Any Chances?? cGpa: 2.7, L2/B2: 3.75, LSAT 168 (+ serious health concern)

[randomguy314]

My application is kind of funny, so I would appreciate any feedback. I will try to be concise. 

Basically I had terrible grades in university for three years (2.34 gpa). In my 3rd year I developed a benign tumour in my spine called osteoblastoma. I took one semester off and then I transferred universities and into a different program.

I studied through chronic pain for a semester (scoring well), then had an invasive spinal surgery. When all was said and done this impacted a 3 year period of my life (2 years to diagnose + 1 year recovery following operation). At my new university, after my transfer credits, I only needed 5 semesters to graduate. 

So I returned, and completed two more semesters, wrote the LSAT, then took another year off due to poor mental health (partly a lingering product of the health problems I experienced). Now I have 3 semesters completed, with a 3.75 (olsas) gpa. I'm operating under the assumption that I will maintain this gpa this current semester and the next. 

I go over this in my personal statements, either in access category claims, or as a personal experience/obstacle I have overcome. I spent a lot of time on my statements, and I think they are quite strong. I also provided medical documentation obviously. 

I'm applying to 7 schools: Ottawa, Ryerson, Osgoode, Windsor, Queen's, Western, and McGill.

What do people think? Do I stand a chance? Is acceptance into McGill even a remote possibility or is it literally 0% chance, totally impossible? What about the other schools? I'm inclined to think I have a reasonable chance. 

Also, I studied philosophy, if that matters at all. 

[HoggPower]

Congrats on persevering through all the difficulties you've experienced. From what I've seen on this site, you have a good chance with every school you have listed, though Ottawa might be hard since they weigh cGPA heavily. However, that stellar LSAT score could make up for it. Someone else might be able to chime in about that. I should also say Ryerson is a black box. There isn't enough information out there to give you a solid answer. Good luck! 

Edited October 27, 2021 by Gnu
Missed that OP listed Ryerson

[randomguy314]

1 hour ago, Gnu said:

Congrats on persevering through all the difficulties you've experienced. From what I've seen on this site, you have a good chance with every school you have listed, though Ottawa might be hard since they weigh cGPA heavily. However, that stellar LSAT score could make up for it. Someone else might be able to chime in about that. I should also say Ryerson is a black box. There isn't enough information out there to give you a solid answer. Good luck! 

Thank you, it's been quite the ride. 

EVERY school? Including McGill ?! 

I had written off McGill in my head as an impossibility. I only applied because my fiance is studying in Montreal, and we'll have to do long distance otherwise. So I thought I had to try my chances.

I'm concerned about the fact that I haven't studied more than 2 consecutive semesters in my most recent degree. I'm hoping that my circumstances will account for that. I'm also concerned about having my application thrown directly in the paper shredder when they see 2.7. Are you sure I have a good chance for ALL these schools (minus ottawa)? 

I wasn't expecting to hear this.  

[scooter]

19 minutes ago, randomguy314 said:

EVERY school? Including McGill ?! 

 

I'm not the original responder but I'll chime in. I think you have a chance at each school, but I wouldn't expect to get accepted to all of them. When someone is in a position like yours, the admissions process becomes highly subjective (even more so than it already is). Because of this, there is a lot of variability in how your application will be received. Your LSAT is strong and the L2/B2 is competitive for Queen's and Western.

19 minutes ago, randomguy314 said:

I'm also concerned about having my application thrown directly in the paper shredder when they see 2.7

For each school, your access claim / extenuating circumstances will stop it from immediately going in the paper shredder. They will at least read about your circumstances before shredding lol. If your access claim is accepted, which I'm certain yours would be, then your file will be reviewed in its entirety. Can't speak to McGill specifically but I think you'll be accepted at one of the schools!

Edited October 27, 2021 by scooter

[randomguy314]

31 minutes ago, scooter said:

I'm not the original responder but I'll chime in. I think you have a chance at each school, but I wouldn't expect to get accepted to all of them. When someone is in a position like yours, the admissions process becomes highly subjective (even more so than it already is). Because of this, there is a lot of variability in how your application will be received. Your LSAT is strong and the L2/B2 is competitive for Queen's and Western.

For each school, your access claim / extenuating circumstances will stop it from immediately going in the paper shredder. They will at least read about your circumstances before shredding lol. If your access claim is accepted, which I'm certain yours would be, then your file will be reviewed in its entirety. Can't speak to McGill specifically but I think you'll be accepted at one of the schools!

Thanks for your response! 

 

In terms of the last/best 2 , I read someone saying that only full years count. 

I completed 3 semesters at my current school. The first semester I took 3 courses, and did not take a second semester that year (on account of having a surgery). I was calculating my L2 on the assumption that it would include these 3 semesters, plus the one I'm in right now. 

Any idea how this might play out? Will that first semester not be included in my L2/B2? 

Or will my current semester similarly not be included until I finish my winter semester all the way in April? 

[scooter]

2 minutes ago, randomguy314 said:

Any idea how this might play out?

To be honest, I have no idea how your GPA calculation will be treated. Probably a good question for each school's admissions office.

[randomguy314]

Just now, scooter said:

To be honest, I have no idea how your GPA calculation will be treated. Probably a good question for each school's admissions office.

Fair enough. Are we able to call the admissions office with such questions?

[scooter]

1 minute ago, randomguy314 said:

Are we able to call the admissions office with such questions?

They all have contact info listed. Email will probably be better for most of them, because whoever answers the phone might not know the answer.

Are you just asking them to put your mind at ease though? I don't see how it will change your application at this point.

[randomguy314]

1 minute ago, scooter said:

They all have contact info listed. Email will probably be better for most of them, because whoever answers the phone might not know the answer.

Are you just asking them to put your mind at ease though? I don't see how it will change your application at this point.

Yes, it would just be for a sense of closure haha. 

I'm so stressed.

[HoggPower]

56 minutes ago, randomguy314 said:

Thank you, it's been quite the ride. 

EVERY school? Including McGill ?! 

I had written off McGill in my head as an impossibility. I only applied because my fiance is studying in Montreal, and we'll have to do long distance otherwise. So I thought I had to try my chances.

I'm concerned about the fact that I haven't studied more than 2 consecutive semesters in my most recent degree. I'm hoping that my circumstances will account for that. I'm also concerned about having my application thrown directly in the paper shredder when they see 2.7. Are you sure I have a good chance for ALL these schools (minus ottawa)? 

I wasn't expecting to hear this.  

You have a strong access claim. However, the 3 years prior to it are an issue. I think your best chance is at Queens and you have a good chance at Western as well. Like I said in my previous post, Ryerson is tough to predict and Ottawa seems to like a strong cGPA, even Windsor hasn't been consistent. McGill, I'm the least familiar with out of the bunch so I shouldn't really speak to that. According to their website, they look at candidates holistically but prefer strong academic candidates. How they would look at your access claim is difficult to predict.

Sorry to walk things back a little bit. I do think, holistically, you are stronger than your cGPA and LSAT alone would suggest. 

[randomguy314]

2 hours ago, Gnu said:

You have a strong access claim. However, the 3 years prior to it are an issue. I think your best chance is at Queens and you have a good chance at Western as well. Like I said in my previous post, Ryerson is tough to predict and Ottawa seems to like a strong cGPA, even Windsor hasn't been consistent. McGill, I'm the least familiar with out of the bunch so I shouldn't really speak to that. According to their website, they look at candidates holistically but prefer strong academic candidates. How they would look at your access claim is difficult to predict.

Sorry to walk things back a little bit. I do think, holistically, you are stronger than your cGPA and LSAT alone would suggest. 

Thanks for your replies, I really appreciate it. It’s kind of weird that I only started scoring high grades after encountering problems with my health. All my bad grades barring one semester were scored in perfect health. 
 

In my statements I tried to frame it as a transformative experience, an adversity that allowed me to rise above myself. To be fair I’d be happy to receive acceptance from even one school. 
 

Thanks again for your input. It has been reassuring! 

[Federale]

On 10/26/2021 at 8:34 PM, randomguy314 said:

Now I have 3 semesters completed, with a 3.75 (olsas) gpa. I'm operating under the assumption that I will maintain this gpa this current semester and the next. 

This may hurt your chance at Queens, because they have to wait until April/May to see your final marks to properly calculate your B2 year avg.  You still could have a good shot but there's just not many seats left a that point in the cycle.  The same applies to Western as well too, there's also a bit of a misconception that they're a L20 school when they state that they prefer applicants with a higher CGPA. 

[randomguy314]

19 hours ago, Federale said:

This may hurt your chance at Queens, because they have to wait until April/May to see your final marks to properly calculate your B2 year avg.  You still could have a good shot but there's just not many seats left a that point in the cycle.  The same applies to Western as well too, there's also a bit of a misconception that they're a L20 school when they state that they prefer applicants with a higher CGPA. 

This was something I was worried about. 
 

At the end of this semester I will have 4 semesters completed, but one of those only has 3 classes. Will that not be enough to calculate B2? 

[NowOrNever]

I suggest you apply to some schools outside of Ontario as well, such as Alberta, Calgary, UNB, DAL and TRU.

[Federale]

1 hour ago, randomguy314 said:

This was something I was worried about. 
 

At the end of this semester I will have 4 semesters completed, but one of those only has 3 classes. Will that not be enough to calculate B2? 

Maybe, it depends on how many courses you took in the other semester. The reason for that is that you need to have an average of 4 courses per semester over the course of an academic year to be eligible for the B2 calculation, so if you took 5 courses in the fall and 3 in the winter, that's fine, but if you took 4 in the fall and 3 in the winter, that won't work because that falls short of the required courses.

For what it's worth, based on the previous accepted threads and word of mouth, Queens still places a lot of emphasis on CGPA, despite saying they go by your B2. The reason is that they likely have so many candidates within the same sort of range after adjusting for someone's best two years, that they look at your CGPA to compare who's been a better student through their undergrad. For example, student A has a CGPA of a 3.6, B2 of 3.7 and an LSAT of 160, whereas student B has a CGPA of 3.0, B2 of 3.7 and an LSAT of 160. In a situation like this, you can see how student A is much more competitive despite having similar stats besides the CGPA. This is pure speculation but I think there's definitely some validity behind it

[randomguy314]

3 hours ago, NowOrNever said:

I suggest you apply to some schools outside of Ontario as well, such as Alberta, Calgary, UNB, DAL and TRU.

Slightly ominous. You really think I might receive 7 rejections? 

[Federale]

2 hours ago, randomguy314 said:

Slightly ominous. You really think I might receive 7 rejections? 

Definitely a very real possibility. I had almost similar stats, albeit a slightly higher CGPA and got rejected across the board. I'm applying to Alberta and Calgary this cycle cause they're the two schools + Dal that splitters such as us have the best shot in. I wish I could give myself this advice last year and if you're serious about going to law school next fall, you should definitely strongly consider applying to some of those schools. Statistically, they're your best shot

Edited October 29, 2021 by Federale

[NowOrNever]

7 hours ago, randomguy314 said:

Slightly ominous. You really think I might receive 7 rejections? 

I wish you get into one of Ontario schools but it is hard to say (Ryerson and Windsor are hard to be predicted).

You would have better chance if you are in mature category with your LSAT score.

Your best bets are UNB and TRU.

5 hours ago, Federale said:

Definitely a very real possibility. I had almost similar stats, albeit a slightly higher CGPA and got rejected across the board. I'm applying to Alberta and Calgary this cycle cause they're the two schools + Dal that splitters such as us have the best shot in. I wish I could give myself this advice last year and if you're serious about going to law school next fall, you should definitely strongly consider applying to some of those schools. Statistically, they're your best shot

Why not apply to UNB and TRU as well just in case?

[Kobe]

5 hours ago, Federale said:

Definitely a very real possibility. I had almost similar stats, albeit a slightly higher CGPA and got rejected across the board. I'm applying to Alberta and Calgary this cycle cause they're the two schools + Dal that splitters such as us have the best shot in. I wish I could give myself this advice last year and if you're serious about going to law school next fall, you should definitely strongly consider applying to some of those schools. Statistically, they're your best shot

You got rejected everywhere with a 3.75 L2 and a 168 LSAT?

I suppose my 3.9 L2, 168 LSAT and 3.1 cgpa might be weaker than I thought

[Federale]

22 hours ago, Kobe said:

You got rejected everywhere with a 3.75 L2 and a 168 LSAT?

I suppose my 3.9 L2, 168 LSAT and 3.1 cgpa might be weaker than I thought

I had a 165 LSAT and 3.7ish L20 with a ~3.0. Obviously not as high as yours but similar enough 

22 hours ago, NowOrNever said:

I wish you get into one of Ontario schools but it is hard to say (Ryerson and Windsor are hard to be predicted).

You would have better chance if you are in mature category with your LSAT score.

Your best bets are UNB and TRU.

Why not apply to UNB and TRU as well just in case?

Yeah both those schools are definitely options as well, but only apply if you'd actually be okay with going there.

[Kobe]

20 minutes ago, Federale said:

I had a 165 LSAT and 3.7ish L20 with a ~3.0. Obviously not as high as yours but similar enough 

We'll see how I fair then, I feel the situation could go either way and depends on how the adcomm reads my application. 

[Federale]

23 minutes ago, Kobe said:

We'll see how I fair then, I feel the situation could go either way and depends on how the adcomm reads my application. 

Nah you'll be good man. Pretty much a 4.0 your L20 plus a great LSAT and an upwards trend. You got a good shot at most schools in Ontario I'd say

[Kobe]

22 minutes ago, Federale said:

Nah you'll be good man. Pretty much a 4.0 your L20 plus a great LSAT and an upwards trend. You got a good shot at most schools in Ontario I'd say

Hope so! I feel like my app is pretty solid based on my results in my American applications so far but who knows. 

Good luck to you this cycle!