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Law School GPA Calculator (LSAC)

Calculate your LSAC GPA using the correct A+ = 4.33 scale. LSAC counts every attempt of every undergraduate course — retakes included.

LSAC counts ALL undergraduate attempts including retakes. Mark courses as retakes to track them, but both attempts are included in the GPA.

Course NameGradeCreditsRetake?

LSAC GPA

3.63

LSAC scale: A+ = 4.33 (not 4.0)

Total Credits

Grade Points

87.0

Courses

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How LSAC Calculates Your Law School GPA

The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) calculates a standardized GPA from all undergraduate transcripts you submit. Unlike most institutional GPAs, the LSAC GPA has two important rules: it counts every attempt of every course (no grade replacement), and it uses a unique grade scale where A+ equals 4.33 rather than 4.0.

Use the LSAC GPA tab to enter all your undergraduate courses — including retakes — and get your LSAC-calculated GPA. Use the Competitiveness tab to combine your LSAC GPA with your LSAT score and see which law school tiers you fit.

LSAC Grade Scale

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 GPA = Σ(Grade Points × Credit Hours) ÷ Total Credit Hours

The A+ = 4.33 rule means your LSAC GPA can technically exceed 4.0 if you earned many A+ grades. However, few students achieve a true 4.33 because A+ grades are rare across dozens of undergraduate courses. Most competitive applicants have LSAC GPAs in the 3.7–3.9 range.

What LSAC Includes in Your GPA

LSAC collects undergraduate transcripts from every institution you attended and applies consistent conversion rules. Key points:

All attempts counted: If you retook a course, both the original and retake grades appear in your GPA calculation.
All undergraduate institutions: Community college credits, transfer credits, and summer school all count if a letter grade was earned.
Pass/Fail excluded: Courses taken pass/fail typically do not count unless the failing grade converts to an F.
Graduate courses excluded: Courses taken after your bachelor's degree are generally not included in the LSAC undergraduate GPA.
Foreign transcripts: Evaluated by LSAC on a case-by-case basis using standardized conversion guidelines.

Law School GPA and LSAT Benchmarks

Law school admissions is driven almost entirely by two numbers: your LSAC GPA and your LSAT score. Unlike medical school applications, there is limited ability to compensate for a weak GPA with an exceptional personal statement. The approximate ranges for program tiers:

T14 (Top 14): GPA 3.75+, LSAT 173+. Yale averages LSAT 174; Harvard 174; Columbia 174.
T25: GPA 3.65+, LSAT 168+
T50: GPA 3.50+, LSAT 162+
T100: GPA 3.30+, LSAT 155+

These are 25th–75th percentile ranges at competitive programs. Scholarships are typically awarded to students who fall above a school's median. Applying to a school where you are above their median GPA/LSAT is a common strategy for maximizing scholarship dollars.

Frequently Asked Questions

LSAC uses 4.33 for A+ to distinguish it from a standard A grade at institutions that differentiate the two. This means applicants who received many A+ grades at schools that award them liberally may have a slight advantage. In practice, the difference is small — very few applicants earn enough A+ grades for it to significantly change their LSAC GPA. However, it is important to use 4.33 (not 4.0) when estimating your own LSAC GPA to get an accurate figure.

Yes, but less than you might hope. Since LSAC counts both attempts, retaking a course you failed (F → A) does improve your GPA because the A grade credits are added. However, the failing grade remains and continues to drag the GPA down proportionally. For example, retaking a 3-credit F and earning an A adds 12 grade points but also the 0 from the original still counts. The best strategy is to avoid retaking courses unless you are confident of significant improvement — and to focus the retake narrative on demonstrated growth.

Yes. LSAC includes all institutions where you earned a letter grade — including community college, junior college, and four-year universities. If you took any courses at a community college before transferring to a university, those grades are included in your LSAC GPA calculation. Submit all transcripts; LSAC will flag missing institutions during their credential assembly review.

A 3.4 GPA with a 170+ LSAT score has gotten applicants into T14 schools — especially at schools that weight LSAT heavily in their medians reporting. At a 168–170, you would be competitive for T25. At 162–167, T50 programs. The tradeoff between GPA and LSAT varies by school. Some schools (like Harvard) weight GPA and LSAT roughly equally; others (like many regional schools) prioritize LSAT because it moves their USNWR ranking more efficiently.

A 3.7 GPA is at or above the 25th percentile at most T14 schools and is competitive for the 50th percentile range at several (Georgetown, UCLA, Texas). To have strong T14 odds at the top programs (Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Chicago), you generally need both a 3.75+ GPA and a 173+ LSAT. A 3.7 GPA with a 172+ LSAT is a realistic application profile for lower T14 schools. Scholarship targeting at T25–T50 schools where you are above median is often more financially advantageous than attending a T14 with significant debt.