Older Academic Records

[found.antlers]

Hello, I am currently studying for my LSAT and will be writing my test this June. I am also starting the process of compiling all of the required components of the law school application. I have a question regarding older academic records and how I should address them in my application.

I will applying as a mature student with work experience I also completed college in my 20's and completed University in my 30's, and did very well in terms of my grades.

However. I did attend University directly out of high school and it was a disaster as some extenuating circumstances occurred that resulted in me leaving mid semester. I didn't drop out I simply stopped attending and I'm assuming received F's in all of my courses. Now this was many years ago and I'm not sure if the academic records would still even exist.  I'm just not sure if I should declare this attendance on my application and then have to waste valuable space on my PE accounting for and essentially pleading my case as to why or if I should just omit it completely? I would inquire with the University directly but I worry that would somehow cause my academic records to be found on the off chance that they are languishing somewhere in some old computer database.

[applicant88]

I am going through something kind of similar. Unfortunately, I think most schools will still count those credits if they are informed. Some schools appear to look at your best last two years of post-secondary undergraduate level but it really depends on the school you are applying to. I would suggest reaching out to academic advisors of the schools you're applying to and asking about their process.

 

 I wouldn't recommend leaving any records out of your application but if anyone else can advise on this please inform me.

[NowOrNever]

As a mature applicant the old academic records 25 years ago won't hurt you much but you cannot leave them out of your application, seriously.

Edited April 29, 2022 by NowOrNever

[NowOrNever]

 

[cjs]

I applied this cycle and my situation was similar to yours.  I went to University right out of high school for around 1.5 years and my grades were very poor towards the end.  15 years later I went back to University and did really well.  While I would have loved to not report my bad grades, every school I applied to expressly said to include all post-secondary grades in the application.  I think if you didn't declare them, and it was somehow found out, it would look really bad (especially because the grades are not good - it would look worse than forgetting to include like, one semester where you did fine).

I contacted the schools I was applying to early on, so I could plan my applications accordingly.  Some schools said that it didn't matter if the courses were "non-transferrable" to their institution - they still wanted to see them.  Every school said they wanted to see all my past post-secondary transcripts even if they would not all be used in my GPA calculation.  Some schools only factor in your last, or best, two (or three in some cases?) years in calculating your GPA.  

Figure out what your GPA is for the different schools you want to apply to based on their GPA calculation schemes.  It might not be the same for every school.  Some schools allow you to drop a certain number of courses, and if you have a degree, and just had one bad semester, this might largely solve your problem.  Also consider if applying discretionary would be indicated.  In my situation, I could definitely identify the factors in my life that contributed to my poor grades, but there was not some documented catastrophic event responsible.  I was honest with the schools about this when I asked their advice.  The suggestions were different from different schools.  For example, one school advised me to apply regular, and basically said they need to see the old grades but its so long ago they wouldn't factor into the GPA calc.  Another school, that is very stats-based, said YES they would count just as much as my recent grades, and to apply discretionary to have the opportunity to explain the grades and differentiate myself as a student now.  And in another school, I didn't meet the requirements for discretionary but their regular application included some room to explain my prior grades.   

So, I think it will largely depend on the school you apply to.  But regardless of the school I really suggest connecting with an advisor and seeking their advice as to how to proceed with your application - and don't assume it's the same everywhere!  Good luck!! 🙂

Edited April 30, 2022 by cjs
spelling

[found.antlers]

cjs thank you for your thoughtful response. I appreciate all the information and will speak to the advisors at each individual school that I plan on applying to .

Advice heeded I will include the grades from my first year at University . In my situation I didn't even complete the full year, I dropped out in January. When I did return to University all those years later I went to a new school so those grades from 25 years ago would not be part of the gpa calculation for my current degree (phew), but may count for the overall.

Thanks again!