Pass Fail Courses

Pass/fail courses are classes graded only as Pass or Fail rather than with a letter grade. A Pass earns credit without grade points, so it usually does not change your GPA, and for law school LSAC generally excludes a plain Pass when it recalculates your GPA. Use pass/fail for low-stakes electives, not core courses.

By Ali Unar, JD candidate at Georgetown Law and founder of Lovare Institut. Last updated August 2026. Every figure on this page was verified in August 2026 against the sources listed below.

What are pass/fail courses?

Pass/fail courses, sometimes called pass/no-pass, are graded on a two-outcome basis: you either pass and earn credit or you do not. They exist so students can explore a subject or manage a heavy term without risking their GPA on an unfamiliar class. The transcript shows a P or NP rather than a letter grade.

Do pass/fail courses count toward your GPA?

A pass/fail course counts toward your credit total but generally not toward your GPA, because a Pass carries no grade points to average. A Fail or No Pass may count as zero points at some schools and as non-punitive at others, depending on the grading policy. Check your registrar's rules to confirm how a Fail is recorded.

How do pass/fail courses look to law schools?

Law schools read your full transcript, so they see every pass/fail notation even though LSAC generally leaves a plain Pass out of the recalculated GPA. A few pass/fail electives are unremarkable, but a pattern of pass/fail grades in courses central to your major or your application can invite questions. Keep the classes that define your candidacy on a letter grade.

When should you take a course pass/fail?

Take a course pass/fail when it sits outside your core story and you want to protect your GPA while exploring it, or when a demanding term makes a safe elective worthwhile. Avoid pass/fail in prerequisite, major, or writing-intensive courses that showcase the skills law schools value. Confirm your school's deadline to elect or reverse the pass/fail option.

Frequently asked questions

Does pass/fail affect GPA?

Usually not. A Pass provides credit without grade points, so it does not raise or lower your GPA, and a No Pass often carries no points either. The course still appears on your transcript, and LSAC uses its own conversion for the law school GPA, generally excluding a plain Pass.

How does LSAC calculate 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. Because a plain pass/fail grade has no letter equivalent, it is generally excluded, so your LSAC GPA reflects your graded work rather than your pass/fail credits.

What GPA do you need for law school?

There is no universal cutoff. Each ABA-approved school publishes 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile GPAs, and matching a school's median makes you competitive there. Since pass/fail credits do not build your GPA, keep enough graded coursework to present a strong recalculated number alongside your LSAT.