How LSAC GPA Is Calculated: Law School Admissions GPA Formula
Understand how LSAC recalculates your GPA for law school applications. LSAC includes nearly all undergraduate grades, uses a 4.0 scale, and ignores school-assigned grade replacements.
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What Is LSAC GPA?
The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) recalculates your undergraduate GPA using its own standardized formula. Your LSAC GPA is what law schools actually use in their evaluation — not the GPA on your college transcript.
The key difference: LSAC's calculation is often lower than your school's official GPA because LSAC includes more grades and applies stricter rules.
What LSAC Includes in GPA
LSAC includes: - ALL undergraduate coursework, even from failed attempts - All undergraduate transcript grades (community college, study abroad, transfer credits) - Repeated courses: LSAC counts BOTH the original grade AND the repeat grade - Grades from any school attended in a degree-seeking capacity
LSAC excludes: - Courses taken Pass/Fail (P/F) — no letter grade to count - Classes while in high school (AP, dual enrollment if done while in HS) - Graduate school coursework - Non-degree coursework taken after bachelor's completion
The LSAC Grade Point Scale
LSAC uses a standard 4.0 scale, converting all grades uniformly:
Note: LSAC does use plus/minus grades in their scale, so A− ≠ A. If your school reports A−, LSAC records 3.67 even if your school treated it as a 4.0.
Why LSAC GPA Differs from Your Transcript GPA
Grade forgiveness policies: Many schools allow grade replacement — if you retake a course and earn a higher grade, only the new grade appears on your official transcript. LSAC counts BOTH grades. A D+ replaced with an A on your transcript appears as two grades (0.00 D and 4.00 A) in LSAC's calculation — averaging to 2.17 for those credit hours, not 4.0.
Plus/minus conversion: If your school rounds A− to A (4.0), but LSAC converts A− to 3.67, your LSAC GPA is lower.
All institutions: If you attended community college before transferring, those credits are included in LSAC's count — even if your current school didn't accept or display them.
How to Calculate Your LSAC GPA
- Gather transcripts from ALL undergraduate institutions attended
- For each graded course: identify LSAC grade points and credit hours
- Calculate quality points: Grade Points × Credit Hours
- Sum all quality points; divide by total credit hours
GPA = Total Quality Points ÷ Total Credit Hours
Include repeated courses as separate entries (both attempts).
LSAC GPA Bands for Top Law Schools
These are medians — half of admitted students are above and half below. Strong LSAT scores can compensate for lower GPA.
Related Guides
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- LSAT Raw Score and Scaled Score Explained: How Scoring WorksUnderstand how LSAT raw scores convert to scaled scores. Learn how equating works, why the same number of correct answers gives different scaled scores across test dates, and what your LSAT score really means.
- How to Calculate GPALearn how letter grades, grade points, course credits, and quality points combine to produce GPA.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does LSAC count repeated courses in GPA?
- Yes — LSAC includes both the original grade and the retaken grade. If your school uses grade replacement and only shows the new grade, LSAC still counts both. A D replaced by an A contributes both 1.0 (D) and 4.0 (A) to your quality point calculation, averaging to 2.5 for those credit hours.
- Why is my LSAC GPA lower than my transcript GPA?
- Common reasons: (1) Your school uses grade replacement but LSAC counts both attempts. (2) Your school treats A− as 4.0 but LSAC uses 3.67. (3) LSAC includes transfer or community college credits your school excluded. (4) Plus/minus grade interpretation differences between your school and LSAC's scale.
- Are graduate school grades included in LSAC GPA?
- No — LSAC GPA only includes undergraduate coursework. Graduate school grades (master's, PhD) are not included in the GPA calculation. They may be noted on your application but don't affect your LSAC GPA.
- What is a good LSAC GPA for law school?
- Depends on your target school. For T14 (top 14) law schools, the median LSAC GPA typically ranges from 3.80 to 3.97. For T25 schools, 3.70–3.85 is competitive. A 3.5+ LSAC GPA is generally competitive for law school admission, though LSAT scores can offset a lower GPA at many schools.
Last updated 7/28/2026