GPA Calculator

GPA — grade point average — converts your letter grades into a single number on a 4.0 scale. The calculation has three steps: convert each letter grade to its point value (A = 4.0, B = 3.0, and so on), multiply each course's points by its credit hours to get quality points, then divide the total quality points by the total credit hours.

This is why credit hours matter so much. A simple average of your letter grades treats a 1-credit elective the same as a 4-credit core course — but real GPA doesn't. An A in a 4-credit class contributes far more to your average than an A in a 1-credit class. Doing well in your heaviest courses moves your GPA the most.

The difference between weighted and unweighted GPA comes down to course difficulty. Unweighted GPA caps every course at 4.0 regardless of rigor. Weighted GPA rewards harder classes — typically adding +0.5 for honors and +1.0 for AP or IB courses — so an A in an AP class can count as 5.0. This is why some students report GPAs above 4.0. Colleges often recalculate GPA using their own formula, so both numbers are worth knowing.

If you already have a cumulative GPA from previous terms, you can combine it with this term's courses to project your new overall GPA. The more credits you've already earned, the harder your cumulative GPA is to move — each new course is a smaller slice of the total. This is why strong grades early matter, and why raising a GPA late takes sustained high performance across many credits.