<p>I got 2 A+s this semester, but how would the LSAC calculate the A+s if the university I attend doesn't formally distinguish between an A and an A+? Not only are the grade points a 4 for both A and A+ grades, but the transcript itself doesn't reflect the A+s (I know only from professors). I read that the LSAC assigns 4.33 points to every A+ even if the university does not. Does this policy apply only if the A+ is actually denoted on the transcript?</p>
<p>I'm no expert, but if the highest grade that your school assigns is an A, than that is all she wrote. In any event, if you're doing so well in college that your biggest problem is differentiating between A and A+ grades, and you do well on your LSATs, you should get into a fine law school. If you have questions, you can refer to the LSAC website or call LSAC directly.</p>
<p>You're outta luck. If what goes on your transcript is an A and not an A+ then LSAC will calculate your gpa as a A (4.00)</p>
<p>So students from schools that dont use a +/- system are just flat outta luck? That hardly sounds fair.</p>
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That hardly sounds fair.
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<p>Your transcript shows the grades that you received. In what way isn't that fair? Would it be more fair for someone to guess and add a minus to every grade you received for purposes of calculating your LSAC GPA? Is it so safe to assume that you would always have received a "plus" grade instead of a "minus" grade. Your grades are your grades. </p>
<p>At the end of the day, every law school to which you apply will have a copy of your actual transcript in hand. The grading policies for each school are typically listed somewhere on the transcript, so that the law schools will know what grades were awarded at each school.</p>
<p>And further to sallyawp's comment, the LSAC also advises law schools of the average gpa for all law school applicants from each undergraduate institution. In this way, you are being measured against all the other applicants who happened to attend your school, and were therefore subject to the same grading scales.</p>
<p>Im looking at a scatter plot of GPA for recently accepted Univ of texas Law School students. Many of them have a 4.1. How is it fair that I'm competing with them?</p>
<p>It's at least as fair as the college admissions process, where one student's school offers every single AP, inflates grades, and allows the student to graduate with a 4.9, while the next school offers zero APs, deflates grades, and allows a "better" student to graduate with a 3.5. You survived that, so hey! :)</p>
<p>There are other factors that go into consideration, things get viewed in a context, and you deal with it. It's not perfect, but it gets the job done. Ultimately, two A+'s will not make a significant difference in your GPA...nothing that a slightly higher LSAT score wouldn't likely make up for, anyway. </p>
<p>My school doesn't give A+'s either...nor do many. Like a previous poster said, if this is your biggest concern, you're going to be fine...don't worry about it.</p>
<p>Coming from a small private school in texas with grade deflation and few APs, and having to deal with the 10% rule, I know all about how unfair college admissions can be.</p>
<p>Oh well, thanks for the info.</p>
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How is it fair that I'm competing with them?
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<p>The admissions professionals at law schools certainly know what kinds of grades they usually see from many individual colleges. I will reiterate that LSAC will provide the law schools to which you apply with a copy of your actual transcript, the admissions professionals will understand where your grades place you relative to other law school applicants from your college (in addition to class placement stats, to the extent that your college gives them) and your transcript will state the grading policies (and what grades are available) at your college. </p>
<p>The law school admissions process is not run by a bunch of autonomous robots that simply add up numbers and <em>poof</em> come up with admissions determinations. Yes, you will be competing with all of the other applicants for admission in the year when you apply; however, except perhaps for those last few admits at the margins, each application is not compared with the next to determine a pecking order of GPA and LSAT scores. Law schools receive thousands of applications every year. The admissions professionals will use their knowledge of admissions criteria from throughout their careers to make admissions decisions. </p>
<p>There is nothing unfair about the fact that different schools grade differently. I'm sure that different majors and different classes within your college grade differently. Should you be given extra credit because you took an intro class in your major with a harder grading professor than others in your major? I have been told (though others who frequently visit this forum will disagree with me) that law school admissions professionals will take into account the difficulty of your major and the quality of the coursework you did will in college. </p>
<p>The LSAC GPA is designed to give some information about how you compare to the rest of the folks who are applying to law school. It is not the end of the story. In fact, I would argue that if you do well and continue to earn those A grades, you will have absolutely nothing to worry about.</p>
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I will reiterate that LSAC will provide the law schools to which you apply with a copy of your actual transcript, the admissions professionals will understand where your grades place you relative to other law school applicants from your college (in addition to class placement stats, to the extent that your college gives them) and your transcript will state the grading policies (and what grades are available) at your college.
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<p>And at the end of the day, the LSAC GPA is what they report to the ABA and US News and is what matters. </p>
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There is nothing unfair about the fact that different schools grade differently.
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<p>Sure there is. They're not even using the same scale. A 4.0 on, say, a 5.0 scale is certainly not equivalent to a 4.0 on a 4.0 scale and nobody would even argue that they should be reported as though they were. The very easy way for LSAC to solve the whole problem is to simply calculate an A+ as a 4.0.</p>
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A 4.0 on, say, a 5.0 scale is certainly not equivalent to a 4.0 on a 4.0 scale and nobody would even argue that they should be reported as though they were.
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Of course they shouldn't, and they aren't. The LSAC has never done this and never will.</p>
<p>And that's NOT an easy way to do it. Why should an A+ student be penalized just because some other schools out there don't give out A+'s? Again, what about the students who don't score A+'s at schools that do give them out? Those students haven't earned A+'s and should not be treated as if they had. The underlying mathematical assumption is that all students would score A+'s at the same frequency if only all schools gave them out -- which is simply ridiculous and unfair.</p>
<p>I recognize that the current system is unfair. I do not even argue that the current system is less unfair -- only that the solution you propose is ALSO unfair. I do not make any arguments about more/less, equal/unequal -- I'm stating simply that both systems are unfair and the LSAC is simply picking its poison.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, the AAMC has chosen to implement your solution.</p>