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For law school, your undergraduate GPA is one of the two numbers, with the LSAT, that most drive admissions, and LSAC recalculates it on a standard scale. Median GPAs across ABA-approved schools currently span about 196 ABA-approved law schools. This hub covers the GPA you need, LSAC's calculation, pass/fail, and school medians.
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.
There is no single cutoff GPA for law school. Each ABA-approved school publishes 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile undergraduate GPAs in its Standard 509 report, and your goal is to sit at or above a target school's median. The most selective schools report medians near the top of the 4.0 scale, while many regional schools admit strong applicants well below that. As of the current cycle, medians across ABA schools span about 196 ABA-approved law schools.
Law school GPA medians are reported school by school in each school's ABA Standard 509 Information Report, updated every admissions cycle. The table shows the numbers admissions officers actually read: the median plus the 25th and 75th percentiles, paired with the median LSAT.
The current ranking is best read directly from the source. See the U.S. News Best Law Schools list for the up-to-date order, and each school's ABA Standard 509 report for its median LSAT, GPA, and acceptance rate.
Read a school's median GPA next to its median LSAT, because admissions weighs the two together rather than either alone.
LSAC does not simply copy your college GPA. Through the Credential Assembly Service it converts every grade from your undergraduate transcripts onto one standard scale and computes a single cumulative figure. Unlike many colleges, LSAC counts all attempts at a course, including failed and repeated classes, so grade-replacement policies at your school do not carry over. Pluses and minuses convert too, so an A- counts as 3.67 and a B+ as 3.33.
This hub answers the practical GPA questions law applicants ask. It explains what GPA you need, how LSAC recalculates your grades, whether pass/fail and honors or AP courses change your number, and how specific schools such as Harvard compare. It also covers presentation questions like whether and where to list your GPA on a resume.
Treat your LSAC GPA as fixed and your LSAT as the number you can still move, then sort target schools into reach, target, and likely tiers by comparing your GPA and LSAT to each school's medians. If your GPA sits below a school's 25th percentile, a higher LSAT and a brief addendum can offset it, though they rarely erase the gap. Build a balanced list rather than betting on a single reach.
There is no fixed minimum GPA for law school. Each ABA-approved school publishes 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile GPAs in its 509 report, and being at or above a school's median makes you competitive there. Aim to match or beat the medians of your target schools, and offset a lower GPA with a stronger LSAT.
LSAC recalculates your undergraduate GPA through the Credential Assembly Service, converting every graded course onto one standard 4.0 scale. It counts all attempts, including failed and repeated classes, so college grade-replacement does not apply. The resulting cumulative GPA, shown on your Academic Summary Report, is the number law schools see.
Yes. A low GPA is a disadvantage, not a bar, and applicants below a school's median are admitted every cycle. The most effective counterweight is an LSAT at or above the school's 75th percentile, supported by a concise GPA addendum explaining a genuine anomaly or a clear upward trend.
Verified August 2026.
August 21, 2026
August 21, 2026