GPA Calculator: How It Works
A grade point average converts letter grades into a single number, weighted by how much each course counts. The arithmetic is simple; the complications are that scales differ between institutions and countries, and that a converted GPA is an approximation rather than an equivalent.
The calculation
GPA = Σ(grade points × credits) ÷ Σ(credits)
A course's weight is its credit value, so a 4-credit course affects your GPA twice as much as a 2-credit one.
| Course | Credits | Grade | Points | Credits × Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 4 | A | 4.0 | 16.0 |
| History | 3 | B+ | 3.3 | 9.9 |
| Chemistry | 4 | B | 3.0 | 12.0 |
| Art | 2 | A− | 3.7 | 7.4 |
| Total | 13 | 45.3 |
GPA = 45.3 ÷ 13 = 3.48
The 4.0 scale
| Grade | Points | Grade | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| A / A+ | 4.0 | C+ | 2.3 |
| A− | 3.7 | C | 2.0 |
| B+ | 3.3 | C− | 1.7 |
| B | 3.0 | D | 1.0 |
| B− | 2.7 | F | 0.0 |
Institutions vary. Some award 4.3 for an A+, some cap at 4.0, and some do not use plus and minus at all. Use your own institution's published table rather than a generic one — the difference can be several hundredths of a point.
Weighted and unweighted
Many secondary schools award extra points for advanced courses — commonly a full point, so an A in an honours or advanced-placement course counts as 5.0. This produces the weighted GPAs above 4.0 that appear on US high school transcripts.
Universities frequently recalculate applicants' GPAs on their own unweighted scale to compare candidates fairly, so a weighted figure is not necessarily what an admissions office uses.
Cumulative and term GPA
A term GPA covers one semester; a cumulative GPA covers everything. As credits accumulate, the cumulative figure becomes progressively harder to move — after 90 credits, a single excellent semester shifts it far less than the same semester would have in year one. This is worth knowing early rather than discovering late.
International conversion
Converting a percentage or a class of degree into a GPA is approximate and contested. A UK first-class degree, an Indian 75% and a German 1.5 are all frequently mapped to roughly 3.7–4.0, but the underlying assessment cultures differ enough that no mapping is exact — marks above 80% are routine in some systems and almost unheard of in others.
Most universities require an official evaluation from a recognised credential service rather than a self-calculated conversion. Use a converted figure to orient yourself, not to make a claim on an application.