Admissions index degree gpa vs cumulative Forum

[chillout3456]

Does anyone know whether University of Colorado Law uses degree gpa instead of cumulative? Colorado/Vermont/Seattle all have degree while every other school has cumulative used in the formula in the LSAC admissions index. I cannot find a anyone who knows about this.

[QContinuum]

Where exactly are you seeing Colorado use degree GPA instead of LSAC GPA? In Colorado's 509, I see the standard overall GPA reported, and for USNWR rankings I'm pretty sure overall GPA is used too.

[cavalier1138]

No one uses degree GPA.

[chillout3456]

LSAC-Admissions Index LSAC website-transcripts-admissions index report pdf

City University of New York 0.046 0.323 Cum -5.134
1221 Cleveland State—Marshall College of Law 0.056 0.574 Cum -7.600
4841 Colorado, University of 3.650 38.670 Degree 118.290--------------------
2163 Columbia University 0.045 0.559 Cum -5.512
4881 Concordia University 0.053 0.348 Cum -6.353
2098 Cornell Law School 0.024 0.205 Cum -1.290
6121 Creighton University 0.047 0.377 Cum -5.631
1834 Dayton, University of 0.044 0.338 Cum -4.780
4842 Denver, University of 0.032 0.458 Cum -3.540
1165 DePaul University 0.038 0.315 Cum -3.845
1835 Detroit Mercy, University of 0.044 0.323 Cum -4.861
6168 Drake University 1.000 10.000 Cum 0.000
2907 Drexel University 0.034 0.446 Cum -3.818

[cavalier1138]

That index is based on numbers that the schools provided to LSAC for statistical purposes, not for reporting. It doesn't have anything to do with using degree GPA in admissions.

[chillout3456]

Cavelier. No, it is used by inputting your GPA into the forumla provided then comparing it to a set range of values that indicate your percentile chance of getting into the law school. For all other schools, cumulative is used. For Colorado, Vermont, and Seattle degree gpa is used in the formula. No where does it say that "undergraduate gpa" means cumulative gpa for the 509 data nor does it say that for USNWR. All it says is "undergraduate gpa" which for most schools probably does mean cumulative but for Vermont/Colorado/Seattle "undergraduate gpa" could mean degree gpa. Most schools specifically say cumulative gpa but Colorado simply says "undergraduate gpa" which makes me believe they mean "degree gpa". This pertains to me because I was a transfer student and my last school I have a 3.93 so probably guranteed admissions at UC-Boulder if the information LSAC provides is correct. Most students aren't transfers so degree gpa and cumulative mean the same thing.

[Npret]

LSAC doesn’t calculate or report a “degree GPA.” Im not sure where OP found this idea, but the cumulative GPA calculated by LSAC is what all schools use for admissions.

[chillout3456]

They do report a degree gpa and a cumulative gpa if you were an undergraduate transfer student. I have two gpa's from LSAC's academic report.

[nixy]

That index is based on numbers that the schools provided to LSAC for statistical purposes, not for reporting. It doesn't have anything to do with using degree GPA in admissions.

This is correct. Schools use cumulative GPA for admissions purposes. Otherwise LSAC wouldn’t have any reason to get all the transcripts from all your past schools. Also it would be clear from things like LSN data if people with higher degree GPAs were being treated as if that were their GPA for admissions purposes, but that’s not happening.

[cavalier1138]

No, it is used by inputting your GPA into the forumla provided then comparing it to a set range of values that indicate your percentile chance of getting into the law school. For all other schools, cumulative is used.

Oh, that's what you're using? I thought you were just referring to the spreadsheet data online. The LSAC admissions calculator is junk. It also has nothing to do with the factors those schools actually consider. And every student has a degree GPA that differs from their cumulative GPA, not just transfers.

MyLSN is a far more accurate tool for predicting your chances. But you're going to have to give it your actual LSAC GPA.

[PanjandrumOfReason]

I think the posts in this thread are incorrect. Most schools explicitly use a formula to combine GPA and LSAT into a single numerical value and then rank applicants based on that value, but the schools differ on the individual weights they give to GPA and LSAT. For the schools that do that, they report the specific formula they use to LSAC, and that information can be found in the document OP is referring to. So yes, according the document, Colorado, unlike most law schools, uses only the degree GPA in their formula. And yes, LSAC provides both a cumulative and degree GPA in the academic summary they send to all law schools.

[nixy]

I think the posts in this thread are incorrect. Most schools explicitly use a formula to combine GPA and LSAT into a single numerical value and then rank applicants based on that value, but the schools differ on the individual weights they give to GPA and LSAT. For the schools that do that, they report the specific formula they use to LSAC, and that information can be found in the document OP is referring to. So yes, according the document, Colorado, unlike most law schools, uses only the degree GPA in their formula. And yes, LSAC provides both a cumulative and degree GPA in the academic summary they send to all law schools.

evidence for this?

schools can't report their combined numerical value to USNWR, they have to report the LSAT and cumulative GPA.