Chances- took semester off? LSAT 163 CGPA 84%

[Busta]

4th year UBC student, but I took a semester off at the start of covid so I have 4 more classes to complete next fall before I can formally graduate. Is that going to negatively affect my chances? 
163 LSAT

84% average before drops. Last 2 years probably around 86%-87%? 
 

Applied to all 3 BC schools, U of A, Queens, Western, Ryerson, Ottawa, Western & Dalhousie.

[Thrive92]

TRU and U of A looks at your last 20 courses/last 60 credits respectively; if they are similar to your CGPA (3.9/4.33), you are highly likely to be admitted into both schools.

For UBC, Your LSAT is slightly below the average (166). You probably already know this, but UBC drops your worst 12 credits if you have completed a 4 - year degree. Is your CGPA of 84% including the drops?

The index formula for UBC is:

(0.2678 * GPA Percentage) + (0.1986 * LSAT Score) + 36.5952

An index score of 92 or over usually means that you are competitive, but keep in mind that this figure is not a guaranteed thing for each cycle.

 

For UVic, the index formula is:

(GPA on 4.33 scale * 125) + (LSAT Percentile * 5)

An index score of between 905 and 915 would mean that you are competitive. Again, this is not a guaranteed thing.

For UVic, they drop upto 30 credits if you have 140 or more credits completed.

 

Dalhousie also has an index formula:

[(GPA/4.3)*60]+[(LSAT–120)*40/60]

An index score of over 80 indicates that you are competitive. Keep in mind that Dalhousie looks at your last 20 courses, not your cGPA.

 

I cannot speak for the other schools because I dont know much about them.

Good luck.

[Borat]

So if I understand correctly, you'll need to take four more courses between Sept - Dec 2022 in order to graduate (i.e. if you get in this cycle, you'll be entering law school without a degree). UBC only requires completion of a minimum of 90 credits (3 years) prior to entry into law school, but it's pretty rare for 'non-degree' applicants to get offers. As their admissions website says: "approximately five applicants a year have been admitted without a four-year undergraduate degree." Such offers typically only go out to applicants with exceptionally high GPAs and LSAT scores.

If you were in the position to graduate in 2022 (or have already graduated), then you'd need around an 86% cumulative average (with drops) to be competitive with a 163 LSAT.

Other schools have more lenient policies around 'non-degree' applicants. I can't comment for certain about your chances at other schools, but it's a good thing you applied broadly. I feel like you will probably get in to a few places.

[Thrive92]

20 minutes ago, Busta said:

I have 4 more classes to complete next fall before I can formally graduate.

I misread this while typing out my first post -- would this mean that you will not be graduating until december of 2022?

If that is the case please disregard my earlier post, as I mistakenly thought that you were graduating this semester (fall 2021).

[RickyJulian]

3 hours ago, Busta said:

4th year UBC student, but I took a semester off at the start of covid so I have 4 more classes to complete next fall before I can formally graduate. Is that going to negatively affect my chances? 
163 LSAT

84% average before drops. Last 2 years probably around 86%-87%? 
 

Applied to all 3 BC schools, U of A, Queens, Western, Ryerson, Ottawa, Western & Dalhousie.

UBC doesn’t look at last 20, only CGPA. How many current credits do you have? If you have 90 or more credits completed at the end of August 2021 then UBC will drop 12 of your worst credits. They will not look at your fall grades if you currently are enrolled in courses this semester. Login to your UBC SSC and goto grades, you’ll find your transcript here with an average of your grades. If you have 90+ credits then there is a function that allows you to calculate your GPA % based on all courses except your 12 worst credits. Once you get your true GPA you can use the index formula provided by @Thrive92

[Busta]

For clarification I have completed 78 credits, equivalent to 26 classes, and I am enrolled in another 10 this year. When I submit my updated fall grades I will have completed 93 credits. I theoretically could finish my degree in summer ‘22 by taking my remaining 4 classes but I don’t think that would benefit me. My gpa without drops is 84%, although my most recent 20 classes are higher, somewhere around around 87-88%

[Borat]

@Busta Given the credits you've completed UBC will still drop your 6 lowest, but not the full 12. Given your situation it's highly unlikely you'll be admitted to UBC this cycle, but you should still apply anyways just to have a chance and get a feel for the admissions process.

46 minutes ago, Busta said:

I theoretically could finish my degree in summer ‘22 by taking my remaining 4 classes but I don’t think that would benefit me.

Yeah, not a good idea to do this. For now just focus on keeping your GPA high. With ~87% next cycle you're very likely to get in. Also even if you take summer courses, your graduation would technically be in Nov 2022 (i.e. after September). 

[RickyJulian]

11 hours ago, Busta said:

For clarification I have completed 78 credits, equivalent to 26 classes, and I am enrolled in another 10 this year. When I submit my updated fall grades I will have completed 93 credits. I theoretically could finish my degree in summer ‘22 by taking my remaining 4 classes but I don’t think that would benefit me. My gpa without drops is 84%, although my most recent 20 classes are higher, somewhere around around 87-88%

What Borat said. If you have 90+ credits UBC will drop 12 credits. In your situation they will drop 6 credits. I’m not sure how much your GPA will go up with these drops but if you go to UBC SSC in the grades section you can see what your GPA % will be with the two drops. If the drops put you at a high GPA ie 88%+ and you can score high on January LSAT (assuming you’re not registered for November LSAT) ie 170+ then apply, why not? Keep in mind you’d be competing for very limited spots since you don’t have that many credits. Once again UBC does not look at your L20 grades when calculating GPA %, they look at your CGPA.

When you submit your transcript they will only look at grades completed at the end of August 2021 (summer semester), they will not use your grades from your current semester (Sept-Dec 2021) or any after that.

I’m not too familiar with other schools but I know UofA looks at last 20 and they look at your grades up until December 2021, you can convert your UBC letter grades to UofA’s grading scale. I think you’re in the competitive range for them, especially if you can get good grades this semester. 
 

For TRU I’d say you’re in for sure

Edited November 12, 2021 by RickyJulian