How do Law Schools factor in repeated courses when evaluating applicants?

TheTruth09: How do Law Schools factor in repeated courses when evaluating applicants?
I got two D’s in my first year (D and D+) and re-took the two courses this year and got a B+ and A respectively, however I have another D+ that I want to retake this year. In total that would be three courses taken again for the purpose of increasing my GPA. Are Law Schools going to hold this against me or should I opt on not taking this third course again? Friday is when I can begin choosing courses for my fourth year which is why I’m contemplating this now.

Answers and Views:

Answer by creativlyclngd
When you apply to law schools, you will register with LSDAS and submit your application through them. LSDAS will recalculate your GPA (which factors the D and D+ grades) and send your profile to each school. The schools will be looking at your GPA, not the actual grades, so it may be worthwhile to retake the class.

Edit upon review:
Mathematically speaking, it is still advantageous to retake a class. If you retake the class for which you’d earned a D+ and then earn an A-, then your calculated GPA would still increase: Suppose you have 105 credits and the course in question is three credits. By retaking the course, you increase your GPA by 0.02 points. While this doesn’t seem like much, it could give you a slight edge over another appllicant with a similar LSAT score.

(note: my original response did, in fact, acknowledge that the lower grades are factored in the calculation of your LSDAS GPA so the only valid issue could have been the utility of retaking the class)

Answer by TheOrange Evil
The person above me is half right.

When you apply to law school, you send in your transcripts (and letters of recommendation) to the Law School Data Assembly Service. LSDAS re-calculates your GPA using its own formula. This is the GPA law schools use when evaluating you and most won’t look too hard at your transcripts unless you submit a GPA Addendum drawing attention to specific classes or semesters.

Here’s the other half, though. Regarding re-takes, LSDAS counts the old grade and the new grade, even if your university only counts the latter. That means that D+ and D are going to factor into your GPA right along side your B+ and A. Re-taking won’t do much for your GPA that taking a normal class wouldn’t do. It’s basically a waste of time if raising your GPA is your goal.

You could re-take and then submit a GPA Addendum explaining the low grades (if they’re isolated incidents – if low grades are scattered throughout your transcript, this would not be a wise move) and using your re-takes as proof that you’re academically capable, but that you were going through a difficult situation at the time that affected your performance.