafted in high school too. Not fair :(</p>

16

<p>"Great, I get shafted when it comes to GPA, again."</p>

<p>Unless you currently have a 4.0 and expect to keep it for all 4 years of college, it would be silly to make a big deal about getting "shafted".</p>

17

<p>Jeez - why dont you just study and work hard to get A's instead of wasting time posting multiple times fretting that your school gives A's instead of A+'s</p>

18

<p>Being in a school that gives As but no A+'s cannot put you at a disadvantage. it is absurd. the law school admissions teams will judge you based on what your school's system is. i have never heard of GPAs out of 4.3 in college.</p>

19

<p>bdl, there are students who get A+'s.
And you can't rule out the possibility that a student who got an A at his/her none A+ college could have gotten an A+ in another college.</p>

20

<p>
[quote]
And you can't rule out the possibility that a student who got an A at his/her none A+ college could have gotten an A+ in another college.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes, you can. If the student has mostly A- or B+s, you can safely rule out the possibility of A+. One would have to have straight As for this to even begin to be a concern.</p>