About the GPA Calculator
Your grade point average (GPA) sums up your academic performance in a single number. In the United States and many other countries it decides honours, scholarships, eligibility for sports and societies, and admission to graduate programmes. It is simply an average of your grades, weighted by how many credits each course is worth — but working it out by hand for a full timetable is fiddly, and easy to get wrong.
This GPA calculator does it for you. List your courses, each with its credits and your letter grade or grade points, and it works out your GPA on the standard 4.0 scale or the 4.3 scale that rewards an A+. It shows the quality points for each course, the total credits, and the letter-grade average your GPA corresponds to.
How to Use the GPA Calculator
Type each course on its own line: a name, the credits (or units or hours), then the grade. For example: Math 4 B+.
Use letter grades such as A, A-, B+, C or F, or type grade points directly, such as 3.7.
Choose the scale: 4.0, where an A+ counts as 4.0, or 4.3, where an A+ counts as 4.3.
The Formula
quality points for a course = credits × grade points
GPA = total quality points ÷ total credits
4.0 scale: 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 F 0Step-by-Step Example
A student takes five courses:
Course Credits Grade Points Quality points
English 3 A 4.0 12.0
Math 4 B+ 3.3 13.2
Biology 4 A- 3.7 14.8
History 3 B 3.0 9.0
PE 1 A 4.0 4.0
Total 15 53.0
GPA = 53.0 ÷ 15 = 3.53On the 4.3 scale: an A+ in a four-credit course and an A in a three-credit course give (4 × 4.3 + 3 × 4.0) ÷ 7 = 29.2 ÷ 7 = 4.17, compared with 4.00 on the 4.0 scale.
With grade points: two three-credit courses at 3.5 and 2.5 give (10.5 + 7.5) ÷ 6 = 3.00.
Why Credits Matter
GPA is a weighted average: each grade counts in proportion to the credits of its course. A four-credit science class with a lab counts four times as much as a one-credit physical education class. In the example above, the B+ in four-credit Math pulls the GPA down more than the A in one-credit PE pushes it up. When planning which courses to focus on, remember that improving a grade in a high-credit course moves your GPA the most.
Semester, Cumulative and Weighted GPA
A semester GPA covers the courses in one term. A cumulative GPA combines every term so far, weighted by credits, so a strong final year lifts it less than you might hope if you already have many credits behind you. A weighted GPA, used by many high schools, adds extra points for honours, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes — often 0.5 or 1.0 — so it can exceed 4.0. This calculator gives an unweighted GPA for the courses you enter; use the cumulative and weighted GPA calculators for those versions.
What Counts Towards GPA
Schools have their own rules. Pass/fail courses usually earn credits but are left out of the GPA. Withdrawals normally do not count. Repeated courses may replace the earlier grade or be averaged with it. Some schools give an A+ 4.3 points, others cap it at 4.0, and a few use different values for plus and minus grades. Check your school's handbook, and leave out any courses that it excludes before calculating.
What Is a Good GPA?
Expectations depend on the school, the subject and your goals, but as a rough guide in the US a GPA of 3.0, a B average, is generally considered solid, 3.5 and above very good, and 3.7 or higher excellent. Many scholarships require a minimum GPA of 3.0 to 3.5, and competitive graduate programmes often look for 3.5 or more. Admissions officers also look at the difficulty of your courses and the trend of your grades over time, not just the number.
Improving Your GPA
Because GPA is an average, each new term's grades have less effect as your total credits grow. Early in a degree, a strong semester can raise your GPA considerably; later, the change is smaller. Focus effort on high-credit courses, seek help early when a grade starts to slip, and check whether your school lets repeated courses replace a poor grade. The GPA calculator is a useful planning tool: try different expected grades to see what you need to reach a target.
GPA Around the World
The 4.0 scale is mainly an American system. Many other countries grade differently: the UK uses degree classifications such as First and Upper Second, much of Europe uses the ECTS A to F scale or national marks out of 10 or 20, and India and Pakistan often use a CGPA out of 10 or 4. When applying abroad, universities usually ask for an official conversion or evaluation rather than a GPA you calculate yourself.
Understanding Your Result
The headline is your GPA to two decimal places.
The quality points line shows the total quality points, total credits, the GPA to three decimal places, and the approximate letter-grade average.
The by course line shows each course's grade, points, credits and quality points.
When Should You Use This Calculator?
Use it at the end of a term to work out your semester GPA.
Use it to see how expected grades will affect your GPA.
Use it to check a GPA on a transcript or application.
Common Mistakes
Ignoring credits. A simple average of grades is not a GPA.
Including pass/fail courses. Most schools leave them out.
Using the wrong scale. Check whether your school counts A+ as 4.0 or 4.3.
Mixing semester and cumulative GPA. They answer different questions.