Community College GPA padding?

[UCTransfer]

<p>So I am a community college student and was thinking that since I know that CC classes will be far easier than classes at UCLA maybe I should take some more community college classes to supplement my UCLA classes (take them locally or online) in the intent to pad my cumulative gpa. I can transfer up to 105 quarter units to ucla (I am not quite there yet), but would it even matter to cap out transfer units if the LSAC wants all classes taken…I mean I could just keep taking these soft classes and have a very high gpa (assuming I do decently well with my UCLA classes as well)?</p>

<p>This does seem a bit manipulative.</p>

[AmbulanceChaser]

<p>Your overall GPA and the GPA from your degree granting institution are both shown on your LSDAS report. Additionally copies of your transcripts are sent to every law school that you apply to, so you won’t be “tricking” anyone.</p>

<p>If you are a LSAT borderline applicant, and CC classes bump your official GPA from great to amazing, then I could see this being beneficial. Contrarily this plan could also backfire if you end up a GPA borderline applicant, and they hold your CC classes against you.</p>

<p>I suggest not putting too much effort into this. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of soft classes at UCLA too, and loading up on those is probably the safer option.</p>

[UCTransfer]

<p>Thank you Ambulance Chaser… do others agree with ambulance chaser?</p>

[sybbie719]

<p>YES…</p>

<p>Schools will definitely see if the bulk of your "good grades are from community college so taking up to 105 credits at CC is definitely not going to help your cause.</p>

<p>Even though law school is all about LSAT and GPA, don’t play the admissions officers cheap; they also look at the depth and breath of courses that you have taken. A transcript full of fluff courses just to have a higher gpa, is not necessarily going to help you get into a higher ranked school.</p>

<p>I would suggest purchasing 2 books:</p>

<p>Anna Ivey - THe Ivey guide to law school admissions
Richard Montauk- How to get in a top law school</p>

<p>The Montauk book the book is approximately 500 pages and gives a very comprehensive overview of the college process and discusses applications, essays, LSATs, majors, etc</p>

<p>Chapter 8 of his book discusses Making the Most of Your Credentials, Montauk states:</p>

<p>

Your specific major matters less than the type of major you choose. What matters is that you choose a serious major. Schools are leery of pre-professional subjects such as business, and those that reward performance talents such as acting. There are some majors that admissions counselors cringe at seeing; communications, criminology and pre-law (even though theoretically pre-law is not a major)
Any subject that requires serious analytical work and dedication attract at least a reasonable % of the best and brightest will meet with approval.</p>

<p>The ideal undergraduate record would thus include all of the following:</p>

<p>Top quality school</p>

<p>**Demanding course load (no path of least resistance) advanced work in a second unrelated (to your major) filed is particularly helpful</p>

<p>Top grades throughout (with few courses taken pass/fail) but especially in junior & senior years</p>

<p>Courses requiring substantial reading, strong writing ability good research skills and analytical prowess**</p>

<p>Courses developing useful substantial knowledge for your future legal field.</p>

<p>When posed with the question: What factors do you consider when evaluating an undergraduate record admissions officers at various law schools state :</p>

<p>What ever the major, there should be variety including some clearly demanding analytical courses. There is not set preparation for law school, but some majors may be of less value than others (for ex. Pre-law) I examine the undergraduate transcript very closely. I look at what the applicant has done both in and outside of their major- Faye Deal, Stanford</p>

<p>What we are looking for is both breadth and depth. We favor applicants who come to us from broad liberal arts education. They learn about human vision from the arts, how the world works from math and the sciences and the human condition from philosophy and history. We don’t want academic dilettantes however; we want applicants to have taken the most analytically rigorous courses in their field- Jim Mulligan, Columbia</p>

<p>Not all UGPAs are created =. Swat and William and Mary, for instance have refrained from inflating grades; their averages are between 2.8 & 2.9. At the other end of the spectrum, Stanford and Yeshiva have mean GPAs over 3.4- Mulligan, Columbia</p>

<p>The GPA number is just a starting point. Our first concern is how rigorous the course load has been. We look at academic letters of recommendation, which are particularly helpful if they address the difficulty of the course load ex: the grading policies of professors from whom the applicant took multiple courses. Other factors we c examine is whether there were substantial barriers to performance such as the need to work many hours per week- USC</p>

<p>I know what the strongest and weakest programs are at some 50 to 60 schools. At some smaller commonly seen schools (and programs) it can be helpful for the student to provide detailed information. –GWU</p>

<p>We see a # of pre-med students who did poorly as pre-meds but then did well in their next field. The key for them is to make sure they get out of pre-med early so they can fully demonstrate their talents.- UCLA

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