How would this look?

[Federale]

Context: I'm doing an extra semester this fall, and if I get an A in all my courses I'll have a L20 of 3.7 on the dot. Even if I get a B+ it will only drop my L20 by .2. What I'm afraid of though is that it will look bad if i do end up with a B+, largely because my CGPA isn't competitive, and I'm really relying on my L20 and LSAT to push me over the top. I don't think going from a 3.7 to a 3.68 will be anything serious, but I'm just kinda worried about the subjective aspect of it. I feel as though the expectation for a student returning for another semester should be that they ace all their courses.

I know I'm definitely overthinking things, but is this as serious as I'm making it out to be, or is this just my anxiety talking? 

[Thrive92]

It really depends on which law school you are planning to attend, but it is safe to say that for many law schools, they may not care about a single - semester downward trend (unless it is a significant and a steep decline, which this is not the case). For many law schools, they would calculate your gpa based on their gpa calculation policy, and then view the gpa as a whole -- there are very few schools (if any, but I may be wrong) that takes into consideration the increasing/decreasing grade trends of each semester.

Which law school were you considering applying to?

[Federale]

1 hour ago, Thrive92 said:

It really depends on which law school you are planning to attend, but it is safe to say that for many law schools, they may not care about a single - semester downward trend (unless it is a significant and a steep decline, which this is not the case). For many law schools, they would calculate your gpa based on their gpa calculation policy, and then view the gpa as a whole -- there are very few schools (if any, but I may be wrong) that takes into consideration the increasing/decreasing grade trends of each semester.

Which law school were you considering applying to?

I'm applying to Alberta, Dal, Calgary, Western, Queens, Os, Ottawa, Windsor. 

I get that they would calculate my L2 based on their calculation, but I'm just worried about the subjective part. Imagine you're on the ad com, and you see someone return for a semester and one of those grades is a B+, would that plant any seeds of doubt? especially considering my non-competitive CGPA. For what it's worth my Lsat is a 165 but I just don't want any committee members to have second thoughts based on one low-ish grade this semester, especially as a returning student

[Darth Vader]

You're overthinking this. One or two points on a GPA means nothing when the admissions committee has to go through thousands of applications and put together a class of a couple hundred students. If they believe your GPA is otherwise competitive, in the sense that you have demonstrated the academic capabilities to succeed in law school, they will move on from your grades and focus on other parts of your application. Having a good GPA and LSAT score is one piece of the puzzle, but your personal statement is also an important piece where you can clearly articulate why you deserve a place in their class. If they believe you are a competitive candidate, why would they care if you got a B or an A in one course? Ask yourself this. If YOU were on the admissions committee and you liked an application and found it to be competitive and compelling, would you disqualify it based on a few grades on the transcript, or the fact that someone got a B+ instead of an A+? 

Osgoode is a cGPA school so they will not care at all. Some of the schools you are applying to have a really holistic admissions process where they will place a great deal of importance on your personal statement and experiences. 

[Thrive92]

5 minutes ago, Federale said:

Imagine you're on the ad com, and you see someone return for a semester and one of those grades is a B+, would that plant any seeds of doubt?

I can speak for Alberta and Calgary (the rest I am unfamiliar with) when I say that this is not how they do things -- they will calculate based on your L20/L60 without giving any consideration to an abrupt downward trend in GPA for a single semester.

I think you may be overthinking this a bit; L20/L60 gpa of 3.68 with an LSAT score of 165 are high enough stats that can get you admitted into the two schools that I have mentioned without much trouble. They do not look at your CGPA, and instead count the 20 courses/60 credits from the end of an applicant's transcript and stop until they reach the required courses. Both schools do not split semesters, so if the last course falls within a semester, all of the courses in that semester will also be counted.

You are fine, dont overthink it. Besides, the B+ scenario you have mentioned did not even happen yet, so it's technically not even a worry that is worth thinking about (not yet anyways).

Good luck