GPA Question

[soma]

I have had a rather unorthodox experience at post-secondary and I just had a question regarding my GPA calculation. 

To start, I am going to apply next year. I initially started at UofT in 2016 and completed three semesters (cGPA was a 2.95) and then I dropped out due to my mental health. I took a few years off of school and then went to Humber College where I completed the Paralegal Education program (96% GPA, I don't think this is considered in my GPA calculation as it is a college). I decided to go back to uni and finish my undergrad, and I have just finished my first semester at McMaster and have 4 left to earn my degree. I did very well this semester (waiting on one more mark back but I have A+'s across the board). 

My question is: how will my GPA be calculated when I am applying next year? I know that some schools look at your L2 or B2, in which case they would only be looking at my McMaster grades. But I am guessing I will be submitting transcripts for all the schools I attended. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! 

[Chewy]

You will have to submit transcripts from every post-secondary school that you attend, including Humber. You Paralegal Education program will not count towards your GPA calculation as it is not an undergrad program, however, they will take your overall score into consideration. Your cGPA will be calculated by OLSAS with UofT included. Unfortunately, it will be lower because of this. Even if you did all 4 years at McMaster, they'd still included those three semesters at UofT. Same thing happened to me. But yes, Queen's, Western, TMU, Alberta, Calgary, and Dalhousie all look at your L2/B2, which will be your time at McMaster. 

[TheDevilIKnow]

Just to add to what Chewy said: some schools, while using all your grades in their initial cGPA calculation, will also drop a certain amount of your lowest grades. Off the top of my head, UVic and U of M use that method. This can be helpful if it was a small number of courses from that earlier stint at U of T that really pulled your average down. Having said that, it sounds like your time at Mac will put you in good shape for the L2/B2 schools, so that will be your most straightforward path.

[JusticeBeaver]

From my understanding, if by the time you apply next November, you only have one completed full year at McMaster, then schools will still use the full year from UofT to calculate the B2/L2. I have a somewhat similar scenario and I was told by the individual schools that they will mix and match to get a B3/B20/B2 calculation between both institutions I have attended. Sucks because my latest grades are excellent, but when they use one or two years from my previous school, my calculations still drop. They do look at the entirety of transcripts, the trends, difficulty, etc., but I believe you UofT grades may still cause you some problems even at B2/B3/etc. Applying to schools with drops is a good call! 

Edited December 21, 2022 by JusticeBeaver
grammar lol

[soma]

3 hours ago, Chewy said:

You will have to submit transcripts from every post-secondary school that you attend, including Humber. You Paralegal Education program will not count towards your GPA calculation as it is not an undergrad program, however, they will take your overall score into consideration. Your cGPA will be calculated by OLSAS with UofT included. Unfortunately, it will be lower because of this. Even if you did all 4 years at McMaster, they'd still included those three semesters at UofT. Same thing happened to me. But yes, Queen's, Western, TMU, Alberta, Calgary, and Dalhousie all look at your L2/B2, which will be your time at McMaster. 

So, and I know this is a large hypothetical and I still have 4 semesters to go, if I maintain a 3.8-3.9 will I still have a shot at somewhere like Osgoode (my first choice)? I know there are a lot of other factors to go with my cGPA but I know Osgoode wants a 3.7 and I don’t want grades I got when I was 18 and depressed to drag me down lol 

[Chewy]

6 minutes ago, soma said:

So, and I know this is a large hypothetical and I still have 4 semesters to go, if I maintain a 3.8-3.9 will I still have a shot at somewhere like Osgoode (my first choice)? I know there are a lot of other factors to go with my cGPA but I know Osgoode wants a 3.7 and I don’t want grades I got when I was 18 and depressed to drag me down lol 

A few factors:

1) You'll need an LSAT in the mid-160s. 

2) Osgoode, from what I have read, is quite holistic. They give you an opportunity to explain why there may be discrepancies in your academic history and will take that into consideration if the reasoning is sound. And if you're able to maintain your current GPA then that will surely give them reason to look at that time at UofT with a grain of salt.