Is there a huge difference between a 3.69 GPA and a 3.7? Forum

[Vickiwu]

Hi,
I’m planing to apply for law school next year. I’m graduating this semester with a 3.69 GPA. I really want to go to Columbia Law School, but the Median for CLS is 3.70. I’m taking LSAT this June and September. Assume that I can get 172, do I have a chance to get into CLS with a 3.69 GPA?
I know it’s pre stupid to “assume” that I can get a 172 on LSAT, but I feel like it’s too late to work on my GPA..

[Dunnkirk85]

This has to be a troll. Median would be the middle, so of course a good number of people got in with less than a 3.7. 172 is a big assumption. But if you can, then yes. Good luck.

[albanach]

This has to be a troll. Median would be the middle, so of course a good number of people got in with less than a 3.7. 172 is a big assumption. But if you can, then yes. Good luck.

Well, it does have some significance. Schools want to protect their median for the sake of rankings. For every student below median, they therefore have to find someone above it to balance things out. So, while in the real world there should be no real difference between the two GPAs, it is to an extent going to be exaggerated by the ranking system.

When they admit someone with a 3.69 but want to protect a 3.7 median, they could just as easily admit a 3.5 (so long as that's above the 25th percentile). So you're competing with everyone in the 25-50th percentile range as to what else you bring to the class (diversity, work experience, higher LSAT, willingness to pay sticker).

[Dunnkirk85]

This has to be a troll. Median would be the middle, so of course a good number of people got in with less than a 3.7. 172 is a big assumption. But if you can, then yes. Good luck.

Well, it does have some significance. Schools want to protect their median for the sake of rankings. For every student below median, they therefore have to find someone above it to balance things out. So, while in the real world there should be no real difference between the two GPAs, it is to an extent going to be exaggerated by the ranking system.

When they admit someone with a 3.69 but want to protect a 3.7 median, they could just as easily admit a 3.5 (so long as that's above the 25th percentile). So you're competing with everyone in the 25-50th percentile range as to what else you bring to the class (diversity, work experience, higher LSAT, willingness to pay sticker).

You're completely leaving out that they also protect averages and 25th/75th percentiles. When you consider those, there is a huge difference between a 3.5 and 3.69 and not very much between 3.69 and 3.70. So no, they could not just as easily admit a 3.5/172 as a 3.69/172.

[albanach]

You're completely leaving out that they also protect averages and 25th/75th percentiles. When you consider those, there is a huge difference between a 3.5 and 3.69 and not very much between 3.69 and 3.70. So no, they could not just as easily admit a 3.5/172 as a 3.69/172.

I have to assume you didn't actually read my post. Since I quite explicitly mentioned the 25th percentile.

I'm not aware of either the ABA disclosures including or the US News ranking using mean scores for GPA (or LSAT). I'm interested to know where the mean is published and what the purpose of protecting it is for? Does another ranking system rely on this? Do peer schools publish mean GPA?