What Is the LSAC GPA Calculator?
When you apply to law school in the United States through the LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS), the Law School Admission Council recalculates your academic record using its own standardized methodology. The GPA appearing on your CAS profile — your LSAC GPA — is the number every American law school uses to evaluate your academic performance. It is not your college's official GPA, and it can differ significantly depending on your academic history.
Our LSAC GPA Calculator replicates this official calculation process, allowing you to predict your LSAC GPA before submitting your CAS application and make informed strategic decisions about your law school application cycle.
The Official LSAC Grade Point Scale
The most impactful difference between LSAC's scale and the standard 4.0 scale used by most colleges is the treatment of A+ grades. LSAC assigns A+ a value of 4.33, compared to 4.0 at most universities. This means students who consistently earn A+ grades — particularly those from schools that award the distinction — will see their LSAC GPA slightly exceed 4.0. The complete scale is:
- A+ = 4.33 | A = 4.00 | A− = 3.67
- B+ = 3.33 | B = 3.00 | B− = 2.67
- C+ = 2.33 | C = 2.00 | C− = 1.67
- D+ = 1.33 | D = 1.00 | D− = 0.67
- F = 0.00
LSAC maintains a comprehensive conversion table for grades reported on non-standard scales (percentage-based grading, honors/pass/fail distinctions, foreign transcripts). The CAS report will document exactly how each of your grades was converted.
The Repeated Courses Rule — The Most Common Surprise
Of all LSAC's methodological choices, the treatment of repeated courses is the one that surprises applicants most — and most severely impacts those who struggled in their first year of college.
Standard college GPA: When you retake a course and earn a higher grade, most universities replace the original grade with the new one. Your college transcript GPA reflects the better performance.
LSAC's rule: Both attempts count. The original grade and the repeated grade are each included in the LSAC GPA calculation, weighted by their respective credit hours. There is no forgiveness policy, no grade replacement, no averaging. Every attempt at every course is part of your permanent LSAC academic record.
This has profound implications for students who performed poorly in their first year and then dramatically improved. A student who earned a 1.5 GPA freshman year, then earned a 3.9 for three subsequent years, and retook several early courses to A's, might find that their college transcript shows a 3.6 GPA while their LSAC GPA is 3.3 or lower — because LSAC counts those early failures in full.
Non-Punitive vs. Punitive Withdrawals
When you withdraw from a course, two types of withdrawal appear on transcripts:
Non-Punitive Withdrawal (W)
A standard withdrawal before the academic deadline, recorded as "W" on the transcript with no grade assigned. LSAC excludes these from GPA calculations. However, a significant number of W's on your transcript raises questions for admissions committees about course completion reliability, so use withdrawals strategically — not routinely.
Punitive Withdrawal (WF, WU, or equivalent)
A withdrawal that carries an academic penalty — typically treated as an F or a failing grade for GPA purposes by the institution. LSAC includes these as failing grades. Different schools use different symbols; the key is whether the withdrawal carries a grade equivalent. Check your institution's grading policies carefully.
Courses Excluded From the LSAC GPA
Not all coursework on your transcript affects your LSAC GPA. The following categories are typically excluded:
- Non-punitive withdrawals (W) — as explained above
- Transfer credits recorded without a grade — credit hours that appear as "Transfer Credit" with no associated grade
- Pass/Fail courses (without letter equivalent) — pure P/F grading systems not convertible to a numeric scale
- Continuing education credits — non-degree coursework outside a regular undergraduate program
- Graduate-level coursework taken as an undergraduate — in some cases, LSAC excludes graduate courses from the undergraduate GPA
Calculating Your LSAC GPA Step by Step
- List every undergraduate course on every official transcript, including community college, dual enrollment, and transfer credits.
- Convert each letter grade to its LSAC point value using the official scale (A+ = 4.33, A = 4.00, etc.).
- Multiply each course's LSAC point value by its credit hours to get grade points.
- Sum all grade points.
- Sum all credit hours (excluding excluded courses).
- Divide total grade points by total credit hours.
LSAC GPA = Σ(LSAC Points × Credits) / Σ(Credits)
Our calculator automates this process and accounts for A+ grading at 4.33.
LSAC GPA and Law School Admissions Strategy
Law school admissions are highly quantitative relative to other graduate programs. The combination of LSAC GPA and LSAT score forms an "index" that many law schools use as an initial screening threshold. Understanding where you fall on this index — and being realistic about which schools fall within your competitive range — is the foundation of a successful application strategy.
Resources like the Law School Numbers database and the LSAC's own GPA/LSAT search tool allow you to see what percentile your numbers represent at specific schools. If your LSAC GPA is below your dream school's 25th percentile, an exceptional LSAT score, compelling addendum, or significant professional experience are your most powerful compensating factors.
The GPA Addendum — When and How to Use It
If your LSAC GPA does not fully reflect your academic capabilities — due to a difficult first year, family emergency, illness, or other extenuating circumstances — a GPA addendum allows you to provide context. Effective addenda are brief, specific, and forward-looking: explain what happened, demonstrate how you responded, and point to the upward GPA trend as evidence of growth. Admissions officers read hundreds of these; specificity and brevity are far more persuasive than lengthy narratives.
Post-Baccalaureate Coursework as a GPA Boost Strategy
If your LSAC GPA is below your target law school's median and you have time before applying, strong performance in undergraduate post-baccalaureate coursework can meaningfully improve your LSAC GPA. LSAC includes this coursework in its calculations. Taking 30 credits of rigorous coursework and earning a 4.0 GPA creates a concrete signal of academic growth that admissions committees view positively — especially if the coursework is in challenging, law-adjacent subjects like economics, political theory, philosophy, or statistics.