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, honours, graduate admissions and some employers use it as a quick summary of academic performance.

How to use the calculator

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. Use capital letters with an optional sign, such as A, B+ or C-. You may also type grade points 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.
4. Press Calculate GPA to see the weighted GPA, the weighted letter grade and the total credits.

Type letters in capitals. A grade the tool does not recognise (a lower-case letter, or P, W or I) is counted as zero grade points while its credits are still added. Leave such courses out of the list instead. Do not mix letters and numbers in one run: the first course decides which of the two the tool reads.

The formula

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 honours, 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 honours 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: these courses give credits toward graduation but no grade points, so they are excluded from the GPA. Leave them out of the list.
• Withdrawals (W) and incompletes (I): neither earns grade points while it stands. An incomplete usually converts to a letter grade once the work is finished, at which point it enters 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.