Law schools list their median GPA for accepted students, but how do they factor in various difficulty levels?

Question

For example, I go to a private school that has a strong emphasis on writing. It is considered the second best school in Houston by most accounts. So, how would my 3.0, compare to a 3.4 say from one of the lower ranked undergraduate schools that had really easy standards for getting in in the first place? Will my GPA be inflated against those schools?

Answer 1

They have a general idea of difficulty levels at different schools.

However, your 3.0 is still going to be a 3.0 in their eyes. They don't have a stack of cards with each applicants face on them and play "Who gets in?" on a head to head basis.

They just take your 3.0 and go, "ok, this guy is only a 3.0, but he went to a tough program. Let's take a look at his LSATs, his essay, extra currics. Do we still want to let him in even tho his GPA is on the low side for us?"

They look at your whole package. If your school is known for good writing, I hope your essay was great if they don't know about your school's emphasis on writing. That way, it shows them you can write. But your other stuff has to impress them as well to make up for the GPA.

Answer 2

Nope, your GPA is your GPA...your question is actually confusing, by private do you mean secular? Either way, Law Schools do look at the college you go to and do appreciate well known undergraduate Universities. They still go by grades though and private colleges shouldn't have a different grading standard or system compared to public ones. There are alot of public Universities that are better then secular/private ones actually, and they might just think that if you went to a good university, then you should have good grades to reflect that.