<p>I'm wondering how much weight is given to GPAs that get better through the undergrad years. I wasn't happy with my fresh/soph gpa, so I worked super hard in my junior year and made nearly straight A's. Do law schools recognize upward trends like that?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Yes they do. However if you're UGPA is no where near where it should be then it won't matter. But, if your UGPA is the same as someone else's and all your other info is the same but you have an upward trend in grades, and they don't, you'd be accepted over them.</p>
<p>If your grades are going up, then you should apply to law school at the end of your senior year (so if you graduate in 2006, you would apply for 2007 admittance), not during your senior year. That way, you'll have your senior year grades to average in and bring everything up.</p>
<p>My other piece of advice is along the same lines: if you are improving as a student, then it could help to wait to apply to law school. It's much more plausible to say that you are a more mature student now than at age 20 when "now" is age 25, not age 22. </p>
<p>Finally, don't count on these people to scrutinize your transcript and see everything in the best possible light. TELL THEM that your grades went up (preferably by saying, "I have a 3.73 for junior and senior years, in which I took x, y, and z classes, all of which were upper-level with intense requirements"), and provide an explanation as to why you are a better student now than you were before. Both belong in an addendum, not as your personal statement.</p>
<p>I agree with the last point ariesathena makes. I had an uncle that went skiing 46 times his first semester of college and broke his leg on his 46th session so his poor attendance only got worse. He failed a lot of classes his first year. After his first year, he got his act together and did really well his remaining time in college and eventually was accepted and graduated number two in his class at Columbia Law School. </p>
<p>In a similar story, I had a cousin that was put on academic probation (his GPA was below a 2.0 for more than two semesters) but he eventually got his act together and ended up with an offer to attend Stanford graduate school. </p>
<p>The story of my uncle and cousin aren't typical and definitely shouldn't be thought of as such. However, realized that improvement is a good thing and often is rewarded.</p>
<p>Oh yea. They LOVE improvement.</p>
<p>I started school with like a 2.0 and jacked it up to a 3.0!</p>
<p>I still got into all the law schools I wanted. It's better to get smarter than to get DUMBER.</p>