GPA Calculator

Grade point average (GPA) summarizes academic performance in a single number, most often on a 4.0 scale in the United States. Colleges use it for admissions, scholarships, honors and academic standing, and many employers ask for it on applications from recent graduates. Because courses carry different numbers of credits, a GPA is a weighted average: a four-credit course moves it more than a one-credit course.

Enter each course with its credit hours and grade; the course name is optional and rows with no grade are skipped. To get a cumulative GPA, open Settings, tick Add GPA of prior semesters and enter your prior GPA and the credits behind it; the calculator combines them with this term's courses. Settings also lets you enter grades as percentages or grade-point values instead of letters.

GPA Planning Calculator

Switch to GPA planning to work backward from a goal. Enter your current cumulative GPA, the credits it is based on, the GPA you want and how many credits you will take before then. The calculator returns the average you need on those new credits.

For example, a student with a 3.2 GPA over 60 credits who wants a 3.4 after the next 30 credits needs a 3.8 average on those 30 credits. The further along you are, the harder it is to move a cumulative GPA, which is why early semesters matter so much. If the required average is above 4.0, the goal cannot be reached in that many credits.

Letter grade and the numerical equivalents used for this calculator

This calculator uses the most common US 4.0 scale below. Some schools score A+ as 4.3 or omit plus and minus grades; if yours does, enter the grade points directly, such as 4.3, instead of a letter. Weighted high school GPAs that add points for honors or AP courses can be entered the same way, up to 4.3.

With the sample courses, English (A, 3 credits), Calculus (B+, 4), Biology (A−, 4) and History (B, 3), the grade points are 12.0 + 13.2 + 14.8 + 9.0 = 49.0 over 14 graded credits, a GPA of 3.50. The one-credit pass/fail art course does not count.

GPA = Σ(grade points × credits) ÷ Σ credits

Each course's grade is converted to points, weighted by its credit hours, and the total is divided by the credits attempted. Pass/fail courses are left out of both totals.

Guidelines for raising GPA

Raising a GPA is mostly about steady habits rather than last-minute effort. The two areas that make the biggest difference are showing up and engaging in class, and planning your work and your course load so nothing piles up at the end of the term.

Actively attending classes:

Go to every class and arrive prepared, having done the reading. Instructors often signal what will be on exams, explain points that are hard to learn from a textbook and give credit for participation. Sit where you can hear and stay focused, take notes by hand or in a structured format, and review them within a day while the material is fresh.

Ask questions when something is unclear, in class or during office hours. Instructors notice students who engage, and a short conversation can save hours of confusion. Joining or forming a study group helps too, because explaining a concept to someone else is one of the best tests of whether you understand it.

Planning:

Put every exam, paper and project deadline from each syllabus into one calendar at the start of the term, and break big assignments into weekly steps. Spaced review over several weeks beats cramming the night before. Find out how each course is weighted so you spend effort where it counts.

Plan your schedule as a whole: balance demanding courses with lighter ones each term, use campus tutoring and writing centers early, and know your school's deadlines for dropping a course or switching to pass/fail. Some schools let you retake a course and replace the earlier grade, which can lift a cumulative GPA more than any other single step. Finally, protect sleep, meals and exercise; they directly affect concentration and memory.

Frequently asked questions