GPA Calculator

What a GPA is

A grade point average condenses all of your course results into a single number. Each letter grade is first translated into grade points, then the points are averaged. The average is weighted by credits, so a four-credit lab course moves your GPA more than a one-credit seminar.

The same method gives a semester GPA (courses from one term) and a cumulative GPA (all courses to date). Cumulative GPA is sometimes written CGPA. Scholarships, honors, graduate admissions and some employers use it as a quick summary of academic performance.

Entering grades and credits for up to 30 courses

1. Set How many courses? to the number of courses you want to include (1 to 30). That many rows appear.
2. In each row, type the grade in the first box: a letter with an optional sign, such as A, B+ or C- (capitals or lower case both work), or grade points typed directly, for example 3.5.
3. Type the course credits in the second box. If a course counts for more or less than usual, adjust its credits to reflect the extra or reduced weight. A row needs both a grade and credits, otherwise it is skipped.
4. Press Calculate GPA to see the weighted GPA, the weighted letter grade and the total credits.

Courses marked W (withdrawn), P or NP (pass or no pass), I or IP (incomplete or in progress), AU (audit), and CR or NC (credit or no credit) carry no grade points, so the calculator leaves them out of both the points and the total credits. A grade it cannot read, such as Z, a negative number or a typo, stops the calculation with a message that names the course, instead of being counted as zero. Letters and grade points can be mixed in one list.

Credit-weighted GPA formula and a semester example

GPA = Σ (grade points × credits) ÷ Σ creditsThe numerator is often called the total quality points.

Example for one semester. Calculus with an A- (4 credits), chemistry with a B+ (4 credits), English with a B (3 credits) and a physical education course with an A (1 credit). The quality points are 3.7 × 4 + 3.3 × 4 + 3.0 × 3 + 4.0 × 1 = 14.8 + 13.2 + 9 + 4 = 41. The credits add up to 4 + 4 + 3 + 1 = 12, so the GPA is 41 ÷ 12 = 3.417, which falls in the A- band.

Adding it to your record. Suppose you already have 30 credits at a cumulative 3.2, which is 96 quality points. Adding the semester above gives (96 + 41) ÷ (30 + 12) = 137 ÷ 42 = 3.262. Never average two GPAs directly. Combine quality points and credits instead.

Why credits matter. An A in a 3-credit course and a C in a 1-credit course average to (4 × 3 + 2 × 1) ÷ 4 = 3.5, not the 3.0 you would get by averaging the two grades without weights.

Letter grades and grade points

The calculator uses the common plus-and-minus scale in which an A+ is worth 4.3. Your institution may cap the top grade at 4.0, drop the plus and minus, or use an entirely different scale. When you know the exact grade points, enter them as numbers.

The weighted grade shown with the result is the lowest letter whose points are at or above your GPA. A GPA of 3.069 is therefore reported as B+, since it is above a B (3.0) but below the 3.3 of a B+. A GPA above 4.3 has no letter and is shown without one.

High school and college GPAs

The arithmetic is identical at both levels, as long as the same scale is used. High schools often report two figures: an unweighted GPA on a plain 4.0 scale and a weighted GPA that gives honors, AP or IB courses a bonus, commonly 0.5 or 1.0 points. If your school adds a bonus, add it to the grade points you type in. For instance, enter 4.5 for an honors A when the school awards half a point extra.

Colleges use credit hours rather than course counts. If the school gives a course extra weight, you can reproduce that by multiplying its credits. A course worth 1.5 times a standard four-credit course should be entered as six credits.

To see how a single grade changes a course average, use the grade calculator. To work out what you still need on the last exam, try the final grade calculator.

Courses that do not carry grade points

• Pass/fail and credit/no credit (P, NP, CR, NC): these courses give credits toward graduation but no grade points, so they are excluded from the GPA. The calculator skips them if you leave the mark in the list, and its total credits count only the graded courses.
• Withdrawals (W), incompletes (I), in-progress (IP) and audits (AU): none earns grade points while it stands, so the calculator skips them too. An incomplete usually converts to a letter grade once the work is finished, at which point you can enter that letter and it joins your GPA.
• Repeated courses: schools vary. Some replace the old grade with the new one, others average both. Follow your registrar's policy when you decide which attempts to enter.
• Transfer credits: many schools accept the credits but not the grades, so transferred courses typically do not count toward the GPA at the new school.

Worked examples with the GPA Calculator

Example 1. How many courses?: 5; Course 1: A 3 credits; Course 2: B+ 4 credits; Course 3: C- 3 credits; Course 4: A+ 2 credits; Course 5: D 1 credits.

Result: Weighted GPA 3.069; Weighted grade B+; Total credits 13.

Example 2. How many courses?: 3; Course 1: 3.5 2 credits; Course 2: b- 3 credits; Course 3: 2.25 1.5 credits.

Result: Weighted GPA 2.842; Weighted grade B; Total credits 6.5.

Example 3. How many courses?: 2; Course 1: a 3 credits; Course 2: b 3 credits.

Result: Weighted GPA 3.5; Weighted grade A-; Total credits 6.

Common mistakes with the GPA Calculator

• Ignoring credit hours. A 4-credit course counts twice as much as a 2-credit one in a weighted average.
• Using the wrong grade scale. Some schools score an A- as 3.7 and others as 3.67 or 4.0.
• Counting a course you retook twice. Many schools replace the earlier grade, so check your school's rule.