Law School Admissions
Objective Factors
GPA
The GPA considered by law schools is the cumulative grade point average of every course the applicant has taken at the college level to the date of consideration. It includes all courses taken for credit at all colleges and universities attended. Thus, the ideal time for a student to begin working on getting a good GPA is the first day of classes at the first college attended. While the maximum GPA of 4.0 (straight As) cannot be a realistic expectation for more than a few highly gifted (and highly motivated) students, it should be the goal of every pre-law student at the time he or she begins college work, and every effort should be made to come as close as possible to that goal.
While the very thought of grades of D or E should be anathema to the pre-law student, such grades are sometimes a reality.
At ASU, lower-division course grades of D or E can be eliminated from the GPA calculation by taking the course over and administratively substituting the new grade for the old. This means that the ASU Registrar then computes the ASU GPA as if the D or E had never been received. BUT, pre-law students should be aware that law schools (as well as all other external institutions) always compute their own version of the cumulative GPA and will include ALL grades, whether the course was retaken or not. Elimination of bad grades by repetition of the course is a common practice in American colleges and universities today, but the "forgiveness" is only local.
LSAT admissions factor
The Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) is not a test for which an applicant can cram the night before. It is a half-day test of intelligence, skills, and achievement that measures the mental and academic abilities needed to study law. Standing alone, the LSAT provides only a partial measure of an individual's promise for law study. In the context of a broader range of information about individuals, the LSAT is helpful in assessing individual promise and in making comparisons among those who compete for admission. Law schools vary in the weight they accord to GPA versus LSAT score, but some schools give the LSAT significantly more weight. Thus, it is important both to keep your grades up and to prepare thoroughly for the LSAT. See LSAT and LSAT Prep Tests.
Cut-offs, grade indexes
Students want to know to which schools they should apply, based on their LSAT score and GPA. The Boston College Online Law School Locator can help you identify schools where your scores and grades are most competitive for admission and help you gauge your chance of admission at a particular school. The chart is useful in evaluating law school choices but cannot determine where you should or should not apply.