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Hi! My freshman year I came in as Bio Pre-Med and did poorly in all of my science classes, with the lowest grade received being a D. I have since switched my major to Economics and Political Science and have gotten no lower than a B- in those classes. My cumulative GPA is a 3.0 as a result, and I am almost done my junior year. I am planning on taking the June LSAT (which I know I need to get a killer score on). I am actively involved on campus and hold numerous leadership positions. I was wondering what the admissions committee will think when they see my application? Will they recognize that I am a "failed pre-med" and notice the significant increase in my academic performance after I switched my major? Will they see how involved I have been and put any weight on that? I am just mainly concerned about my cumulative GPA as it is so low from my science days.

Well, if you can retake any of those classes you did poorly in over the summer or during your senior year that would boost your GPA a good amount. (That is, if your college typically removes off their official transcript the grades of any class that's been retaken). Even if you can only retake one or two of those classes, removing anything lower than a B+ can still pull your grade up.

Now, if that's not an option for whatever reasons, you can always write an addendum and attach it to your LSAC application. Pretty much every school gives you this option and it nevers hurts to try to explain away any bad facts. If there's any, you know, other explanation for your performance freshman year that you can write about other than "science is hard", that's great. If not, again, it doesn't hurt to try.

Leveling out your application with a stellar LSAT score though is your best way, without anything else, to increase your chances of admission into a "top" law school. Splitters exist, it happens.

Good luck!

jelly97 wrote:Hi! My freshman year I came in as Bio Pre-Med and did poorly in all of my science classes, with the lowest grade received being a D. I have since switched my major to Economics and Political Science and have gotten no lower than a B- in those classes. My cumulative GPA is a 3.0 as a result, and I am almost done my junior year. I am planning on taking the June LSAT (which I know I need to get a killer score on). I am actively involved on campus and hold numerous leadership positions. I was wondering what the admissions committee will think when they see my application? Will they recognize that I am a "failed pre-med" and notice the significant increase in my academic performance after I switched my major? Will they see how involved I have been and put any weight on that? I am just mainly concerned about my cumulative GPA as it is so low from my science days.

You might be surprised at how many pre-law students are actually failed pre-med students. I knew at least 3 in undergrad. Really study hard and put in hours preparing for the LSAT, get in the 170's and you can have almost your pick of schools (provided you also have strong softs [personal statement, letters of recommendation, resume].) Of course there are some schools that miiiiiight not accept you because of your gpa, but so long as you submit an addendum for your grades and at least have a high LSAT score I think you are in a good position. I've spoken with law school recruiters who have said they appreciate an upward trend in grades if they know what went on early on in your transcript. However, you HAVE to submit an addendum. They won't know what to think if they just see it at face value. Explain that you were pre-med, and maybe just why pre-med didn't work out for you (perhaps you don't have a scientifically/mathematically oriented mind, I definitely don't.) Don't sweat! Just prepare. Bust out all A's (or try your very best) in your next few semesters to bring your gpa up as much as possible. Good luck!

Obviously it depends which schools you're gunning for, but yes, write an addendum, and make sure your grades are stellar from here on out. Internships and community service are nice softs, but don't overextend yourself. If you're doing 2 club sports and president of a club and in a frat and going to 3 other clubs' meetings…then back off. It's better to have a 3.5 with fewer extracurriculars (which might be possible if you really focus for the rest of your undergrad studies) than a 3.2 with tons of mediocre softs. Also, it might not be what you want to hear, but if you do want an elite law school, taking time off will be helpful. It'll put some more space between your bad grades and your current self, and the real work experience will be a big boost.

Also, don't let LSAT studying mess with your performance in school. It'd be better to take the September test and use the summer as your hardcore study time than bring your GPA down (or not lift it much) this semester because you're distracted by LSAT prep