Pretty low GPA what are my chances please

[crumblwumble]

I have a 3.3 OLAS GPA w drops. Not the best… I ended up getting into a political science masters at a good uni abroad but I do ultimately want to practice law. Would getting a masters help my admission chances at any school?  LSAT score of 165 - good ECs, active within national security community 

[BHC1]

In Ontario, you have a chance at TMU, Windsor, and Ottawa. Maybe Western and Queens if your B2 is exceptional. Doing well in your masters program would help your chances. You might want to consider a LSAT re-write if you think you can do meaningfully better. Good luck. 

[Rigel]

Assuming you have good B2, then good chance at Western and Queens cuz they only look at your B2.Hard to predict for Osgoode and Ottawa, they look at your CGPA and they typically want something above 3.7. But your LSAT score is great! So still a decent chance I would say. 

[LMP]

I don't think a master will move the needle enough to be worthwhile. So if you really want to do a master's, for its own sake, go for it. 

But if your goal is law school and the masters is just a stepping stone, I think you'll be ok as you are. 

I had more or less identical stats and got accepted to almost every school in the country (though this was, in fairness, four years ago). Even accounting for differences in application matierals I'm confident you'll get at least a few acceptances if you apply broadly. 

[SpaceTigerX]

So, the first thought that pops into my head is that if you're doing a masters in another country, why not look at law schools in that country too? It would potentially be a permanent move, but it would be really fun! But that is just my crazy side, Canada is the third country I've lived in so moving across the planet for me is not a big deal at all. 

With the masters degree being completed in a foreign country, if the degree is being conferred by that country you need to contact the law schools you're interested in to see how they will look at it. They may not even consider it, or they may convert the grades to an equivalent which you need to do the math to see if it will help your cGPA enough to offset the cost/delay of attending law school. I can definitely understand the appeal of doing it in another country, but if you're just doing it for the experience - go on a retreat, participate in professional exchanges (after law school) and you will probably get the same insight, result and experience. 

Alternatively, the money/time spent completing the masters might be better served by your out of school activities that will set you apart from other applicants. 

 

[Rashabon]

9 minutes ago, SpaceTigerX said:

So, the first thought that pops into my head is that if you're doing a masters in another country, why not look at law schools in that country too? It would potentially be a permanent move, but it would be really fun! But that is just my crazy side, Canada is the third country I've lived in so moving across the planet for me is not a big deal at all. 

This is terrible advice, insofar as if OP wants to be a lawyer in Canada, attending law school abroad is generally not a good idea unless you are attending schools that OP likely wouldn't get into in any event.

[SpaceTigerX]

1 minute ago, Rashabon said:

This is terrible advice, insofar as if OP wants to be a lawyer in Canada, attending law school abroad is generally not a good idea unless you are attending schools that OP likely wouldn't get into in any event.

It's not advice, its a question. Also, if you read the post, it doesn't mention anything specifically about being a lawyer in Canada. It only mentions that the OP wants to ultimately practice law and will the masters help him get into any law school. Again, going on the limited information provided in the post, from my perspective and experience if you're willing to attend a school abroad for one degree, why not for a law degree? Canada is not the only country where you can practice law.

[Rashabon]

You're going to have to work on your logical reasoning and inferences my friend. It is pretty obvious he is asking about getting into Canadian law school, hence posting on the Canadian law forum. It also does not remotely follow that attending a school abroad for a masters degree for a year suggests that someone wants to spend years abroad doing law in a way that makes them less likely to be able to move back to Canada.

[SpaceTigerX]

Interesting suggestion. I'll take it under consideration. 🙂

[Big Pecker]

1 hour ago, SpaceTigerX said:

Interesting suggestion. I'll take it under consideration. 🙂

Court has reserved judgement. 

[Spinnaker]

Although your GPA is below the median, it is definitely not "too low" to have a good chance at at least some schools. Your LSAT is quite good - do you think you have room for improvement? If you think you can score meaningfully better and bump the 165 up to even a 168 or 170, that would make your chances go from a "50/50" to a "highly likely".

Adding a Masters is not a good plan if your entire reason for taking it is to boost your GPA for law admissions. Most universities do NOT consider masters GPA for admissions purposes (U of A is one that does). Spending the time instead to improve your LSAT if your primary goal is to get into a Canadian law school would be a better bet.

My OLSAS GPA was 3.26, so don't count yourself out!

[rbaa1029]

So I have a 165 LSAT, my OLSAS GPA is a 3.15, and my L2's not that much better, though I'm expecting this final semester to be a 4.0. I have a strong access claim, a unique background, good softs, solid LORs, good work experience, and good PS's. I was rejected from UCal and UVic, accepted to Ottawa and Dal, waitlisted at Osgoode, and am still waiting to hear back from a few schools. I've had a pretty successful cycle, far more successful than people online tend to say is realistic for anyone with my stats. I don't know that I'd personally recommend you to do a master's just to get into law school. That feels like a huge investment of time and money if it's not something you're separately interested in or passionate about.

I think it's worth applying for at least one cycle and just seeing what happens. While stats are definitely important, we underestimate the value of uniqueness, of being able to effectively communicate your "why" for law school, and of being able to sell yourself as a candidate. My 2 cents: focus on making your application as strong as possible, apply next cycle, and don't disqualify yourself from law schools preemptively on the basis of average/median stats. You never know if you have something in your file that'll catch an adcom member's eye. Worst case scenario, you don't get in and you lose money from application fees, but that's still a lot less money than a master's, and you might be able to get feedback from adcoms to understand what to improve. Good luck with whatever you choose 🙂

[Lararine]

I was struggling with the same issue, and I applied broadly.

According to the information I gathered online or from the admission office, Technically, Dalhousie, Alberta and Calgary will take your graduates GPA into account. Thats to be said if your graduate GPA is above the listed median, I think you got chance with the 3 schools above.

However, I do also suggest to rewrite the LSAT. A 170+ score can be a game changer in my opinion.

Good luck！

Edited April 18 by Lararine
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