GPA Calculator
Turning a Transcript Into One Number
A grade point average compresses a semester or a whole academic career into a single figure, and that figure is what admissions committees, scholarship boards, and academic standing offices actually look at first. The math behind it is simple, but doing it by hand across six or eight courses with different credit loads is where errors creep in — a three-credit A and a one-credit A are not worth the same number of quality points, and forgetting to weight by credit hours is the most common mistake students make when estimating their own GPA.
The Formula
Each letter grade converts to a point value on the standard 4.0 scale, that value is multiplied by the credit hours for the course, and the results are summed and divided by total credit hours attempted.
| Letter grade | Grade points |
|---|---|
| A / 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 |
Worked Example
A student takes three courses: an A (3 credits), a B+ (4 credits), and a C (3 credits).
Total credits = 3 + 4 + 3 = 10
GPA = 31.2 / 10 = 3.12
Where This Matters
- Scholarship renewal — most merit scholarships set a minimum GPA that must be maintained each term, and falling half a point below it can trigger a loss of funding.
- Graduate school applications — admissions committees usually want the cumulative GPA broken out separately from the major GPA, both computed with this same credit-weighted formula.
- Academic probation thresholds — most universities flag students below a 2.0 GPA, and knowing the number before grades post lets you plan a course load adjustment early.
How to Use This Calculator
- For each course, select the letter grade earned from the dropdown.
- Enter the credit hours for that course in the adjacent field.
- Repeat for each additional course — up to eight course/credit pairs are supported, and unused rows can be left blank.
- Select Calculate to get your credit-weighted GPA along with the full quality-point breakdown.
Related Calculations
For an average that also factors in AP or Honors coursework, see the Weighted GPA Calculator, or combine GPAs across multiple terms with the CGPA Calculator.