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Usually no. A pass/no-pass grade carries no grade points, so it neither raises nor lowers your undergraduate GPA at most colleges. For law school, LSAC recalculates your GPA and generally excludes a plain Pass, though it may count a punitive failing mark. see the linked source (see the linked source).
By Ali Unar, JD candidate at Georgetown Law and founder of Lovare Institut. Last updated August 2026. Figures on this page were verified in August 2026 or point readers to the current source.
At most colleges a pass/no-pass grade does not affect your GPA, because a Pass earns credit without grade points, and grade points are what a GPA averages. A No Pass typically brings no points either, though some schools record it as a failing grade. The course still appears on your transcript with its pass/no-pass notation.
A GPA is the average of grade points across graded courses, so a course with no grade points has nothing to average in. A Pass simply confirms you met the credit threshold, which is why it is neutral to the GPA. This is also why loading up on pass/no-pass courses neither rescues nor harms the numeric average directly.
For the law school GPA, LSAC recalculates your transcript through the Credential Assembly Service and applies its own conversion rules. A plain Pass with no underlying letter grade is generally excluded from the calculation, while a failing mark can be converted and counted. Because these rules are specific, confirm the current handling directly. see the linked source (see the linked source).
Using pass/no-pass for a genuinely peripheral class can protect your schedule without hurting your GPA, but avoid it in courses central to your story or major. Admissions readers see the full transcript, so a cluster of pass/no-pass grades in core subjects can raise questions even though your GPA is unaffected. Reserve the option for low-stakes electives.
Generally no. A Pass carries no grade points, so it does not move your GPA up or down at most colleges, and a No Pass usually adds no points either. The grade still appears on your transcript, and LSAC applies its own rules for the recalculated law school GPA.
LSAC recalculates your undergraduate GPA through the Credential Assembly Service, converting graded coursework to a standard 4.0 scale and including failed and repeated courses. A plain pass/no-pass grade with no letter equivalent is generally left out of the calculation, though the course still appears on your record.
There is no single required GPA; competitiveness is defined by each school's published medians. Aim to meet or beat the median GPA of your target schools, and offset a lower GPA with a stronger LSAT, since admissions weighs the two numbers together rather than reading either alone.
Verified August 2026.
August 21, 2026
August 21, 2026