What is a GPA?
A grade point average (GPA) is a single number that summarizes your grades across courses. Each letter grade is converted to grade points, typically on a 0 to 4.0 scale in the US, and the points are averaged with each course weighted by its credit hours. A 4.0 means straight A's.
This calculator works out a credit-weighted GPA for up to five courses and also shows the total credit hours it counted.
The GPA formula
GPA = sum of (credits × grade points) ÷ sum of credits
The product credits × grade points is often called quality points. A 3-credit A earns 12 quality points, and a 3-credit C earns 6.
Grade point scale used
The calculator uses the common unweighted 4.0 scale with plus and minus grades:
| Letter grade | Grade points |
|---|---|
| A | 4.0 |
| A− | 3.7 |
| B+ | 3.3 |
| B | 3.0 |
| B− | 2.7 |
| C+ | 2.3 |
| C | 2.0 |
| C− | 1.7 |
| D+ | 1.3 |
| D | 1.0 |
| F | 0.0 |
Plain letter grades (A, B, C, D, F as 4, 3, 2, 1, 0) are the same everywhere this scale is used. The plus and minus steps vary more between schools. The College Board's guide to calculating GPA on a 4.0 scale notes that some schools don't use pluses and minuses at all and others use different cut-offs, so your official transcript GPA may differ slightly. Some schools award 4.3 for an A+, which this calculator doesn't support.
Worked example
A term with four courses:
| Course | Credits | Grade | Grade points | Quality points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calculus | 3 | A | 4.0 | 12.0 |
| Chemistry | 4 | B+ | 3.3 | 13.2 |
| History | 3 | B− | 2.7 | 8.1 |
| Seminar | 2 | C | 2.0 | 4.0 |
| Total | 12 | 37.3 |
GPA = 37.3 ÷ 12 = 3.108, which the calculator shows as 3.11, with 12.0 total credit hours.
A simple average of the four grade points, (4.0 + 3.3 + 2.7 + 2.0) ÷ 4 = 3.0, would understate this GPA because it ignores that the 4-credit chemistry course carries more weight than the 2-credit seminar.
How to use the calculator
- For each course, enter its credit hours (for example 3 or 4) and pick the letter grade.
- Leave credits blank, or set them to 0, for any slot you don't need. That course is skipped.
- Read the GPA, rounded to two decimal places, and the total credits counted.
Every course with credits needs a grade selected, or the calculator asks you to choose one.
Combining terms into a cumulative GPA
Cumulative GPA works the same way, across all terms. Multiply each term's GPA by its credits to get its quality points, add them up, and divide by total credits. For example, a 3.11 GPA over 12 credits (37.3 points) plus a 3.50 GPA over 15 credits (52.5 points) gives 89.8 ÷ 27 = 3.33.
Limits
- Unweighted only. Honors, AP and IB bonuses aren't applied.
- Pass/fail and withdrawn courses usually don't count toward GPA. Leave them out.
- Repeated courses are handled differently by each institution. Some replace the old grade, others average both.
- Other countries' systems. Many universities outside the US use a 10-point CGPA instead. To turn a 10-point CGPA into a percentage, use the CGPA to percentage calculator.
Related calculators
- Grade calculator: work out a course's final grade from weighted assignments and exams.
- CGPA to percentage calculator: convert a 10-point CGPA to a percentage.
- Percentage calculator: quick percentage sums for marks.
- Study time calculator: plan revision to protect your GPA before exams.
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