Need Advice (GPA + LSAT) - Current Undergraduate Student

[SarveyHpecter]

Hello Everyone, 

Indeed, as the title implies, I am currently an undergraduate student. I am new to this forum. I recently concluded my first year this month and will commence my second year in September. To give you some background, I am confident of my aspiration to pursue law school (Ontario) and, as such, I would like to get some advice/gauge my chances on my situation as I understand the gravity of the competitiveness for admissions. 

So I'll begin with my grades. My school uses a 4.33 grade point scale, so based on that scale, I finished with a 3.88/4.33 (3.59/4.0) GPA in my first semester. I know this was not great at all, so I tried to improve for the second semester, and I finished with a slightly better result of a 4.08/4.33 (3.77/4.0) GPA. Bearing any errors I made doing the calculations, my CGPA for my first year using my school's 4.33 scale was a 3.97/4.33 (3.67/4.0). I know that OLASAS uses their own scaling for calculating GPA, so I used their scaling, and so my first-year CGPA was an OLASAS 3.85/4.0 (of course, barring that I did it right). So with my grades, am I on the right track to getting a competitive GPA, and if anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to drop them. 

Moving on to the LSAT now. So, since I have just finished my first year, I have not taken an official LSAT yet, thus I do not have an official score. Although I have taken a couple of small diagnostics to gauge where I am without any formal studying done, I learned that I would likely get around a 153-160 if I were to take the test right now. I assume I could maybe improve those numbers a few points once I start formally studying for it, but that leads into my question. I have seen tons of info out there on when the 'right' time is to start studying or what sources are the best to go about it, so at this point, I am admittedly a little lost on that subject about when to start formally, and what sources to use? I want to start law school right after my undergrad, if that info helps you formulate your tips. 

Lastly, I will discuss my softs/ECS. So, only looking at relevant stuff from when I started undergrad in September 2024 till now, May 2025, I have: 

- Rep for my major's student union - (Elected to VP for my second year)

- Rep for my faculty's student union/government. 

- Legal outreach internship for a non-profit, student-led external organization

- Elected as a Member of a faculty search committee for 1/2 student positions to find the next program director

- Registered accessibility peer-note taker for my school 

- Political Party volunteer for federal & provincial elections 

It is not very extensive thus far, and I am lacking work experience, but I am hoping to get that eventually, just a tough job market. But despite that, is my softs decent? Is there anything besides work experience that I should be looking to add? In terms of quantity or quality? 

If you have made it this far, thank you so much for your time and consideration. I know this was very long, but any tips or advice would mean a lot and would go a long way in my current position. 

[JDGateway Class of 25]

I think your main focus this early in your undergrad is to get the highest GPA possible. Once you are rolling with straight As then you can start studying for your LSAT (as long as it doesn’t interfere with grades). Once your diploma is conferred your GPA can never be fixed, so that’s first priority. 
 

Aim for a 170+ and take it as many times as you are allowed to maximize your score. With A average grades 160-170 would likely get you in most schools. 
 

Good luck and if you have any questions  feel free to ask. PM me for more specific tailored advice.
 

 

[SarveyHpecter]

Thank you very much for the advice. I will take it into account!

[SNAILS]

It's great to see the enthusiasm, 🙂 but you are early in your undergrad still. Do your best with the GPA, and try not to stress about it too much.