GPA calculator

How GPA is calculated

GPA = Σ (grade points × credits) ÷ Σ credits

An A is 4.0, A− 3.7, B+ 3.3, B 3.0 and so on down to F at 0. A 4-credit course counts four times as much as a 1-credit one. To track consistency across terms as well as the average, see the grade average calculator, which adds the standard deviation.

How to use the GPA calculator

Each row is one course. Type a name (optional), the grade as a letter (A, B+, C−) or as grade points (3.7), and the credits the course is worth. Add rows with the plus control and remove those you do not need; rows with a blank grade or credit are ignored. The headline is your credit-weighted GPA, with the total credits, the quality points and the number of courses counted below it, and a table that shows the points each course earned. To fold in your earlier record, fill in Cumulative GPA so far and Credits earned so far and the result also shows your new cumulative GPA.

The GPA formula

GPA = Σ (grade points × credits) ÷ Σ credits. A course’s quality points are its grade points times its credits, so a 4-credit B+ (3.3) earns 13.2 quality points and a 1-credit A earns 4. Add the quality points of every course and divide by the total credits attempted. The result is a weighted mean: a 4-credit course counts four times as much as a 1-credit one.

Worked example

Five courses: English A (3 credits), Calculus B+ (4), Chemistry A− (4), History B (3) and Statistics A (3). Quality points are 3 × 4.0 = 12, 4 × 3.3 = 13.2, 4 × 3.7 = 14.8, 3 × 3.0 = 9 and 3 × 4.0 = 12, a total of 61 over 17 credits, so the GPA is 61 ÷ 17 = 3.59. Credits change the picture: a 1-credit A and a 4-credit C average (4 + 8) ÷ 5 = 2.4, not the 3.0 you would get by averaging the two grades.

Typical grade-to-points scale

Many US schools use 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, D− = 0.7 and F = 0. Some give an A+ 4.3 or treat A+ and A alike; others have no plus/minus grades. This calculator reads an A+ as 4.0. If your school uses a different scale, enter your grade points as numbers.

Weighted and unweighted GPA

An unweighted GPA caps at 4.0 and ignores how hard a course is. A weighted GPA adds a bonus for honours or Advanced Placement (AP) courses, commonly 0.5 for honours and 1.0 for AP, so the maximum becomes 5.0. The bonus is school policy, not a standard. To get a weighted GPA here, enter the weighted grade points yourself, for example 5.0 for an A in an AP course.

Cumulative GPA

Your cumulative GPA combines every term. With a record of 3.2 over 60 credits and a new term of 17 credits at 3.59, the new cumulative is (3.2 × 60 + 61) ÷ 77 = 253 ÷ 77 = 3.29. The term only moves the average in proportion to its share of the credits, which is why a strong term raises a long record slowly. You can also work backwards to a target: to reach a 3.4 over 90 credits from 3.2 over 60, you need 3.4 × 90 − 3.2 × 60 = 114 quality points from the next 30 credits, a 3.8 average. A 3.5 target would need 4.1, which is impossible on a 4.0 scale.

How much one grade moves a long record

The more credits you have behind you, the less a single course changes your cumulative GPA. Start from 3.2 over 60 credits (192 quality points). Add a 3-credit A and the GPA becomes (192 + 12) ÷ 63 = 3.24. Add a 3-credit F and it becomes 192 ÷ 63 = 3.05. The same F early on, with only 12 credits behind you at 3.2, would cost far more: (38.4 + 0) ÷ 15 = 2.56. That is why a bad first term hurts more than a bad late one, and why a strong string of terms is needed to repair it. Use the cumulative fields above to test any scenario.

Using the calculator to plan a term

You can enter courses you have not finished yet. Type the grade you are aiming for in each row and read the resulting GPA, then change one grade at a time to see which course matters most. The highest-credit courses move the result the most, so they deserve the most attention. Treat the output as a target, not a prediction.

Withdrawals, pass/fail and other scales

A withdrawal (W), an incomplete (I) or a pass/fail grade usually earns credit or none but no grade points, so leave those rows out of the table. Outside the United States, systems differ: some countries use percentages, a 10-point scale or a scale on which 1.0 is the best grade. Convert using the conversion table your institution publishes before you enter grade points, and be careful with scales that run in the opposite direction.

Common mistakes

• Averaging grades instead of weighting by credits.
• Mixing weighted and unweighted points in one calculation.
• Counting pass/fail courses. Many schools leave them out of the GPA; leave their rows blank.
• Forgetting repeated courses. Some schools replace the old grade, others average both.

GPA rules differ between schools, so treat the result as an estimate and check your institution’s policy. For test scores and class averages with a standard deviation, use the grade average calculator.