Extra year of undergrad to raise GPA? Forum

[Ballpark]

Currently, I have one semester left of obtaining a Bachelors Degree. For multiple reasons my GPA, should I choose to graduate after this semester, would end at a 3.01.

I am very interested in attending law school with the primary goal of landing a biglaw job post-graduation. With a GPA of 3.01, and assuming I scored a 170-180 on the LSAT (not trying to seem arrogant. Purely hypothetical), I would only be *slightly* eligible for two schools in the T14. If I did an extra year of classes, my GPA could raise to a 3.45 at the highest, which would cost me about $11,000 in tuition and a few extra grand in living expenses.

So, what I'm asking is: knowing that my career goal is biglaw, and that my 3.01 is not enough to get into a T14 where my chances of biglaw are increased, is it worth staying in undergrad for an extra year (2 semesters) to obtain a higher GPA? Has anyone here ever done this and is it common or an option at all?

[haus]

Your math seems dubious.

If you have 120 semester hours at 3.01, then another 40 hours of 4.33 would only get you in the 3.34 range, a more realistic 39 hours at 4.0 would put you around 3.2.

This sets aside the issue that thee is no guarantee that you would be able to put together the grades you want. Seems to me your time/money/effort could be put to better use.

[Ballpark]

Your math seems dubious.

If you have 120 semester hours at 3.01, then another 40 hours of 4.33 would only get you in the 3.34 range, a more realistic 39 hours at 4.0 would put you around 3.2.

This sets aside the issue that thee is no guarantee that you would be able to put together the grades you want. Seems to me your time/money/effort could be put to better use.

I did two years of community college before going to university, so only 50ish of my credits are actually affecting my GPA. After meeting with an advisor, I found my estimates were accurate. I would be taking easy classes only for the sole purpose of GPA boosting.

[Thomas Hagan, ESQ.]

Your math seems dubious.

If you have 120 semester hours at 3.01, then another 40 hours of 4.33 would only get you in the 3.34 range, a more realistic 39 hours at 4.0 would put you around 3.2.

This sets aside the issue that thee is no guarantee that you would be able to put together the grades you want. Seems to me your time/money/effort could be put to better use.

I did two years of community college before going to university, so only 50ish of my credits are actually affecting my GPA. After meeting with an advisor, I found my estimates were accurate. I would be taking easy classes only for the sole purpose of GPA boosting.

lawls.
Seems like you have a lot of money to waste haha

Why not just focus all those resources and attention to getting the highest possible LSAT..? a 3.00 with 172 can easily get you into the T20. Easily.

[arklaw13]

IMO the change in GPA will only have a good deal of impact if you can get above a school's 25th percentile GPA target. If a school wants their 25th to be at, e.g., 3.45 with a class size of 250, then they only have ~63 spots open to people with less than a 3.45 but have 125 total spots for people with a below median GPA. So in theory, you double your chances by getting to at least 25th percentile (although it isn't really going to work out that way in reality probably).

So figure out what T14 schools have 25th percentiles of 3.45 or lower, and see if it's worth it to spend $15-20k and a year of your life for the increased chance at those schools.

[haus]

Your math seems dubious.

If you have 120 semester hours at 3.01, then another 40 hours of 4.33 would only get you in the 3.34 range, a more realistic 39 hours at 4.0 would put you around 3.2.

This sets aside the issue that thee is no guarantee that you would be able to put together the grades you want. Seems to me your time/money/effort could be put to better use.

I did two years of community college before going to university, so only 50ish of my credits are actually affecting my GPA. After meeting with an advisor, I found my estimates were accurate. I would be taking easy classes only for the sole purpose of GPA boosting.

That would be your degree GPA, which is not used in Law school admissions. Your LSAC GPA will include your CC grades. If you did well at CC then your GPA might be higher than you listed here, if not....

Just because you take easy classes, it is no guarantee that you will get the grades you want.

[UVA2B]

Your math seems dubious.

If you have 120 semester hours at 3.01, then another 40 hours of 4.33 would only get you in the 3.34 range, a more realistic 39 hours at 4.0 would put you around 3.2.

This sets aside the issue that thee is no guarantee that you would be able to put together the grades you want. Seems to me your time/money/effort could be put to better use.

I did two years of community college before going to university, so only 50ish of my credits are actually affecting my GPA. After meeting with an advisor, I found my estimates were accurate. I would be taking easy classes only for the sole purpose of GPA boosting.

Those community college classes are still going into your overall LSAC GPA. So if you have 50ish credits at your current uni, you may increase your GPA at that university to 3.45, but you should really look into how all of your grades at every institution affect your LSAC GPA. Until then, you can't effectively weigh the cost/benefit of doing the extra year.

[Future Ex-Engineer]

Your math seems dubious.

If you have 120 semester hours at 3.01, then another 40 hours of 4.33 would only get you in the 3.34 range, a more realistic 39 hours at 4.0 would put you around 3.2.

This sets aside the issue that thee is no guarantee that you would be able to put together the grades you want. Seems to me your time/money/effort could be put to better use.

Pretty sure this poster asked the exact same question on reddit, and there was also met with the 'how the hell does your math make any sense' response.
IIRC, they also have yet to even take a PT, so the whole 170-180 LSAT assumption is kinda off the wall.

[anonanonny]

If I were you, I would not drag out graduation for another year. Even though you could increase your GPA, what if you don't? Then you've wasted money and time extending the date of your graduation. I think there are times we need to accept our circumstances and deal with them in the best way we can--this seems like one of those times. Accept your GPA isn't what you wish it was, and work your ass off for a great LSAT score. Also, consider being more open-minded about job prospects. There are ways to make a good living that do not involve BL. Good luck!

[arroznueve]

Let's say you stay another year. And you get a 3.0 during the other year. Oops.

But maybe you get a 4.0 for the whole year. Cool! You haven't taken the LSAT, though. You score a 152. Oops.

Or maybe you get a 174. And you get into a school ranked 13th. And you're jack-last in your class once grades come out. Oops.

Or maybe you get into a T14, do well enough, and reek of diarrhea at your interviews. Oops.

Doing an extra year of undergraduate is not a good idea, unless it has some discernible purpose (GPA boosting is not one; doing it to finish off a key double major that you really want for your career, and that you cannot transition into as a graduate degree instead, would be). Doing an extra year of undergraduate because it might maybe raise your GPA, which might maybe help you get into a school that could possibly get you a job you think you want now with an LSAT score you might possibly get...naaaah.

Take the LSAT, apply to law schools, see what your options are, and determine:

(1) What would I need to do to get the job I think I want out of these schools?
(2) Do I want to be a lawyer if I cannot get the exact job I currently think I want?

And then compare your prospects from the law schools you get into to what you're qualified to do now with your bachelor's degree, or what you could do if you went into different graduate program.

[androstan]

Based on the scant info provided, it seems unlikely you'll break the gpa25 wall anywhere worth attending. Therefore you'll be relying on your lsat score. The good news is that a 17x score gives you a fighting chance at the t14, or a t25ish with money. I accomplished this with an appreciably worse gpa in 2011, and I think law school is a little less competitive now.

[k5220]

LSAC will definitely count your community college classes in your cumulative GPA, which is the one law schools care about for rankings purposes. You should redo your math to figure out your total LSAC GPA, and how much you can bring that up.

Because all your grades count, one extra year of school is unlikely to do much unless your GPA is really really low. Still, it might be worth it if it brings your GPA over a 3.0 or over a T14 school's 25th percentile GPA.

[TheTaylor]

Some people above have said that they'll still count your community college. Totally true.
I went to a cc for two years and finished with a 3.43. After over 50 credits at my undergrad and a 3.98 degree gpa, my cumulative gpa is only a 3.67. And that is what every law school saw, not a 3.98. A year more of classes will barely raise your gpa, assuming that you do well. Spend some extra time studying for the lsat, that'll be more productive.