Enter your courses, grades, and credit hours to calculate your GPA. Add as many courses as you need.
GPA (Grade Point Average) is a weighted average of your course grades, where each grade is weighted by the number of credit hours that course carries. A 3-credit course counts three times as much as a 1-credit course.
Formula: GPA = Σ (Grade Points × Credit Hours) ÷ Total Credit Hours
For example: if you take a 3-credit course and earn an A (4.0), that contributes 12 quality points. A 4-credit course with a B (3.0) contributes 12 quality points. Together: 24 quality points ÷ 7 total credits = 3.43 GPA.
Most US colleges use the standard 4.0 scale:
| Letter Grade | Grade Points | Letter Grade | Grade Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 4.0 | C+ | 2.3 |
| A− | 3.7 | C | 2.0 |
| B+ | 3.3 | C− | 1.7 |
| B | 3.0 | D+ | 1.3 |
| B− | 2.7 | D | 1.0 |
| F | 0.0 |
Some schools use A+ = 4.3, though many cap the scale at 4.0. Check your school's academic catalog to confirm which scale applies.
Your cumulative GPA covers every course you've taken since starting college. Your semester GPA covers only the courses from a single term. This calculator computes whichever you enter — put in all your courses for cumulative GPA, or just this semester's courses for semester GPA.
The more credits you've completed, the less a single semester can move your cumulative GPA. A freshman with 15 credits can shift their GPA by 0.5 points or more in one semester. A senior with 90 credits might only shift it by 0.1 points even with all A's.
2.0: The minimum to remain in good academic standing at most colleges. Falling below 2.0 triggers academic probation at many schools.
2.5: Common minimum for education programs, nursing programs, and many transfer applications. Also frequently required for athletic eligibility.
3.0: Required to maintain many merit scholarships and graduate school eligibility. The most common "good standing" benchmark for competitive programs.
3.5: Typical Dean's List threshold. Often required for honor societies like Phi Beta Kappa or departmental honors programs.
3.7+: Competitive for top graduate programs (MD, law, MBA at selective schools) and highly selective employers.
Not all courses move your GPA equally. A 4-credit course has twice the GPA impact of a 2-credit course. This means your highest-credit courses — often core requirements like Calculus, Chemistry, or English Composition — matter most to your GPA. A B in a 4-credit course does more damage than a B in a 1-credit elective, and an A in a 4-credit course provides more benefit than an A in a 1-credit lab.
When choosing between similar electives, all else being equal, taking more credits in subjects where you perform strongly gives you more GPA leverage per term.
Pass/Fail and Credit/No Credit courses typically do not affect your GPA — but they also don't help raise it. Repeated courses may be handled differently depending on your school's grade replacement policy. Transfer credits are usually accepted but often not included in your institutional GPA. Always check with your registrar if you're unsure how a specific course type will be counted.
Forgetting to weight by credit hours. Simply averaging your letter grades (A, B, A, C = 3.0) ignores the fact that a 4-credit course should count more than a 1-credit course. Always multiply each grade's point value by its credit hours before adding them together.
Mixing up quality points and grade points. Grade points (like 4.0 for an A) are per-credit-hour. Quality points are grade points multiplied by credits for a single course. Your GPA is total quality points divided by total credits — not the average of grade points alone.
Using the wrong scale. Some schools use a 4.3 scale where A+ = 4.3, while others cap at 4.0 with no bonus for A+. Weighted courses (AP, IB, Honors) may also add extra points on a 5.0 scale. Confirm which scale your registrar uses before comparing your GPA to scholarship or admission thresholds.
Including non-GPA courses. Pass/Fail, audited, and some transfer courses don't factor into GPA at all. Adding them into a manual calculation will skew the result even if the math itself is correct.
This tool calculates a standard unweighted GPA on the 4.0 scale — every course counts the same regardless of difficulty level. If you're taking AP, IB, or Honors courses that your school weights on a 5.0 scale, use the Weighted GPA Calculator instead, which adds bonus points for advanced coursework.
Does this calculator work for high school and college? Yes. The underlying math — grade points × credit hours, divided by total credit hours — is the same at both levels. High school students juggling weighted courses should also check the Weighted GPA Calculator for AP/IB/Honors classes.
Can I calculate my GPA without knowing exact credit hours? You can estimate using 3 credits per course, which is the US college average, but your result will be more accurate with your actual credit hours from your transcript or registrar.
Why is my calculated GPA different from what's on my transcript? Common causes: your school uses a different scale (4.3 vs 4.0), some of your courses are weighted and your transcript already reflects that, or Pass/Fail courses on your transcript aren't factored into the official GPA the same way you entered them here.
Does this calculator save my data? No. All calculations happen in your browser — nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere, so you can safely enter real grades.
How often should I recalculate my GPA? After every grade posts, if you're tracking scholarship or academic probation thresholds closely. Otherwise, once at the end of each term is enough to keep your cumulative GPA current.
Semester GPA Calculator — calculate this semester's GPA separately from your cumulative.
GPA Raise Calculator — how many A's do you need to hit your target GPA?
Weighted GPA Calculator — for AP, IB, and honors courses on the 5.0 scale.
Percentage to GPA Converter — convert a raw percentage or another GPA scale to the standard 4.0.
How to Raise Your GPA in One Semester — strategies that actually move the number.
Does Retaking a Class Replace Your GPA? — how grade replacement works.