GPA Calculator
Enter your letter grades and credit hours to get an instant GPA on the standard 4.0 scale, with an optional weighted GPA for Honors and AP/IB courses. Everything is calculated locally in your browser — nothing you type is sent to a server.
Your courses
| Course (optional) | Grade | Credits | Weighting | Remove row |
|---|
Add at least one course with credits greater than 0 to see your GPA.
Add to your cumulative GPA (optional)
Already have credits on your transcript? Enter your current cumulative GPA and credits earned so far to see your new overall GPA after this term.
Enter your current GPA and credits above to see your new cumulative GPA.
This tool is informational only — confirm your official GPA with your school's registrar or guidance office, since grading scales and policies vary.
How to use the GPA calculator
- For each course, optionally type its name, then pick the letter grade you earned.
- Enter how many credit hours (or units) the course is worth.
- If the course was Honors or AP/IB, choose that weighting — otherwise leave it as Regular.
- Select "+ Add course" for every other course, or the × button to remove a row.
- Read your GPA, total credits, and quality points below the table — it updates as you type.
- Optional: enter your current cumulative GPA and credits already earned to see your new overall GPA after this term.
How GPA is calculated
Grade point average is a credit-weighted average, not a simple average of grades. Each course first earns quality points, then those are totaled and divided by total credit hours:
quality points = grade points × credit hours
GPA = total quality points ÷ total credit hours
A 4-credit course pulls your GPA harder than a 1-credit course with the same grade. "Weighted GPA" uses the same formula, except each Honors or AP/IB course adds a bonus to its grade points (+0.5 or +1.0) before the multiplication; "unweighted GPA" never adds one.
Assumptions and limits: this tool uses the standard US 4.0 scale in the reference table below (with an optional A+ = 4.3), does not cap weighted grade points at any maximum (some schools cap a course at 5.0), and does not model pass/fail, audit, or transfer credits, which most schools exclude from GPA. Treat it as a planning estimate, not an official transcript.
Examples
Example 1 — three regular courses. A (3 credits), B+ (4 credits), C (3 credits).
Quality points: (4.0 × 3) + (3.3 × 4) + (2.0 × 3) = 12.0 + 13.2 + 6.0 = 31.2. Total credits: 10. GPA = 31.2 ÷ 10 = 3.12.
Example 2 — mixing weighted and regular courses. AP course, A- (3 credits); Honors course, B+ (3 credits); Regular course, A (1 credit).
Unweighted: (3.7×3) + (3.3×3) + (4.0×1) = 25.0 over 7 credits → GPA = 3.57. Weighted (AP: 3.7+1.0=4.7, Honors: 3.3+0.5=3.8): (4.7×3) + (3.8×3) + (4.0×1) = 29.5 ÷ 7 = 4.21.
Example 3 — updating a cumulative GPA. Prior GPA 3.20 over 45 credits. This term: the four default courses above (unweighted quality points 45.3 over 13 credits).
New cumulative GPA = ((3.20 × 45) + 45.3) ÷ (45 + 13) = 189.3 ÷ 58 = 3.26.
Letter grade, percentage, and grade point reference
The most common US 4.0 scale. Schools set their own percentage cutoffs, and some skip A+ or cap GPA at 4.0 — treat this table as typical, not universal.
| Letter | Typical % | Points (4.0 scale) | Points (4.3 scale) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A+ | 97–100 | 4.0 | 4.3 |
| A | 93–96 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| A- | 90–92 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| B+ | 87–89 | 3.3 | 3.3 |
| B | 83–86 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| B- | 80–82 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| C+ | 77–79 | 2.3 | 2.3 |
| C | 73–76 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| C- | 70–72 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| D+ | 67–69 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| D | 63–66 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| D- | 60–62 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| F | Below 60 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Weighted vs. unweighted GPA
Unweighted GPA scores every course on the same 0.0–4.0 scale regardless of difficulty: an A is 4.0 whether it was earned in gym class or AP Physics. It's simple and comparable across students, which is why most colleges recalculate applicants onto an unweighted scale for a fair comparison.
Weighted GPA rewards harder courses by adding extra grade points for Honors and AP/IB classes (commonly +0.5 and +1.0), so a B+ in an AP class can outweigh an A in a regular one. High schools use it to reflect course rigor on transcripts and class rank. Because the bonus and which courses qualify differ by school, always check your own school's exact policy.
How to raise your GPA
GPA moves slowly — it's a weighted average of every credit you've taken, so one strong term rarely erases a weak one, but it reliably moves the number the right way. A few things help:
- Prioritize your highest-credit courses — a grade there moves your GPA about twice as much as the same grade in a half-size class.
- Use office hours and tutoring early, not the week before finals.
- Check your retake or grade-replacement policy — many schools replace, not just average, an old grade.
- Don't skip "free" points — attendance and homework are often the most under-collected points on the syllabus.
- Watch withdrawal deadlines, but check the consequences first — a "W" can affect financial aid.
- Model it first in the cumulative section above with a few "what if" grades before you commit to a plan.
Cumulative GPA vs. semester GPA
Your semester (or term) GPA covers only that term's courses. Your cumulative GPA covers every credit hour you've ever earned at that school as one running weighted average — it's the transcript number used for academic standing, honor rolls, and many scholarships. Combining the two isn't a simple average: it's a new credit-weighted average (see Example 3 above), so a large prior credit total makes your GPA harder to move with a single new term. Transfer, pass/fail, and repeated courses are handled differently by each school; the fields above assume your prior GPA already reflects your school's policy.
Frequently asked questions
What GPA scale does this calculator use?
The standard US 4.0 scale, where A is 4.0 and F is 0.0, with plus/minus grades in between (see the reference table above). Turn on "A+ = 4.3" if your school uses that variant.
What's the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?
Unweighted GPA caps every course at 4.0. Weighted GPA adds a bonus (commonly +0.5 Honors, +1.0 AP/IB) to reward harder courses, so it can exceed 4.0. See the section above.
Do colleges look at my weighted or unweighted GPA?
Many recalculate applicants onto their own scale for a fair comparison, but they still see your transcript and course list, so rigor is usually considered separately. Policies vary.
Why doesn't my calculated GPA match my school transcript?
Usually a different percentage-to-letter cutoff, different rounding, or courses your school excludes (pass/fail, audited, repeated, transfer) that this calculator would include.
How much does a plus or minus grade change my GPA?
A plus or minus typically shifts grade points by 0.3 (B+ is 3.3, B- is 2.7, versus B at 3.0) — small per course, but it adds up across a transcript.
How many credits will it take to raise my GPA?
More than most people expect once you have many credits behind you. Use the cumulative section above with different "this term" grades to see how much a realistic term moves it.
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