Here’s a rule almost nobody reads: without 60 graded U.S./Canadian credits before your first bachelor’s degree, LSAC does not calculate a reportable CAS GPA.
Schools still get every transcript and see every grade. But with no cumulative CAS GPA, your GPA won’t count toward any school’s median. Your GPA shifts from a hard factor to a soft one.
That leads to two conclusions:
→ If your GPA is strong, make sure you cross 60 graded credits before you graduate. A 4.0 that never becomes a number never moves a median.
→ If your GPA is below your targets’ medians and you’re under 60, think hard before crossing the line. A 3.1 at 59 graded credits touches no median. A 3.1 at 61 counts against every school’s.
What Counts Toward 60
| Credit Type | Counts? |
|---|---|
| Letter-graded courses (A through D) | ✔ |
| F grades | ✔ (converted to 0.00) |
| Punitive W/F or No Credit (NC) notations | ✔ (converted to 0.00) |
| Pass, Credit, Satisfactory grades | ✘ |
| Nonpunitive withdrawals, Incompletes, Audits | ✘ |
| Foreign credits, including study abroad graded by the foreign school | ✘ |
| Study abroad graded by your U.S./Canadian school | ✔ |
| Credits earned after your first bachelor’s | ✘ |
| Dual enrollment, AP, CLEP from high school | ✘ (as of July 28, 2026) |
Three details that decide close cases:
→ P grades and F grades are asymmetric. A Pass adds nothing to your count. An F adds to your count and drags your GPA.
→ Study abroad is a credit-count dead zone. If the foreign institution assigns the grades, those credits don’t count toward 60 and don’t enter the GPA. If a U.S. school assigns the grades for your abroad program, they do.
→ Semester hours, not your school’s units. Quarter-system students: multiply by 0.67 before you count. Ninety quarter credits is about 60 semester hours.
The July 2026 Dual Enrollment Change
Effective July 28, 2026, LSAC no longer includes dual enrollment, AP, or CLEP courses taken during high school in the CAS GPA. The courses still appear on your report as unconverted credits. They just don’t count.
Two groups should act on this now:
→ If dual enrollment grades were dragging your GPA and you’re applying for 2027 or later, request a recalculation. The B-minuses you earned at a community college at sixteen no longer count against you. Contact LSAC’s Candidate Services by phone at (800) 336-3982, by chat, or in writing to LSACinfo@LSAC.org.
→ If you were counting dual enrollment credits toward 60, recount. A student with 15 dual enrollment credits and 50 graded college credits used to clear 60 and carry a cumulative GPA. Under the new rule, that student has 50 graded credits and no cumulative GPA. Depending on what that GPA was, this is either a problem to fix or a gift to protect. Run your count again before you decide anything this cycle.
A Hypothetical
An applicant has a 3.1, T14 ambitions, and 59 graded credits, with the option to spend their final two semesters at a study abroad program whose grades LSAC won’t convert. Should they?
I won’t say unequivocally yes or no, but the case is strong. The GPA stays non-reportable, the abroad grades can still show upward movement on the transcript, and study abroad is not a red flag. The alternative, two more graded semesters, makes the GPA reportable.
The same logic produces two plays:
→ Just under 60 at graduation with a below-median GPA? Find a way to stay under. No cumulative GPA gets calculated, so admitting you costs a school nothing in its reported median.
→ Worried you have nothing to show schools? Prove it after your degree. Post-degree coursework, even a second bachelor’s, never enters the CAS GPA, yet schools receive every transcript. Ace a second degree and schools see a sustained record of strong recent grades.
Final Word
LSAC publishes the threshold. Almost nobody reads it until after graduation, when it stops mattering. The applicants who read it in time get to make choices on purpose.
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Related Reading
→ How to Get Into Law School Below Both Medians
→ How to Increase Your LSAC GPA Above Law School Medians
→ How to Build a Cohesive Law School Application Narrative
→ How Much Is Law School Worth?
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