GPA Calculator

At its core, this calculator converts each letter grade into a numeric grade point value — A equals 4.0, B equals 3.0, C equals 2.0, D equals 1.0, and F equals 0.0, with plus and minus variants shifting each by 0.3 points — and then weights those values by the number of credit hours each course carries. A 4-credit chemistry course that earns a B contributes 12 quality points to your total, while a 1-credit elective with an A contributes only 4. This weighting is what makes a GPA a meaningful summary rather than a simple arithmetic average of grades.

The key insight behind the weighted calculation is that not all courses are equal in workload or academic significance. Most US colleges assign 3 credits to standard lecture courses, 4 credits to lab-intensive sciences, and 1-2 credits to activity or seminar courses. Because the GPA formula divides total quality points by total credit hours attempted, loading up your schedule with high-credit courses — whether they hurt or help — has an outsized effect on your overall average. This is why a single failed 4-credit course can drag a GPA down far more than a failed 1-credit course.

A common mistake students make is confusing cumulative GPA with semester GPA. Your semester GPA reflects only the current term's courses and resets each period, while your cumulative GPA is a running weighted average across every credit hour you have attempted at your institution. Colleges often evaluate both: scholarship committees look at cumulative GPA for eligibility, while graduate admissions officers may trend-analyze your semester GPAs to see academic improvement over time. This calculator can handle both scenarios — simply enter only the current semester's courses or your full academic history depending on what you need.

To get the most accurate result, always include courses you withdrew from only if your school records a 'W' that counts toward attempted hours, and clarify whether your institution uses a straight 4.0 scale or a modified scale where an A+ earns a 4.3 or 4.33. International students should note that GPA scales vary widely by country — UK universities use class classifications, European systems use percentage bands — so when converting foreign grades for US applications, institutions typically apply their own conversion rubrics rather than a universal standard.