<p>First year Smithie here. I'm wondering if anyone knows where I could find info about Smith undergrad admission into top law schools? Or even law school in general, I guess. I've been searching the Smith website and internet to no avail. :)</p>
<p>I would check with the CDO on campus, they probably have the stats. I suspect that Smith does well. Or at least, if you have top grades and top scores, you'll do fine. Bear in mind that you can graduate from Smith with GPA's calculated in three different ways: Latin Honors (no first-year courses), Overall (with non-Smith-run JYA courses not included), and Overall (with non-Smith-run JYA courses included). Law schools will calculate the latter even though the middle one is what's on your Smith transcript.</p>
<p>The CDO can tell you, although I think their statistics may miss some people who take time off between college and law school. Alice Hearst is the pre-law advisor--she's a government professor and has taught at several law schools.</p>
<p>I know Smith alums who currently attend Harvard, Penn, Michigan, Columbia, and NYU law schools (to name some of the "top" schools--there are a lot of Smithies at other places, too).</p>
<p>If you're interested in law school in general, talk to Alice Hearst. But I would wait until you get back to campus, make an appointment, and speak to her face-to-face rather than emailing her. She's a great lady, but she's notoriously disorganized, and you'll get a better response if you meet in person.</p>
<p>Alice Hearst isn't the pre-law advisor anymore -- that changed almost two years ago. But she is a fantastic person and a great source for law school related information. I agree with S&P, wait until you get to campus and just drop by her office. There is now a pre-law advisor working in the CDO. Unfortunately, I don't know his name and couldn't find it on the website. </p>
<p>Law school is a popular post-Smith option. At a alumnae meeting in 2006, President Christ stated that 20% of Sithies have gone on to obtain law degrees in the past. </p>
<p>“Is there a course on reading legal documents,” asked an alumna from the forties? President Christ commented that while there is not a specific course on that topic, 20 percent of alumnae go on to get law degrees. Because of this fact, there is a desire to review and possibly enhance the pre-law program." (<a href="http://www.smith.edu/future/shaping/docs/06mar8.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.smith.edu/future/shaping/docs/06mar8.pdf</a>)</p>
<p>Going to Smith or any other top school is a good "soft" factor for law school admissions, but GPA and LSAT scores are much more important than which undergrad you attended. All college level work including summer school, study abroad, coummunity college classes taken while still in high school etc. counts in your official GPA.</p>
<p>The CDO (Smith</a> College Career Development Office) has some great info. Here are a couple of links:
<a href="http://www.smith.edu/cdo/students/handouts/law-school.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.smith.edu/cdo/students/handouts/law-school.pdf</a>
Smith</a> College Career Development Office</p>
<p>Welcome to Smith! Enjoy! :-)</p>
<p>To clarify a bit, all those courses listed by Laurel count in the GPA as calculated by law school admissions. But, for instance, grades outside the four abroad programs run by Smith itself are <em>not</em> calculated in the GPA that's on your Smith transcript.</p>
<p>Yes, thanks for clarifying that. :-)</p>
<p>What I was referring to as your "official" GPA, is the GPA that is used as the basis for law school admissions. The Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS) standardizes the undergraduate academic records of law school applicants in the U.S. Almost all ABAapproved law schools require applicants to use this service. The GPA that Smith calculates, which excludes first year grades, transfer credit, some study abroad etc., is fairly irrelevant for the purposes of law school admission.</p>
<p>Well, to clarify again.... :)</p>
<p>The official Smith GPA <em>does</em> include first-year grades. However, the GPA calculated for Latin Honors excludes first-year grades...along with non-Smith-run "abroad grades.</p>
<p>You're ahead of me on LSDAS. I think I've got a couple of years before D figures out whether it's going to be relevant or not. Some forks in the road re graduate schooling lie ahead.</p>