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Alright, I figured that my LSAC gpa will be lower at a 3.00, because one semester when I had medical issues, I stayed enrolled in a course, and rather than give me an F grade, the grade posted on the transcript was: SF. (punitive that it hurt my gpa, and SF stood for -- Stopped Attending F).

On the LSAC website under transcript summarizations, where it discusses grades excluded it mentions: The original grade for a repeated course when the transcript fails to show both the credits and the original grade for the first attempt.

So, would that mean because I retook the course and receive a letter grade "A" the second time, that since the original attempt was not an actual grade (A, B, C, D, F) but rather (SF) that the original grade might not count? I remember someone something similar on here.

Has anyone on here had a punitive grade for a course that wasnt a letter grade, retaken it and the first attempt didnt count for you? Please help me.

I do not have personal experience with this situation (and I assume others will chime in), but I think if you had a valid excuse you can discuss with your UG institution about changing that to a non-punitive grade so it does not negatively impact your lsac gpa.

Has anyone on here had a punitive grade for a course that wasn't a letter grade, retaken it and the first attempt didn't count for you? Please help me.

My understanding as long as it appears on your transcript, the attempt will be included in your LSAC GPA calculation. Now you are asking two questions:

1) Can the 2nd attempt completely overwrite the 1st attempt, so the 1st attempt doesn't appear on your transcript? Well, talk to your school's registrar office, and see it they can do that. I personally wouldn't even bother trying this, since if it's their policy (and almost all schools' policy), there is nothing they can do for you.

2) Can the grade (SF) from the 1st be changed? Well, talk to the professor who taught your 1st class. IMO, the best result you can ask (or beg) for is an incomplete (I) so you can do some more work and get a non-F grade. That's what my good friend did in college. He withdrew from a class due to a family problem and got a WF (withdraw fail). He begged the professor and eventually the professor agreed to change his grade from WF to I. In the next 3 months, he did a few more assignments and took a final, eventually got a B.

However, your situation is different: 1) It has been a while since your 1st attempt, I am not sure if your school allows grade change after this long; 2) You already took the same class for the 2nd time. In my school, as soon as you take the same class again, the grade of your first attempt is locked in, and there is nothing can be done. Anyway, it doesn't hurt to try. Good luck.