When applying to law school, one of the most critical components of the application process is the calculation of your GPA. The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) provides a comprehensive service to help simplify this process. LSAC calculates GPA using all grades that appear on your official transcripts, which are then converted to a standard 4.0 scale. In this article, we will take a closer look at how LSAC calculates GPA, and the factors that come into play.
What is LSAC?
The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) is a nonprofit organization that provides admission-related services to law schools and their applicants. LSAC has been providing essential services to the legal community for over 70 years. The organization’s mission is to promote quality, access, and equity in law and education worldwide.
How Does LSAC Calculate GPA?
LSAC calculates your GPA by using all grades that appear on your official transcripts. The grading system used by each institution is converted to a standard 4.0 scale. LSAC assigns numerical values to each letter grade based on the standard 4.0 scale, and the numerical values are then multiplied by the number of credit hours for each course. The results are added together to calculate the total grade points.
Once the total grade points are calculated, they are divided by the total number of credit hours attempted. This calculation provides the overall GPA for each academic year, semester, and quarter. LSAC calculates the cumulative GPA by adding up the total grade points earned over all years, semesters, and quarters and dividing them by the total credit hours attempted.
It also takes into account the type of course work when calculating the GPA. LSAC distinguishes between graded and ungraded courses. Graded courses include letter grades and pass/fail grades. Ungraded courses include courses with grades such as “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory.”
Numerical values to letter grades are based on the standard 4.0 scale as follows:
Letter Grade | Numerical Value |
---|---|
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 |
F | 0.00 |
LSAC also considers the number of credit hours assigned to each course. The more credit hours assigned to a course, the more impact it will have on the overall GPA calculation. For example, a B in a three-credit course will result in nine quality points (3 x 3.00), while a B in a four-credit course will result in 12 quality points (4 x 3.00).
LSAC uses the same calculation method to calculate the GPA for each academic year, semester, and quarter. LSAC also considers the total credit hours attempted in each term when calculating the GPA for that term.
LSAC Grade Calculation Process
Step | Action |
---|---|
1. | Determine the credit value of each course based on the credit hours assigned by the institution. |
2. | Assign quality points to each grade earned in those courses based on the LSAC standard quality point scale. |
3. | Calculate the GPA by adding up the total credit value of all courses and the total quality points earned in those courses, then divide the total quality points by the total credit value. |
4. | LSAC converts the GPA to a standard quality point scale for applicants who attended institutions that use a different quality point scale. |