GPA Calculator

GPA calculator at a glance#

What is a GPA?#

A GPA, or grade point average, turns all of your letter grades into one number. Each letter grade has a point value, from 4.0 for an A down to 0 for an F, and your GPA is the average of those points weighted by each course's credit hours. A GPA of 3.5 sits halfway between a B+ (3.3) and an A- (3.7).

How do you calculate your GPA?#

To calculate your GPA, multiply each course's grade points by its credit hours. Add up all these results and then divide by your total credit hours. For example, if you have a semester worth 52.5 grade points over 15 credits, the GPA would be 52.5 ÷ 15 = 3.5. By entering each course's credits and letter grade in the calculator above, you can see the points for every course, the total credits, the total points, and your GPA.

What is the difference between term GPA and cumulative GPA?#

A term GPA, sometimes called a semester GPA, includes only the courses from one term. A cumulative GPA counts every graded course you've taken, meaning it's your total grade points across all terms divided by your total credits. To find your cumulative GPA, type your earlier GPA and completed credits into the calculator's Prior Semester fields.

How a GPA is built#

A GPA has two inputs per course. Grade points are the value of the letter grade on the 4.0 scale. Credit hours (some colleges say units) are how much the course counts, so a 4 credit lab science counts for more than a 1 credit seminar. Multiply the two to get what the course adds, which some registrars call quality points.

Stanford's guide to calculating a GPA uses the same formula: the sum of grade point values times units, divided by the sum of units for all graded courses. The example on this page demonstrates this with one semester of five courses, 15 credits in total.

How to calculate GPA by hand#

The example is one semester of five courses.

• Calculus: 4 credits, grade A, worth 4.0 points
• Biology: 4 credits, grade A-, worth 3.7 points
• English: 3 credits, grade B+, worth 3.3 points
• History: 3 credits, grade B-, worth 2.7 points
• Biology lab: 1 credit, grade A-, worth 3.7 points

1. Convert each letter grade to grade points using the table below.
2. Multiply the grade points for each course by its credits: 4 × 4.0 = 16, 4 × 3.7 = 14.8, 3 × 3.3 = 9.9, 3 × 2.7 = 8.1 and 1 × 3.7 = 3.7.
3. Add the products to get your total grade points: 16 + 14.8 + 9.9 + 8.1 + 3.7 = 52.5.
4. Divide the total grade points by the total credits: 52.5 ÷ 15 = 3.5.

The calculator displays these same numbers row by row. You can compare each course against your transcript this way.

Why do we weight by credits? If you averaged the five grade points without weighting, the result would be 17.4 ÷ 5 = 3.48. The weighted GPA is slightly higher at 3.5, because the two 4 credit courses have your best grades. Meanwhile, the 1 credit lab accounts for just a quarter as much as either. If every course had the same credit number, both methods would give the same GPA, with the plain average of the grade points working just fine. The average calculator can determine that for any list of numbers.

If your school uses percentages, switch the calculator's format to Percent and enter each score out of 100. The calculator will round each score to the nearest whole percent and convert it using the scale in the table below. For instance, 88 becomes a B+ worth 3.3, and 89.5 rounds up to 90, an A-. A row without a score or credits is left out of the GPA, so the blank row that appears when you fill in the last one can stay. If you only have assignment scores for a course, the grade calculator works out the course percentage first.

How to calculate cumulative GPA#

Your cumulative GPA includes every graded course on your record. To determine it, you need to add the grade points from all terms and divide by the total number of credits. You can't just average two GPAs unless both terms have the same number of credits.

Imagine your GPA was 3.2 after three semesters with 45 credits, and in the new semester, you earned 3.5 over 15 credits.

1. Convert the old GPA back into grade points by multiplying: 3.2 × 45 = 144.
2. Add the new semester's grade points: 144 + 52.5 = 196.5.
3. Add the credits: 45 + 15 = 60.
4. Divide: 196.5 ÷ 60 = 3.275.

If you averaged the two GPAs, you'd get 3.35, which overstates the result because the earlier GPA represents three times as many credits. In the calculator, input 3.2 in Prior Semester's GPA and 45 in Completed Credits, enter the new courses, and the Total/Overall row will display 60 credits, 196.5 grade points, and a GPA of 3.275.

To view several terms simultaneously, just add a semester in the calculator and enter its courses. It will then show a GPA for each semester and an overall GPA across all terms.

Weighted vs unweighted GPA#

An unweighted GPA assigns the same scale for every course. In this scale, an A is worth 4.0 in any class. A weighted GPA, reported by many high schools, includes a bonus for more challenging courses such as AP, IB, honors, or dual enrollment. This allows the GPA to exceed 4.0. The size of this bonus is determined by each school or district. For instance, the D.C. Everest school district in Wisconsin provides a 1.0 bonus for AP and dual enrollment courses and a 0.5 bonus for honors courses on a 5.0 scale, with no bonus granted to a D or an F.

The calculator above uses the unweighted scale and can't add a bonus, so work a weighted GPA by hand. If the Calculus course in the example were an AP class with a 1.0 bonus, an A would be counted as 5.0. This adds 4 grade points, so 56.5 ÷ 15 is about 3.77 instead of 3.5.

Letter grade to GPA conversion#

On the common 4.0 scale, plus and minus grades are positioned 0.3 above or below the whole letter grade. This method is used at both Stanford and UC Santa Cruz. Schools differ on the A+. This calculator considers an A+ as 4.3, mirroring Stanford's approach, while UC Santa Cruz caps it at 4.0, the same as an A.

The percent ranges listed below are the ones the calculator uses in Percent mode. However, your teacher or school might define them differently, so check your syllabus or handbook.

Sources#

• Stanford Student Services, How Do I Calculate My Grade Point Average (GPA)?
• UC Santa Cruz General Catalog, Grade Points
• D.C. Everest Area School District, Grading (weighted GPA scale)

Frequently asked questions#

How do I calculate my semester GPA?#

Use only that semester's courses. You multiply each course's grade points by its credits, then add up those results. Divide by the total credits for the semester. For the five courses listed here, that's 52.5 ÷ 15 = 3.5.

Can I average my semester GPAs to get my cumulative GPA?#

Only if each semester has an identical number of credits. If not, you'll need to weight each GPA by its respective credits. A GPA of 3.2 over 45 credits and a 3.5 over 15 credits give a cumulative GPA of 3.275, not 3.35.

How do I convert a percentage grade to GPA?#

First, determine the letter grade that corresponds to the percentage, then use the grade points for that letter. According to the scale in the table above, an 88 is a B+ worth 3.3, while a 93 is an A worth 4.0. Keep in mind, each school might have different cutoffs, so refer to your syllabus or handbook for specifics. If your score is in points, the percentage calculator turns it into a percentage first.

Is an A+ worth 4.0 or 4.3?#

It depends on the school. At Stanford, an A+ is valued at 4.3 grade points, and this calculator matches that. UC Santa Cruz assigns it 4.0, identical to an A. If your school limits the A+ to 4.0, you should select A in the calculator.

Do pass/fail classes count toward GPA?#

They usually don't because a pass doesn't carry grade points. At UC Santa Cruz, both P and NP grades are excluded from the GPA. Some schools, like Stanford, may count a failing NP as 0.0, so verify your registrar's policy.

What does a 4.0 GPA mean?#

On an unweighted scale, a 4.0 means an A in every course. Where AP or honors grades are weighted above 4.0, a weighted 4.0 can include some B grades.

How much can one semester raise my GPA?#

It depends on the credits you've already accumulated. With a 3.2 over 45 credits, a perfect 4.0 semester consisting of 15 credits would boost the cumulative GPA to (144 + 60) ÷ 60 = 3.4. After 90 credits at 3.2, the same semester only lifts it to (288 + 60) ÷ 105 = 3.31.