low gpa options

[AuburnChick]

which schools dont care about a 3.3 gpa??? assuming i have around a 165 lsat

[cascagrossa]

eh, 3.3/165 gives you plenty of options.  i was hoping this thread would be for true low gpa'ers(<3.0).  im stuck with a 2.77 

[Leaf2001br]

eh, 3.3/165 gives you plenty of options. i was hoping this thread would be for true low gpa'ers(<3.0). im stuck with a 2.77

Cascagrossa, do you mind me asking where you are applying?  I have a slightly lower gpa.  I have a trancript of several years of @#!* ups where I accomplished basically nothing scholastically, then six consevutive full semesters between 3.25 and 3.6, so there is a clear turning point and upward swing (more like two entirely different plateaus than a "swing"), but I will still be saddled with that horrible cumulative uGPA.  Of course, if you're in this situation too, you probably need to know what your LSAT score is before you can really narrow it down.  Just wondering because this application process is very difficult with such a strange split situation (I am realistically hoping 160s), and there are very few others in this situation that can relate or help.

[cascagrossa]

right now my list is: miami, florida, fsu, stetson, emory, vanderbilt, duke, uva, stanford, harvard, boalt, yale.  yea i know, slim chance with most of those but i might as well give it a shot.

im hoping for 170+, but ill have to settle with 167.  anything lower and ill be retaking in december. my gpa blows, but at least its for an economics major from a top 10 university. 

i figure that realistically i only have a decent shot at miami and stetson(well, maybe fsu as well since im a florida resident).  im just sending out apps to the other schools because you never know how admissions work and i may just have something unique in my file that could catch an adcomm's attention on a good day.

miami is my #1 choice right now, and i would be thrilled to attend there.  but i would absolutely *&^% my pants if i got a freak acceptance to one of the other schools.

[Leaf2001br]

Interesting range.  Only 3 non-T14 schools, one of which is Stetson?  Any reason you didn't go for more schools in the Florida/Miami range where you might have more acceptances to choose from?  (I'm guessing you like the state of Florida and if you don't get a dream school you'd just as soon stay in state and save some $?)

I also considered retaking in December if I dropped below say, a 160.  But wouldn't this be counterproductive if you can't raise your score by 7 points or so? 

[cascagrossa]

well, i want to live and practice in miami for the rest of my life so unless i go to a TOP school, it doesnt make sense for me to go to a tier 2 or 3 school in some other random state.  also, those are the only schools in florida that arent REALLY poorly ranked(like st thomas, florida coastal, or nova).

i think once you drop lower in the rankings schools become very regional, so its best to apply to schools in areas where you would be interested in working.  miami has a great regional reputation.  i think i would have a much much harder time trying to get a good job in miami if i went to a low tier 2 school in say california or new york.

with regards to retaking the lsat, im confident i would score somwhere in the range of 172-175, so even if i had a 166 to begin with, just getting that 170+ would look nice on my file and i think it would make a difference.  as much as schools say they only consider an average, i still think that a 17x looks very impressive even if it is from a retake.

[AaronJ]

It is suprising the tradeoff schools make between GPA and LSAT score.  If Casca and  Auburn to exceptionally well (98 percentile +) their options will be broader then they realize.

Leaf, schools look at grade trends but you have to wonder if ad coms really invest that much time in picking apart transcripts.  It might be up to the luck of the draw a little bit on that.  Be very cautious when decinding on retaking.  You definetly will not want to repeat your first performance within any narrow margin.  Schools expect that the retake decision was based on an not wanting to keep an unrepresentive initial score.  If you have doubts as to whether or not you could make the kind of leap you suggested, then it is probably not a good idea.

[Leaf2001br]

Cascagrossa:  Gotcha.  Thanks and good luck.

Aaron: No, I agree.  I don't expect to retake it.  As far as picking apart my trancript, I plan on giving them no choice, i.e. a Screaming Addendum.  I mean it really is significant, like two entirely different transcripts.  But again, trying to decide where to apply (and where not to) is very difficult in this situation.

[cascagrossa]

thanks, good luck to you as well.

[lazybum]

Not to worry about the low GPA.  If you do well enough on the LSAT, you should have a fighting chance.

Cascagrossa- it sounds like we're in the same boat.  I only applied to a couple of schools last year (T-14s) and got into both.  I am not saying that's necessarily normal, but I think your chances of getting into at least one of your choices is definitely doable.  Anyway, I just wanted to give a bit of encouragement by letting you know that there ARE others out there in similar circumstances and that sometimes it does work out.  Good luck!