How does LSAC count repeated courses?
Updated September 14, 2026
Retaking a course is one of the most common reasons an LSAC GPA lands below the number on the transcript. Many colleges let a retake replace the original grade or exclude the first attempt through grade forgiveness. LSAC's Credential Assembly Service does not: if the original grade and its credits appear on the transcript, both attempts go into the CAS GPA.
Here is the rule, the arithmetic on a small example, and how to enter retakes in the calculator.
The rule
All grades and credits for repeated courses are included in the LSAC GPA as long as they appear on the transcript. It does not matter whether your school averaged the attempts, kept only the higher grade, or struck a line through the first one — a lined-through course still counts. The retake counts too, so a repeated course contributes two sets of credits.
Why a retake cannot erase a low grade
A GPA is total quality points divided by total credits. Repeating a failed 3-credit course and earning an A adds 12 quality points and 3 credits — but the original attempt already contributed 0 quality points and 3 credits, and those credits stay in the denominator. The average improves, but it never reaches what it would have been without the F. Your college's replacement policy hides the F; LSAC's calculation does not.
When the original attempt does not count
Only two situations keep a first attempt out of the LSAC GPA:
- The transcript does not show both the grade and the units for the original attempt — LSAC can only convert what it can see.
- A failing withdrawal (WF, WU, WNP) that your school considers nonpunitive — unless it is nonpunitive only because you later repeated the course or a forgiveness policy applied.
Worked example
Your school forgave the failed first attempt at Calculus I and reports the two remaining A grades. LSAC keeps all three rows; the original F stays in the denominator at zero points.
| Course | Grade | Credits | LSAC points | School points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calculus I (first attempt) | F | 3 | 0.00 | forgiven |
| Calculus I (retake) | A | 3 | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| U.S. History | A | 3 | 4.00 | 4.00 |
- LSAC-style GPA
- 2.667
- 24.00 quality pts ÷ 9 credits
- Typical school GPA
- 4.000
- 24.00 quality pts ÷ 6 credits
On these rows the LSAC-style GPA lands 1.333 lower than the school GPA.
Entering repeats in the calculator
Add one row per attempt, with the grade and credits exactly as they appear on the transcript, and check “Forgiven by school?” on any attempt your school dropped or replaced. The calculator reports the LSAC-style GPA (every row counted, thirds scale) beside a typical school GPA (forgiven rows excluded, 4.0 scale) and states the difference. A withdrawal your school treats as a failure goes in as an F; a nonpunitive W is left out.
Not affiliated with LSAC
This site is an independent study tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Law School Admission Council. The rules here follow LSAC's publicly documented transcript-summarization policy; if anything conflicts, the official policy governs, and the GPA that counts is the one LSAC computes from your transcripts.
Frequently asked questions
- My school replaced the grade on my transcript. Does LSAC still see the original?
- If the original grade and its credits are printed anywhere on the transcript, LSAC includes them. Only a grade that is no longer displayed stays out.
- I retook the course at a different college. Do both attempts count?
- Yes. LSAC summarizes every undergraduate transcript, so an attempt at a community college and a retake at your degree school are both included.
- Does repeating a course I passed with a C help my LSAC GPA?
- Only modestly. The retake adds a second set of credits at the new grade, but the C stays in the average; on a full transcript the change is typically a few hundredths of a point.