How GPA is calculated
Grade point average (GPA) is a weighted average of your course grades, where the weight is the number of credit hours. Each letter grade is converted to grade points, that number is multiplied by the course credits to give quality points, and the total quality points are divided by the total credits. For example, an A (4.0) in a 3-credit course and a B (3.0) in a 4-credit course give 12 + 12 = 24 quality points over 7 credits, a GPA of 24 ÷ 7 = 3.43.
The standard 4.0 scale used here
This calculator uses the most common unweighted scale: A+ and 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 = 0.0. Not every school follows it exactly. Some give an A+ a 4.3, some do not offer plus and minus grades, and others use slightly different values for minus grades. If your school publishes its own table, use it as the final authority, and pick the nearest grade here for an estimate.
Weighted GPA for honors and AP/IB courses
Many high schools add extra points for harder courses. A common pattern is +0.5 for honors and +1.0 for Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB), which lets a weighted GPA exceed 4.0. In this tool, choose the weighting for each course and the bonus is added to any passing grade. Failing grades receive no bonus. Colleges often recalculate GPAs using their own rules, so the weighted number is mainly useful for your school's own ranking and honor-roll rules.
Adding your cumulative GPA
To project your overall GPA after this term, enter your current cumulative GPA and the credits you have completed. The calculator treats your past record as one large block of quality points (GPA × credits) and adds the new courses to it. It then divides by all the credits together. Because older credits carry the same weight as new ones, a single semester moves your cumulative GPA less as your credit total grows.
Using the calculator to plan
- What-if testing: change a grade from a B to an A and see how much the semester GPA moves.
- Credit-weighting: notice that a grade in a 4-credit course counts more than the same grade in a 1-credit lab.
- Goal setting: try different combinations of grades to see what you need to reach a target such as a 3.5 for honors or a scholarship requirement.
- Applications: check the GPA you are reporting on forms, but always use the official transcript figure if one exists.
Pass/fail courses and withdrawals usually do not count towards GPA, so leave those rows blank. Repeated courses may be handled by "grade replacement" at some schools, so remove the old attempt if that applies to you. This tool gives an estimate to help you plan, your registrar's calculation is the official one, and nothing you enter is sent anywhere.