What is an index score, and how is it calculated?
The term index score is used by UVic Law Admissions to describe the composite score of your LSAT and cumulative undergraduate GPA. While we calculate the index score for all applicants, this is most notably used as the primary calculation for presumptive admits to the JD General admission stream. Other schools may subscribe a different weight to the LSAT and cumulative GPA. UVic Law weighs the LSAT and cumulative GPA equally and thus assigns 50% to each.
Depending on the number of units (or credits or hours) you have completed, UVic Law may discount (or not consider) some of your lowest grades.
Please note that we don’t consider non-academic or performance classes in your cumulative GPA. Nor do we consider grades that are post baccalaureate graduation, unless they are 300 or 400 level courses.
How do I know if my index score is competitive?
The short story is you don’t. We don’t have any way of knowing ahead of time how strong the index will be of applicants. We can tell you two things: 1) what has been competitive in the past and 2) that we don’t have a minimum index score for admission. The lack of clarity on index score can be difficult for applicants to comprehend, but we want to ensure that we neither discourage people from applying – particularly through streams other than General admission – nor give false hope to those who are over what has historically been a competitive index score. Though rare, we have had drastic swings in competitive index year over year.
How can I raise my index score?
There isn’t much you can do about your existing grades. However, there are two ways in which you can raise your index score. First, you can retake the LSAT for a higher score. Second, you can take more classes. You should, however, note which classes we will and won’t count towards your cumulative GPA (above).
If you believe your index score isn’t competitive for admission in the General stream, you might take a look at the criteria for Inclusive admission.