Dear [name],
We’re writing to let you know about a change to how we calculate the LSAC GPA. Effective today, July 28, 2026, LSAC will no longer include grades from college-level courses completed while a candidate was in high school in the LSAC GPA calculation. This change applies only to transcripts submitted to LSAC from today forward.
We’re making this change in consultation with law school representatives on LSAC’s Schools and Candidates Committee, in an effort to ensure more fairness and equity in the law school application process. Access to college courses varies widely among high schools, and where access does exist, students may not know — or may be incorrectly advised — whether grades earned in those courses can affect their chances of being accepted to law school.
By excluding such courses from the GPA calculation, we hope all high school students, regardless of their motivation for taking college courses, can feel free to do so without concern over how it might affect their future law school enrollment.
Admission staff and faculty will, however, continue to see these “dual enrollment” grades, along with an academic note calling them out, on the CAS Report — an approach similar to how AP courses are reported. This update will help law schools better evaluate law school readiness as part of a holistic application process.
If you have any questions about this change, please reach out. Thank you, as always, for your work on behalf of your advisees.
Just wanted to share the news!! My GPA will now be a 3.97! :)
53 comments
This will make this cycle quite interesting for admissions officers. Part of your apps will still have LSAC GPA calculated the old way, and part of your apps will have a new little note.
Do you know when this will be implemented? My academic report on LSAC still has my GPA calculated with the dual enrollment classes.
@CooperButtari It says only for transcripts submitted from today forward, which means that if you've already submitted them, your LSAC GPA will still be calculated the old way
@TRenato That's so brutal, thanks though.
@CooperButtari you may be able to request to have your applicable transcript resent. They (LSAC) review all transcripts received. It is not uncommon for them to create an updated academic report upon request/need. But, they do not just go in and review everyone's transcripts/reports when changes occur. Worth looking into at least.
This change will make my GPA go down but I’m glad it’s working out for most people
So if I was going to apply to law school last fall, had my transcripts processed in July of last year, but decided to postpone applying to this year, will my GPA change?
@HappyTestTaker Only if you ask them to run a new transcript I believe.
@HappyTestTaker I asked the chat function on LSAC and they let me know to just resubmit my transcripts and they'll be reprocessed. Submitted yesterday so we will see! As someone who would greatly benefit from the omission, here's to hoping it'll go through.
@Shardison Oh ok, my guess is that my GPA will probably be lower, so I'll just not run a new one lol
Does anyone know if it will be able to show if they are dual-enrollment classes if we submit them from our community college that we were in dual-enrollment at, or would we also have to submit high school transcripts? this would SIGNIFICANTLY make my gpa go up!
@scriptwind24 The email says that it will be flagged on the CAS report that they were dual enrollment courses.
What about uni classes taken in the summer during hs or between hs and uni? They are taken as a non-matriculated student at the u of wa and are included on ones uw transcript upon matriculation. They are separate from hs, but could be taken while still in hs.
@Bug I would say those are just regular degree classes. If you took them the summer after high school, then you're no longer a high school student; therefore, it would be my understanding that you could not be traditionally "dual enrolled." I believe those classes will count towards your GPA.
This is kind of confusing so I apologize if i'm asking a silly questions and I misunderstood it lol.
In my case, I took a class in 9th grade, did really bad on it, but retook the class and got a higher grade. But because LSAC calculated both grades, regardless of the fact that I retook it, it severely affected my GPA. My plan was to write an addendum highlighting this. This initiative would definitely help me.
BUT, I also took a math class at a community college as dual enrollment while I as attending my 4 year university. Similarly, because it was a math class, I received a lower grade but decided to retake it so that I would have a higher grade on my transcript. Because I took this class during college and not during high school, even though it was dual enrollment, would this still be calculated towards my GPA?
If anyone knows the answer, I would greatly appreciate it!!
@Saulgoodmanscat Pretty sure it works like this: The class you took in 9th grade will not count at all; the class you took at community college will. Dual enrollment generally refers to being enrolled to take college classes in high school rather than being "dually enrolled" in two colleges at once. Hope this helps, and best of luck!
@LucasKramer Tysm for clarifying!! That definitely helped. It just definitely sucks that no matter how many A's you get, it still doesn't really balance an F that stays on your transcript, even if you retook it and got an A in the class. But it definitely does boost my GPA a little bit :)
wait im confused. if i got an associates degree in high school, my grades from my associates wont count because i took the courses while i was in high school?
@habibahcamara I have the same concerns! I am from Washington State and we have what's called the Running Start program, where high school juniors and seniors can go to any community college to take classes for free and receive both high school and college credits. You are practically both a college and high school student. You even have a college transcript. It is not like one of those high-school-in-college classes where you take college-level courseworks in a high school classroom at all.
I wonder if those college classes that I took through Running Start are counted towards the LSAC GPA or not.
@erictran4040 They are not. I did the same thing at my Florida High school. Junior and senior year I was entirely at the college. Reviewing the language of the email I believe the GPA that will count is going to be your institutional GPA where you finished your 4 year degree.
@habibahcamara Yes, your grades will not count towards your LSAC calculated GPA.
@Shardison hello, I did a similar program but have already submitted my transcripts. Do you have any advice as far as getting the new rule applied to me? Or am I just out of luck?
@JaMyaCarter A few comments up a guy mentions what they did in the same situation. Worth checking out what they said!
Edit: I've now heard multiple times that if you call and get it sorted out with LSAC, you can retroactively change your LSAC GPA with the new changes. Hope this helps :)
Does anybody know if it will matter that I submitted the schools that I attended during high school, but I haven't uploaded the transcripts yet. They wouldn't calculate those grades into my CAS GPA if I submitted those transcripts now or later, right? Thank you!
im a student at the university of washington. my high school allows us to take uw in hs classes, which count towards our actual uw gpa in the college. would the uw in hs classes we took count towards our lsac admissions gpa?
@dicette if they are dual enrollment they will not count.
@Danielle Yep.
@Danielle these classes were taken at my high school and offered at my high school. it states that its a "dual credit or concurrent enrollment program." does that mean they are classified as "dual enrollment" to lsac?
@dicette Not sure about the specific classification you're referring to, but if they were taken in high school, they will not count.
This is confusing. I took 8 cc courses while in high school, some to count for high school credits and some to get ahead for my AA credits. I then transferred to a 4 year uni, where I am only taking upper division courses. However, every GE will be on my 4 year transcript since it’s needed for my degree. Will the dual enrollment courses still be taken into account?
@lbreault From my understanding they will still count towards your degree, but the GPA that will be considered from LSAC is your "Institutional GPA" so whatever your current GPA from your UNI is. Not the cumulative GPA, but the UNI specific one. Hope this helps :)
@Shardison Ohh okay thank you for clarifying!
@lbreault for sure!
Just wanted to share an update in case anyone else is dealing with something similar—I was able to get my CAS GPA corrected today.
In my case, the issue was that very old grades (from HS) were being factored into my CAS GPA in a way that didn’t reflect who I am academically now. The CCP institution actually submitted a letter on my behalf (in early July), along with an updated transcript, explaining the context of those grades and how they should be understood.
After that, LSAC updated its policy, and now my GPA reflects my more recent academic work instead.
Also important—the rule change is officially effective starting 7/28, but my materials had already been submitted before that. So if you’re in a similar position, it’s definitely worth advocating for yourself and making sure your school provides supporting documentation.
Hope this helps someone else going through it!
@Ariellewalter How did you do this. I too have submitted my CAS application with my high school dual credit grade on it and want this removed. What institution are you referring to (CCP?). I was afraid I would have to submit a whole new cas application.
Thanks!
@Ariellewalter Following since I am in a similar situation.
@thill CCP is college credit plus. I was panicking because my GPA at the institution I graduated from was a 3.97 but my cumulative GPA was a 3.82 I asked my dual enrollment institution if they would be able to change my grades to pass fail so that it would not be calculated and they said that the time for that had changed, but they offered to write me an addendum to add onto my transcript that would explain how young I was, and the fact that I did not understand the implications this was sent in early July. I called today and ask if because I had this written already they would be able to change my CAS GPA and they said because they somehow lost the letter and just saw it today but the fact that I had a letter they changed it. I don’t think that they would’ve changed it if I would’ve just called in and not had a letter written.
If that's true, I no longer have to get a transcript from my community college, as I only took those courses while in high school?
@SkyHolmes I'm not entirely sure. you may still need the transcript for proof of credits, but it will be marked on the CAS report that they were dual enrollment credits and therefore not included in GPA calculations.
And the inflation continues to get worse
@Optimusbladerunner It's 50/50. I think for some it will tremendously help their GPA, but for those who got perfect grades in DE and then grade trends went down at their university, it will hurt them.
is this actually real?
@RylieGrace I received this email from a very reputable source. I'm not sure when his will be published, but it was sent out to the entire department of the university I attend.
Do they have this on the lsac website?
@Neetbal I couldn't find this anywhere online. Only through this email.
@Neetbal In the link I provided, if you scroll down to Grades Excluded from Conversion, it's the first bullet point. https://www.lsac.org/applying-law-school/jd-application-process/cas/requesting/transcript-summarization#unconverted-credits
@KomalSandhu18 THANKS!
@Shardison Some people are reporting they have called LSAC representatives and that the new policy will allow people to retroactively recalculate their GPAs even if they had a calculation on file prior to this policy.
@Danielle That's awesome news. I will make sure to share.
Two questions: are AP class grades/test scores relevant to admissions? If I already submitted my transcript with both my local community college I took classes at in high school and my four-year institution, do I need to resubmit anything?
@allypants AP has already been in its own category before this change was made. Someone here in the comments provided a link from LSAC discussing GPA, hope that helps!
I took dual enrollment classes during HS and took classes the summer after HS graduation at the same institution (before beginning my freshman year at my 4-year uni) to finish my AA. Do those summer classes count in the LSAC GPA? It was technically after I graduated HS, but I'm not sure.
@tylersnoz I would say those are just regular degree classes. If you took them the summer after high school, then you're no longer a high school student; therefore, it would be my understanding that you could not be traditionally "dual enrolled." I believe those classes will count towards your GPA.