What is GPA Calculator?
A GPA (grade point average) is a single number summarising all your grades, weighted by how much each course counts. On the standard US 4.0 scale an A is worth 4.0 points, a B 3.0, a C 2.0, a D 1.0 and an F 0.0, with ±0.3 for plus and minus grades. To calculate it, multiply each course's grade points by its credit hours, add those together, and divide by the total credits. This GPA calculator does that arithmetic as you type, and shows both the unweighted result and the weighted result that schools use when AP, IB or Honors classes earn extra points. Because it runs entirely in your browser, your transcript details never leave your device.
Common Uses for GPA Calculator
- Work out your GPA at the end of a semester before official grades post
- See how one more A or B would move your cumulative average
- Check the difference AP and Honors classes make to a weighted GPA
- Plan a target GPA by testing different grade combinations
- Verify a GPA you calculated by hand or got from a school portal
The 4.0 scale in one table
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, F = 0.0. Each letter moves in 0.3 steps, which is why one B+ instead of an A- costs 0.4 points — a meaningful amount in a short semester.
GPA by credits, not by courses
A four-credit course moves your average more than a one-credit lab. That weighting is the whole point of a GPA: it reflects effort and time, not just the number of grades. Adding a 1-credit A to a transcript already at 3.5 barely moves it; adding a 4-credit A moves it noticeably. The calculator shows total credits so you can see exactly what share of your record each course represents.
When a GPA matters
Colleges recalculate GPA on their own scales for admission, scholarships often have hard cut-offs (3.0 and 3.5 are the common ones), graduate programmes look at the last 60 credits, and some employers and internships screen at 3.0. Knowing your number early lets you target the terms that still have room to move.
How to calculate GPA by hand, step by step
If you want to check the number on your transcript rather than trust it, the whole calculation is four steps and one division. Write each course on its own line, convert the letter to grade points, multiply by the credit hours, and sum. The only step people get wrong is the second one: a course that is not on the 4.0 scale (a pass/fail, a transfer credit, an incomplete) must be left out entirely rather than counted as a zero. Counting it as zero is the single biggest cause of a GPA that disagrees with the registrar's number.
- Step 1 — list every graded course and its credit hours
- Step 2 — convert each letter to points on the 4.0 scale (A = 4.0, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, B = 3.0 …)
- Step 3 — multiply each course's points by its credits to get quality points
- Step 4 — add all quality points and all credits separately
- Step 5 — divide total quality points by total credits; round to two decimals
A worked example with four courses
Four courses, three or four credits each, gives a realistic picture because the credit weighting does visible work. An A in a 3-credit course earns 12.0 quality points, a B+ in a 4-credit course earns 13.2, a B in a 3-credit course earns 9.0, and an A- in a 4-credit course earns 14.8. Total quality points 49.0 over 14 credits is a GPA of 3.50. Notice that the 4-credit B+ (13.2) outranks the 3-credit A (12.0) — which is exactly why comparing letter grades alone tells you nothing about a GPA.
Which courses to leave out of the calculation
Only graded courses belong in a GPA. Pass/fail courses, credit-by-exam, transfer credits recorded without a letter, and courses you are currently taking with no grade yet are all excluded — each one you add as a zero drags the average down artificially. Withdrawals marked W are also excluded. Retaken courses are the ambiguous case: many schools replace the old grade entirely, others average the two attempts, and a few keep both on the record and count both. Check your registrar's policy before using this calculator to decide whether a retake helps.