Your grade point average condenses a semester’s worth of letter grades into one number between 0.0 and 4.0. Colleges use it for academic standing, honors, scholarships and graduate admissions, and employers sometimes ask for it too. Enter each course’s grade and credit hours, and this calculator returns your semester GPA, the quality points behind it and — if you add your earlier record — your new cumulative GPA.
How to use the GPA calculator
- For each course, choose the letter grade and enter its credits (credit hours or units). The course name is optional.
- Leave the grade on “no grade” for unused rows and for pass/fail or withdrawn courses.
- For a cumulative GPA, enter your GPA so far and the credits so far from your transcript.
- Read the GPA on the tape. The table shows each course’s grade points and quality points.
GPA formula
The 4.0 grade scale
| Grade | Points | Grade | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| A+ / A | 4.0 | C | 2.0 |
| A− | 3.7 | C− | 1.7 |
| B+ | 3.3 | D+ | 1.3 |
| B | 3.0 | D | 1.0 |
| B− | 2.7 | D− | 0.7 |
| C+ | 2.3 | F | 0.0 |
This plus/minus scale is the most common in US colleges, but some schools use 3.67 and 3.33 instead of 3.7 and 3.3, or do not award D− at all. Check your registrar’s catalog if your result must match an official transcript exactly.
Worked example
A first-semester schedule:
| Course | Grade | Points | Credits | Quality points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Composition | A | 4.0 | 3 | 12.0 |
| Calculus I | B+ | 3.3 | 4 | 13.2 |
| Biology with Lab | A− | 3.7 | 4 | 14.8 |
| U.S. History | B | 3.0 | 3 | 9.0 |
| Total | 14 | 49.0 |
Semester GPA = 49 ÷ 14 = 3.50.
Now suppose the student already had a 3.2 GPA over 45 credits. Earlier quality points are 3.2 × 45 = 144, so the cumulative GPA is (144 + 49) ÷ (45 + 14) = 193 ÷ 59 ≈ 3.27 — up 0.07 from 3.2.
Raising your GPA
Credits matter as much as grades
A four-credit course moves your GPA a third more than a three-credit course with the same grade. In the example, improving Calculus from a B+ to an A− adds 0.4 × 4 = 1.6 quality points and lifts the semester GPA to 3.61.
Cumulative GPA moves slowly
The more credits you have, the less any one semester can change your cumulative average. A student with 90 credits at 2.8 who earns a 4.0 over 15 credits only reaches (252 + 60) ÷ 105 ≈ 2.97. Planning early matters for thresholds like a 3.0 scholarship minimum or a 3.5 for honors.
Retakes and grade replacement
Many colleges replace the original grade when you retake a course, removing the old quality points from the calculation. To model that, subtract the old course’s credits and quality points from your previous totals before entering them.
To work out the grade you need in a class before it ends, use the grade calculator or the final grade calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How is GPA calculated?
Convert each letter grade to grade points (A = 4.0, A− = 3.7, B+ = 3.3 and so on), multiply by the course's credit hours to get quality points, add them up, and divide by the total credit hours.
How do I calculate my cumulative GPA?
Multiply your previous GPA by the credits it covers to recover your earlier quality points, add this term's quality points, and divide by the combined credits. A 3.2 GPA over 45 credits plus a 3.5 term over 14 credits gives (144 + 49) ÷ 59 ≈ 3.27.
Is an A+ worth more than 4.0?
At most US colleges an A+ counts as 4.0, the same as an A, and that is what this calculator uses. A few schools award 4.3 for an A+; if yours does, its GPA will run slightly higher than shown here.
Do pass/fail or withdrawn courses count?
Usually not. Pass/fail (P/NP), withdrawals (W) and audits earn no grade points and are left out of both the quality points and the GPA credit hours. Leave their grade set to 'no grade' so they are skipped.
What about weighted high school GPAs?
Many high schools add 0.5 or 1.0 point for honors, AP or IB classes, producing GPAs above 4.0. Policies vary by school district, so this calculator reports the standard unweighted GPA.