GPA is a credit-weighted average of your grade points. Convert each letter grade to grade points, multiply by the course’s credit hours, add everything up, and divide by the total credits. The formula is: GPA = sum of (grade points × credits) ÷ total credits. Four courses worth 14 credits in total, for example, can give a GPA of 3.48. You can skip the arithmetic with the GPA calculator, and this guide shows each step so that you can check the result.

The only thing that changes between schools is the table that turns letters into points. See grading scale options for how letters are decided, and read on for the rest.

Letter grades to grade points

Every letter grade has a value in grade points. The table below shows the usual plus/minus scale. Some schools give A+ a 4.3 or ignore the plus and minus signs altogether, so check your own school’s table.

If you only have a percentage, convert it to a letter first. The letter grade calculator does this for the scale you choose. An 88%, for example, is a B+ (3.3 points) on the plus/minus scale and a B (3.0 points) on the 10-point scale.

The GPA formula

1. Convert each course grade to grade points.
2. Multiply the grade points by the course’s credit hours. This gives the quality points.
3. Add the quality points of all courses.
4. Add the credit hours of all courses.
5. Divide the total quality points by the total credits.

Credits matter because a hard 4-credit course should count for more than a 1-credit elective. If every course has the same credits, the GPA is just the plain average of the grade points.

A semester example

A student takes four courses with these results:

The semester GPA is 48.70 ÷ 14 = 3.48. If you had simply averaged the four grade points, (3.7 + 3.3 + 3.0 + 4.0) ÷ 4, you would get 3.50. The small difference is the effect of credits: the 4-credit Biology B counts more than the 3-credit History A.

CGPA across semesters

CGPA, or cumulative GPA, covers every semester so far. Add up all the quality points and all the credits from every term, and divide once. Do not average the semester GPAs, because semesters with more credits should count for more.

Say the next semester has 18 credits at a GPA of 3.70, which is 66.60 quality points. Then the totals are 48.70 + 66.60 = 115.30 quality points over 14 + 18 = 32 credits. The CGPA is 115.30 ÷ 32 = 3.60. Averaging the two semester GPAs would have given (3.48 + 3.70) ÷ 2 = 3.59, which is slightly off because the second semester was heavier. The GPA and CGPA calculator keeps these running totals for you.

Some countries report CGPA on a 10-point or percentage scale instead of 4.0. The method is the same, with different points per grade, so use the table your university publishes.

Weighted vs unweighted GPA

An unweighted GPA uses the plain 4.0 scale for every course. A weighted GPA gives extra points for harder courses, commonly +1.0 for AP or IB and +0.5 for honors, so a B in an AP class counts as 4.0 instead of 3.0. Weighted GPAs can go above 4.0.

In the semester above, suppose English was an AP course. The B+ becomes 3.3 + 1.0 = 4.3 points, and the English quality points rise from 9.90 to 12.90. The total is 14.80 + 12.90 + 12.00 + 12.00 = 51.70, and the weighted GPA is 51.70 ÷ 14 = 3.69, compared with 3.48 unweighted. Always say which type you are quoting.

Do not confuse this with a weighted grade inside a course, which combines categories such as tests and homework. For that, read how weighted grades work.

Planning your GPA

Because GPA is a credit-weighted average, the same grade moves it more in a heavy course. A fail in the 3-credit History course above, with the other grades unchanged, would give (14.80 + 9.90 + 12.00 + 0) ÷ 14 = 2.62. That is a drop of 0.86 from one course.

Your course grades in turn depend on the final exam, so it helps to plan backwards from the grade you need. Our guide on how to work out your final grade shows how to find the exam score that gets you there. Pass/fail and audit courses usually do not count toward GPA, so leave them out.

Frequently asked questions