I had a community college gpa of 3.476 for one year (25 credits) and then a 3.961 for 3 years of university for an overall total of 117 credits. LSAC calculated a 3.86 overall for me which is what I had calculated as well.
If you look at the LSAC transcript report there is some interesting info that compares your grades to overall distribution in your university, LSAT distribution, and a year by year total. I have heard that the lsac does make mistakes so if you calculate a different number you can call and dispute it. I've also heard that sometimes they recalculate and it actually goes down so do at your own risk.
@noonawoon Yea my past really caught up with me lol. It's ok, i'm banking on my high LSAT score anyway. Going to be a major splitter type situation for me.
@DivineRaze just curious if you don't mind answering how many failing grades (Fs) were on your transcript. I have a very average gpa without LSAC grading and nervous how mine will translate.
@TheDeterminedC I have read that LSAC calculations can increase GPA if your school awards A+ in the sense of writing it on the transcript but does not count those grades as anything above 4.0 in the GPA calculation.
I'm still bitter that LSAC takes into account A+ when some (many/most?) undergraduate programs do not give A+s. Seems unreasonable to allow people to have a GPA advantage just for going to an undergraduate program that gives out A+s
@noonawoon said: @TheDeterminedC I have read that LSAC calculations can increase GPA if your school awards A+ in the sense of writing it on the transcript but does not count those grades as anything above 4.0 in the GPA calculation.
I'm still bitter that LSAC takes into account A+ when some (many/most?) undergraduate programs do not give A+s. Seems unreasonable to allow people to have a GPA advantage just for going to an undergraduate program that gives out A+s
Yeah. My GPA went up because of that--I had two A+s. I'm lucky I got those two at all, because most professors at my school don't really even think of A+ as a grade in their arsenal of possibilities. In many classes you could get "100%" and still have an A.
What I will say, though, is that most law schools reviewing your LSAC score report will know that, and alongside the comparative info LSAC provides (like how you did relative to others in your institution), most law schools seem to try their best to review your transcript and GPA in context. But, having to look through so many applications, I'm sure that doesn't always end up happening.
@DivineRaze wow. Because I just had someone calculate mine with my failing grade and my overall gpa only went down .15 with a .7 decrease you may want to review that. Seems like a bit much especially if you haven't failed any classes!
@washinda Well I started taking college classes when I was in high school, then community college and finally my degree granting university. I have many classes under my belt and I guess when you take all of that into account, it hits and hits hard lol.
Difference from university gpa? -0.25. Difference from all of my grades averaged out? -0.03 Wasn't worth it to argue over that -0.03 since my grades are above everyone's 75th, but it's proof that sometimes they get it wrong.
Mine was significantly worse; about what @DivineRaze had. However, I was somewhat expecting that as the majority of online forums I checked said my particular type of undergrad institution was known for suffering lower LSAC GPA's. I was taken aback significantly and am still mentally recovering, since I'm going to need all the help I can get anyway. Looks l'm going to need a near perfect on the LSAT for a fighting chance...
Mine went down from a 3.94 to a 3.82 because of two "college" classes they offered in my high school. Obviously still great and don't mean to be ungrateful, but I wish I knew a few classes I took senior year of HS would count toward my GPA for law school before I took them. I lose sleep over it lol
@TheDeterminedC said:
I'm curious as to how the calculations could increase one's GPA. I do understand how it can lower it, though.
Mine stayed the same.
I think it could be either classes counting from different institutions that aren't in your UGPA, or from A+. For example, my school offers A+'s, but they still count as 4.0 (same as an A). However, LSAC counts it for higher
When it comes to the GPA scales schools report for incoming classes, does anyone know if it’s the LSAC GPA or the actual undergrad GPA they’re using for that?
LSAC finished processing my transcripts today so wanted to contribute to my own thread - my GPA dropped 0.02. Due to my institution counting A- as 3.7 instead of 3.67 and having a handful of those.
Update my GPA actually dipped 0.02 because of a transcribing error they made - I caught it, emailed them about it, and they updated my records. Glad I went over them haha
Comments
I'm going to go from a 3.67 to a 3.56, I'm on a 4.0 scale as well.
Mine actually increased by 0.01 but my school's GPA is also on a 4.0 scale. So not very different.
I had a community college gpa of 3.476 for one year (25 credits) and then a 3.961 for 3 years of university for an overall total of 117 credits. LSAC calculated a 3.86 overall for me which is what I had calculated as well.
If you look at the LSAC transcript report there is some interesting info that compares your grades to overall distribution in your university, LSAT distribution, and a year by year total. I have heard that the lsac does make mistakes so if you calculate a different number you can call and dispute it. I've also heard that sometimes they recalculate and it actually goes down so do at your own risk.
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Mine matched my calculation exactly. School doesn't calculate a GPA, but all the necessary detail isb right there.
It was in the ballpark for me.
@noonawoon My GPA went down by like 0.7 unfortunately (4.0 scale).
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@noonawoon Yea my past really caught up with me lol. It's ok, i'm banking on my high LSAT score anyway. Going to be a major splitter type situation for me.
None at all, same for me.
Went up 0.06
I'm curious as to how the calculations could increase one's GPA. I do understand how it can lower it, though.
Mine stayed the same.
@DivineRaze just curious if you don't mind answering how many failing grades (Fs) were on your transcript. I have a very average gpa without LSAC grading and nervous how mine will translate.
@TheDeterminedC I have read that LSAC calculations can increase GPA if your school awards A+ in the sense of writing it on the transcript but does not count those grades as anything above 4.0 in the GPA calculation.
I'm still bitter that LSAC takes into account A+ when some (many/most?) undergraduate programs do not give A+s. Seems unreasonable to allow people to have a GPA advantage just for going to an undergraduate program that gives out A+s
Yeah. My GPA went up because of that--I had two A+s. I'm lucky I got those two at all, because most professors at my school don't really even think of A+ as a grade in their arsenal of possibilities. In many classes you could get "100%" and still have an A.
What I will say, though, is that most law schools reviewing your LSAC score report will know that, and alongside the comparative info LSAC provides (like how you did relative to others in your institution), most law schools seem to try their best to review your transcript and GPA in context. But, having to look through so many applications, I'm sure that doesn't always end up happening.
@washinda I did not have any failing grades
@DivineRaze wow. Because I just had someone calculate mine with my failing grade and my overall gpa only went down .15 with a .7 decrease you may want to review that. Seems like a bit much especially if you haven't failed any classes!
@washinda Well I started taking college classes when I was in high school, then community college and finally my degree granting university. I have many classes under my belt and I guess when you take all of that into account, it hits and hits hard lol.
My GPA didn't change at all, I'm on a 4.0 scale where an A- is 3.67 points and a B+ is 3.33 points.
Difference from university gpa? -0.25. Difference from all of my grades averaged out? -0.03 Wasn't worth it to argue over that -0.03 since my grades are above everyone's 75th, but it's proof that sometimes they get it wrong.
Mine was significantly worse; about what @DivineRaze had. However, I was somewhat expecting that as the majority of online forums I checked said my particular type of undergrad institution was known for suffering lower LSAC GPA's. I was taken aback significantly and am still mentally recovering, since I'm going to need all the help I can get anyway. Looks l'm going to need a near perfect on the LSAT for a fighting chance...
Mine went up; however, that was because I transferred schools after yr 1 and I had a much higher score there.
Mine did not change at all. Stayed at 3.71! But I never failed a course, withdrew, or studied abroad.
Mine went down from a 3.94 to a 3.82 because of two "college" classes they offered in my high school. Obviously still great and don't mean to be ungrateful, but I wish I knew a few classes I took senior year of HS would count toward my GPA for law school before I took them. I lose sleep over it lol
I think it could be either classes counting from different institutions that aren't in your UGPA, or from A+. For example, my school offers A+'s, but they still count as 4.0 (same as an A). However, LSAC counts it for higher
Mine dropped from a 3.86 to 3.73
If I calculate everything I've ever done together, LSAC is off by -.03. The difference from my degree GPA, though, is a quarter of a point.
When it comes to the GPA scales schools report for incoming classes, does anyone know if it’s the LSAC GPA or the actual undergrad GPA they’re using for that?
I went from a university-calculated 3.867 to an LSDAS-calculated 3.90. The first 83 of my credit hours were at an institution that did not offer A+'s, and the last 16 were (I received 3 A+'s this last semester). Here is a link to the calculator I used: https://www.lawschoolpredictor.com/wp-content/uploads/Law-School-Predictor-LSDAS-GPA-Calculator.htm
Click "agree to terms" at the top left of the page to do the calculation after typing in your credits.
Note: Many people have reported that this calculator gave them the exact GPA that the LSAC calculated for them during their application processes.
They lower your GPA if you have withdrawn from a course?
No. Only if the withdraw is punitive (withdraw fail)
@noonawoon Thank you for the clarification! I've never heard of a Withdraw Fail before.
If my institution would have allowed A+s, I probably would have earned 3+ so reading this thread is really discouraging.
LSAC finished processing my transcripts today so wanted to contribute to my own thread - my GPA dropped 0.02. Due to my institution counting A- as 3.7 instead of 3.67 and having a handful of those.
Mine stayed exactly the same.
Update my GPA actually dipped 0.02 because of a transcribing error they made - I caught it, emailed them about it, and they updated my records. Glad I went over them haha