GPA Calculator
Your GPA, weighted and unweighted. And what it does to your cumulative record.
Your courses
Your record so far (optional)
Add what you already have and the headline becomes your new cumulative GPA, the number that actually appears on a transcript.
0 – 4.0
0 – 400
This calculates GPA from your grades and credit hours, on the standard 4.0 scale.
It also handles weighted GPA for honors and AP courses, and cumulative GPA across terms.
How GPA is calculated
GPA is a credit-hour-weighted average of grade points. Each letter grade converts to points — A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0 — and each course counts in proportion to its credit hours.
The weighting is the part people miss. A 4-credit course affects your GPA more than a 3-credit one. Averaging the grade points alone ignores that, and the two answers diverge as soon as your credit hours are uneven.
High schools add a second layer. Unweighted GPA caps at 4.0; weighted GPA adds a point for honors or AP courses, so an A in AP can be worth 5.0 and a GPA above 4.0 becomes possible. Colleges frequently recalculate using their own scale, so both figures are worth knowing.
Grade points times credit hours, summed, divided by total credit hours. Move the credits around and the GPA changes even with the same letter grades.
What to enter
- Letter grade for each course
- Converted to grade points. Many institutions use plus/minus grading, where A− is 3.7 and B+ is 3.3.
- Credit hours for each course
- How much each course counts. This is what makes it a weighted average rather than a plain one.
- Course level
- For weighted high school GPA, honors and AP courses typically add 0.5 or 1.0 to each grade point.
- Previous cumulative GPA and credits
- For working out a new cumulative GPA after this term.
The standard 4.0 scale
- A / A−
- 4.0 / 3.7. Some institutions award 4.0 for A+ and some allow 4.3.
- B+ / B / B−
- 3.3 / 3.0 / 2.7.
- C+ / C / C−
- 2.3 / 2.0 / 1.7.
- D+ / D / D−
- 1.3 / 1.0 / 0.7.
- F
- 0.0. It still counts in the credit-hour total, which is why one F is so damaging.
What this assumes
Scales vary between institutions. Some use plus/minus grading, some do not, and A+ handling differs.
Pass/fail courses usually carry no grade points and are excluded from the calculation entirely.
How to calculate your GPA
Grade points times credit hours, summed, divided by total credit hours.
- grade points
- A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0
- credit hours
- The weight of each course
Convert each grade to points. Using your institution's scale. Check whether plus/minus grading applies, since it changes the answer.
Multiply by credit hours. An A in a 4-credit course is 16 quality points; an A in a 3-credit course is 12.
Sum both columns. Total quality points, and total credit hours.
Divide. 30 quality points ÷ 10 credit hours = 3.00.
See a worked example: why credit hours change the answer
- Version 1
- A (3 cr), B (4 cr), C (3 cr)
- Version 2
- A (3 cr), B (3 cr), C (4 cr)
Version 1: (4 × 3) + (3 × 4) + (2 × 3) = 12 + 12 + 6 = 30, ÷ 10 credits = 3.00.
Version 2: (4 × 3) + (3 × 3) + (2 × 4) = 12 + 9 + 8 = 29, ÷ 10 = 2.90.
Identical letter grades, different GPA, because the C moved into the heavier course.
This is why a difficult 4-credit course matters more to your GPA than an easy 1-credit one.
3.00 and 2.90 from the same grades
Frequently asked questions
Multiply each course's grade points by its credit hours, add those products, and divide by total credit hours.
For an A in 3 credits, B in 4 and C in 3: (12 + 12 + 6) ÷ 10 = 3.00. The credit hours are what make it a weighted average.
Unweighted caps at 4.0 and treats all courses equally. Weighted adds points for honors and AP courses, so an A in AP might be 5.0 and a GPA above 4.0 becomes possible.
High schools weight differently from each other, which is why many colleges recalculate using their own consistent scale. Knowing both your figures is useful.
Combine all terms: total quality points across every course divided by total credit hours across every course.
Do not average your term GPAs. Terms with different credit loads carry different weight, and averaging them ignores that.
It depends on how many credits you already have. Early in a degree, one F is severe; with 90 credits behind you, the same F moves your cumulative GPA much less.
An F is particularly damaging because it contributes zero quality points while still counting its credit hours in the denominator.
Usually not. A pass typically earns credit toward graduation without grade points, so it is excluded from the GPA calculation entirely.
A fail sometimes does count as zero. Policies vary considerably, so it is worth checking before electing pass/fail in a difficult course.
It varies enormously by field and institution. 3.0 is a common minimum, competitive programmes often look for 3.5 or above, and top programmes higher still.
GPA is one factor among several. Research experience, letters of recommendation and relevant coursework frequently carry more weight than a tenth of a GPA point.
Problems people actually run into
Ignoring credit hours
Averaging grade points alone treats a 1-credit lab the same as a 4-credit core course. The same letter grades gave 3.00 and 2.90 in the example purely from where the credits sat.
Always weight by credit hours. It also tells you where your effort matters most: the heavy courses move your GPA, the light ones barely do.
Averaging term GPAs for a cumulative figure
A 3.8 term with 6 credits and a 3.0 term with 18 does not average to 3.4. The heavier term dominates.
Sum all quality points and all credit hours across every term, then divide once. That is the only correct way to combine them.
Results are estimates for general information only and are not professional financial, medical, or legal advice. Read our full disclaimer.
Last updated: September 4, 2026