GPA Calculator
Enter your courses, grades and credits to get your semester GPA. Add your previous record for a cumulative GPA, switch on weighting for honors and AP classes, or work out the average you need to reach a target.
Your result
Enter your courses above to see the result.
An estimate based on the grade scale you choose. Your school or university sets its own scale and rounding rules, and its registrar’s figure is the official one.
What GPA is and why it is built this way
GPA stands for grade point average. It squeezes all your results into one number, usually between 0 and 4.0, so that schools, universities and employers can compare students quickly. Each letter grade is worth a number of grade points, and the average is weighted by credits, so a bigger course counts for more than a smaller one.
The weighting is the part people forget. Two courses with the same grade do not necessarily pull your GPA equally. A 5-credit course at B and a 1-credit course at A will leave you much closer to a B than to an A.
How to use this calculator
- Choose your grade scale. Most US-style schools use the plus and minus scale.
- For each course, pick the grade and enter the credits. Course names are optional and only help you keep track.
- Tick Weighted GPA if your school adds a bonus for honors, AP or IB courses, then mark which courses are which.
- Open Previous record and enter your current GPA and credits to see your cumulative GPA after this term.
- Use Target GPA to find out what average you need on your remaining credits.
The formulas
Quality points = grade points × credits
GPA = total quality points ÷ total credits
Cumulative GPA = (previous GPA × previous credits + new quality points) ÷ (previous credits + new credits)
Needed average = (target × all credits − current GPA × credits so far) ÷ credits still to come
Common grade point values
| Letter | Grade points | Honors (+0.5) | AP / IB (+1.0) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A+ / A | 4.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
| A- | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.7 |
| B+ | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.3 |
| B | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| B- | 2.7 | 3.2 | 3.7 |
| C+ | 2.3 | 2.8 | 3.3 |
| C | 2.0 | 2.5 | 3.0 |
| C- | 1.7 | 2.2 | 2.7 |
| D+ / D / D- | 1.3 / 1.0 / 0.7 | 1.8 / 1.5 / 1.2 | 2.3 / 2.0 / 1.7 |
| F | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
This is a common convention, not a universal rule. Some schools score an A+ as 4.3, some do not use minus grades, and weighting bonuses differ. The calculator does not give a bonus on a failing grade.
Worked examples
A semester GPA
Five courses: Calculus A- (4 credits), English B+ (3), Physics A (4), History B (3) and PE A (1). Quality points are 14.8 + 9.9 + 16 + 9 + 4 = 53.7, over 15 credits. The GPA is 53.7 / 15 = 3.58.
A cumulative GPA
If you already had a 3.2 GPA over 45 credits, those credits carry 144 quality points. Add this semester’s 53.7 points and 15 credits: (144 + 53.7) / 60 = 3.30. The new term raised the cumulative GPA by 0.10, not 0.38, because it is only a quarter of your total credits.
A target GPA
You have a 3.2 over 60 credits and want a 3.5 after 120. You need (3.5 × 120 − 3.2 × 60) / 60 = 3.8 on the remaining 60 credits, roughly an A- average across the board.
Weighted and unweighted GPA
An unweighted GPA tops out at 4.0 and ignores how hard a course was. A weighted GPA gives extra points for advanced classes so that a student who takes demanding courses is not at a disadvantage compared with one who takes easier ones. Many US high schools use this, often adding 0.5 for honors and 1.0 for AP or IB. Colleges often recalculate GPA on their own scale, so a weighted figure is not always the one that counts in admissions.
Raising your GPA
The maths is straightforward. Every new credit counts a little less the more credits you already have, so changes come fastest early on. When you plan, spend your effort on the higher-credit courses where a better grade moves the average the most, and use the target tab to check what is realistic before you set a goal. If your school allows retakes, find out whether the new grade replaces the old one or is averaged with it, since that changes the benefit.
Common mistakes
- Averaging semester GPAs instead of weighting by credits. A 3.5 over 12 credits and a 4.0 over 18 credits give 3.8, not 3.75.
- Entering the number of courses where credits belong.
- Counting pass/fail or withdrawn courses as grades.
- Using the wrong scale for your school.
- Treating a weighted GPA as if it were out of 4.0.
Frequently asked questions
How is GPA calculated?
Convert each letter grade to grade points (for example A = 4.0, B = 3.0), multiply by the course's credits to get quality points, add up the quality points and divide by the total credits. A 4-credit A and a 3-credit B give (4 x 4.0 + 3 x 3.0) / 7 = 3.57. The calculator shows this table for your courses.
What is the difference between semester and cumulative GPA?
Semester GPA covers only the courses in one term. Cumulative GPA covers every course you have taken so far. To combine them correctly you weight each by credits, not by the number of semesters: cumulative GPA = (previous GPA x previous credits + this term's quality points) / (previous credits + this term's credits). Use the Previous record box to do this.
What is the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?
An unweighted GPA treats every course the same, so an A is 4.0 whether it is a regular, honors or AP class. A weighted GPA adds a bonus for harder courses, commonly 0.5 for honors and 1.0 for AP or IB, so the top possible value is above 4.0. The calculator has a switch for this. The bonuses are a common convention rather than a universal rule, so check what your school uses.
What does the plus and minus scale change?
With plus and minus grades, an A- is worth 3.7, a B+ is 3.3 and so on, which separates grades more finely. With a letters-only scale an A- or A+ is simply an A. Some schools also count an A+ as 4.3 or give no value to a D-. Use whichever matches your school's published scale.
Do all courses count equally?
Not usually. Courses are weighted by their credits or credit hours, so a 4-credit course affects your GPA more than a 1-credit one. Entering the right credits matters more than getting the course names right.
How do I find the GPA I need to reach a target?
Use the Target GPA tab. Enter your current GPA, the credits you have completed, the credits still to come and the GPA you want. The calculator tells you the average you must earn across the remaining credits, and whether the target is still possible.
Why is my target GPA impossible?
The more credits you have already completed, the harder it is to move your average. If the average needed on the remaining credits is above the highest grade point available, such as 4.0, then the target cannot be reached in that time. The calculator shows the best final GPA you could still reach.
How do I raise my GPA?
The same amount of effort buys more GPA when you have fewer credits behind you, so improvement is fastest early on. Focus on higher-credit courses, because they carry more weight. Some schools allow retakes to replace or average with the original grade, so check your institution's policy.
Can I convert my country's grades with this calculator?
Only if you map them to this scale first. Many countries use percentages, classes or 10-point or 5-point scales, and universities have their own conversion tables. If your school publishes a conversion to a 4.0 scale, use that; otherwise this tool should be treated as an estimate.
Does this calculator include pass/fail or withdrawn courses?
Leave them out. Pass/fail and withdrawn courses normally carry credits but do not count towards GPA. Setting the credits of a row to 0 or clearing it also removes it from the calculation.
Is my result official?
No. It is an estimate based on the grade scale you choose. Your school's registrar calculates your official GPA using its own rules for rounding, repeated courses and weighting.
Is anything I type saved or sent anywhere?
No. The sums run in your browser and nothing you enter is uploaded or stored on our servers.
Related calculators
To average marks with different weights use the average calculator. For percentages see the percentage calculator, and for the spread of your scores try the standard deviation calculator.