Grades are one of the two most important factors in law school admissions, along with standardized test scores on the LSAT or GRE. There are three reasons for this.
First, studies have shown that applicants’ LSAT scores and college grades are reliable predictors of performance in the first year of law school.
Second, law schools like to boast about the median GPA and LSAT score of incoming law students, which are also a minor factor in law school rankings.
Third, grades and test scores are quantitative. They are easier to weigh and compare than other factors that might distinguish an applicant, like motivation and strong writing skills.
[Related:What Is a Good LSAT Score?]
That said, admissions officers are humans, not algorithms. They don’t simply admit the applicants with the highest numbers. They are looking to build a balanced class of the best candidates overall.
Indeed, one chief reason why admissions offices exist is to assess the context behind an applicant’s grades along with the “soft factors” that distinguish many worthy candidates whose grades aren’t their strong suit.
How Law School Admissions Officers Look at GPA
Each law school applicant’s file includes a report compiled by the Credential Assembly Service of the Law School Admission Council, or LSAC. This report assembles all grades from every higher learning institution attended by the applicant.
Applicants are required to report grades from every undergraduate and graduate institution, including college classes taken in high school or taken not for credit.
The LSAC report includes several GPAs: a GPA for each institution, a GPA for each year and a cumulative GPA for all undergraduate work.
Applicants often obsess about cumulative undergraduate GPA, since it is the number used when law schools report the median GPA of incoming students. It is an easy shorthand for comparing applicants and gauging their chances of admission.
However, admissions officers do not view this number in isolation. Just as a doctor would need to know more than your weight and height to assess your physical fitness, an admissions officer looks to other evidence on your transcript to determine your academic performance.
What Law Schools Consider in a Transcript Besides GPA
Beyond the GPA, admissions officers might look at other trends and data points revealed by an applicant’s academic record.
Where did the applicant go to college, and what is the grade distribution at the school? What was the applicant’s major? Did the applicant take a challenging course load? How many credits did the applicant take?
Related:Choosing the Best Undergraduate Major for Law School]
Did the applicant’s grades improve over time? Were there certain subjects in which the applicant performed well or poorly, and are those classes relevant to law school? How do the applicant’s grades align with other application materials, like recommendation letters?
Sometimes a transcript may raise questions that an applicant should answer elsewhere on their application, like a significant dip in performance or course withdrawals.
Other issues may be self-explanatory. Most college students perform worst in their first semester or two. And it’s not hard to spot a former premedical student with low grades on notoriously difficult classes like organic chemistry.
How Law Schools Look Beyond the Transcript to Put a GPA in Context
Ultimately, every law school admits many applicants with GPAs below their median. In such cases, admissions officers make a judgment call that such applicants are capable of higher academic performance than their GPA alone might suggest.
For example, college grades are clearly less relevant for older applicants.
Applicants who faced significant hardships in college, or who can make a good case for why their college grades don’t reflect their abilities, might consider writing an addendum to explain their situation.
How Law Schools Evaluate Students with Multiple Transcripts
Generally, admissions officers tend to care more about grades achieved at the institution where applicants receive their undergraduate degree.
Although an LSAC score report breaks down GPA by institution, it does not distinguish GPAs between majors or between undergraduate degrees received concurrently within one institution, like a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts.
[Read: Conditional Scholarships for Law School: What to Know]
If you receive multiple degrees from separate institutions — like an associate degree, a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree — LSAC will calculate those separately. The cumulative undergraduate GPA will not include courses taken after receiving a bachelor’s degree.
For more complicated situations, like international grades, withdrawals or repeated courses, LSAC has posted guidance online about what will appear on those transcript reports and how GPAs are calculated.
Law School Admissions Officers Are Transcript Experts
A law school admissions officer reading your transcript has likely reviewed thousands of transcripts before. However unusual your case is, it is unlikely that it is unique.
While it may be wise to explain the context for your grades, there is no point in obsessing about whether your cumulative undergraduate GPA reflects your overall performance, especially if you have already graduated.
Law schools evaluate applicants holistically, not mechanically. Whatever your GPA is, know that your law school candidacy cannot be reduced to one number.
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How Law Schools Evaluate an Applicant’s Grades originally appeared on usnews.com
