<p>I am in a bit of an odd situation. I am pretty set on going to a top law school. I have not taken the LSAT, but obviously I "plan" on getting a 170+. </p>
<p>As far as my GPA goes however, I will graduate with a 3.3. The reason being from my freshman year. I went straight to a 4 year, and my first year I got like a 0.01 gpa (6 F's, 1 W and 1 D). the next couple years, I went part time. Got some C's, another F, and some B's. I finally got my head on straight, did good and finished up a semester there with a 3.7 GPA, then went back to community college, where I got a 4.0 for a summer (6 units) and then two semesters (with 17 units each, and hard courses), did a ton of networking, community service, etc... and transferred to USC, my dream school. I am now majoring in Bus. Admin (concentrating on Finance). I am doing great here. I will maintain a 3.7 at USC (possibly higher by graduation), and like I said, will likely somehow graduate with a cumulative gpa of 3.3 (including ALL grades, so that will be my lsac gpa).</p>
<p>BUT, I read in the lsac handbook that they not only calculate your cumulative gpa, but also your gpa for each year, and each institution. In addition, the schools I apply to will also see my transcripts. </p>
<p>All in all, I will be in college 7 years. My gpa for the first 3, is BAD. For the final 4, around 3.8+. And as stated, 3.3 cumulative.</p>
<p>SO, my question is, will I still be viewed as just another 3.3 applicant, or will I have a bit of an edge, and coupled with a high LSAT score, have the ability to make it into a top 20 school (I like USC, UCLA, Cornell, NYU, Penn)?</p>