LSDAS/Transcripts
All applicants, including international students, must register with the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS).
General Information
The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) operates a service that collects and analyzes data for admission to all American Bar Association-approved law schools. Information about this service, known as the Credential Assembly Service (CAS), and registration forms are available at http://www.lsac.org/. You must send transcripts to CAS from all schools you attended after high school, including community colleges where you may have taken a class or two, and graduate programs. Graduate transcripts are included with CAS reports, but graduate school grades are not included in the GPA calculation. CAS will analyze your undergraduate transcripts, calculate your GPA, and send a summary and copies of your transcripts to the law schools where you apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my GPA be the same according to LSDAS and my undergraduate school?
Sometimes your CAS GPA and your university GPA may differ. For example, if you took a class P/NP and didn't pass, LSDAS will convert the NP to an "F", and recalculate your GPA accordingly. Similarly, if you received an "A+", but your school does not calculate a GPA above 4.00, CAS may translate the "A+" to a 4.33, and recalculate your GPA accordingly. Questions should be directed to the CAS.
Do I need to send LSDAS foreign transcripts?
The CAS service can also interpret and summarize transcripts from foreign institutions and will send that summary with the transcripts to law schools where you apply.
Should I send my transcripts to Berkeley Law?
The CAS, not Berkeley Law, must receive a copy of your transcript directly from each college or university that you have attended, even if the institution does not use a letter-grade system.
What role does my GPA play in admissions?
According to weights provided by Berkeley Law, CAS will combine your LSAT score and your undergraduate grade point average into a single value called the index number, and will print the index number on your CAS report. The report also will include your undergraduate academic summary, LSAT score(s), copies of transcripts, writing sample(s), and letters of recommendation. When you receive a copy of your summary report, you can presume that we also have received the report. If you do not receive a report within six weeks of submitting all of the relevant materials, you should contact Law Services to determine the status of your CAS file.
I am in school now. Should I wait for my Fall/Winter grades to come in before applying?
If you are currently completing your undergraduate work, you should not wait for fall or winter semester (or quarter) grades to be posted on your transcript before sending them to Law Services. You may update your application by sending them to the CAS after they are released.
Graduate Transcripts
Official transcripts of all graduate work undertaken should be sent from the graduate institution directly to Law Services, which will include them with the CAS Report.
