How to use this calculator
- For each course, choose the letter grade, enter the credit hours (often 3 or 4 in college, and 1 or 0.5 per class in many high schools), and pick the course type: regular, honors or AP/IB.
- Courses 1 to 3 are shown first. Open More courses to add up to 8. Leave the grade as “—” for any row you don’t need.
- To update your overall GPA, open Cumulative GPA and enter your current GPA and the credits you’ve completed so far.
- If your school counts an A+ as 4.33, change it under Grading scale.
The results show your unweighted semester GPA, a weighted GPA if you have honors or AP/IB classes, your new cumulative GPA, and a course-by-course table of quality points.
The GPA formula
Each course’s grade points × credits are its quality points. Weighting by credits means a 4-credit class counts a third more than a 3-credit class.
The 4.0 grade-point scale
| Letter grade | Grade points | Honors (+0.5) | AP / IB (+1.0) | Typical percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A+ | 4.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 97–100% |
| A | 4.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 93–96% |
| A− | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 90–92% |
| B+ | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 87–89% |
| B | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 83–86% |
| B− | 2.7 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 80–82% |
| C+ | 2.3 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 77–79% |
| C | 2.0 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 73–76% |
| C− | 1.7 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 70–72% |
| D+ | 1.3 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 67–69% |
| D | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 63–66% |
| D− | 0.7 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 60–62% |
| F | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | Below 60% |
This plus/minus scale is widely used at US colleges and high schools, but it isn’t universal. Some schools don’t use pluses and minuses, some count an A+ as 4.33, and percentage cutoffs vary by school and by teacher. The calculator gives no weighting bonus to an F. If your school’s handbook says otherwise, follow it.
Worked example
Three courses this term:
| Course | Grade | Credits | Grade points | Quality points | Weighted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Course 1 (regular) | A | 4 | 4.0 | 16 | 16 |
| Course 2 (honors) | B+ | 3 | 3.3 | 9.9 | 11.4 |
| Course 3 (AP/IB) | A− | 3 | 3.7 | 11.1 | 14.1 |
| Total | 10 | 37 | 41.5 |
- Unweighted GPA: 37 ÷ 10 = 3.70.
- Weighted GPA: the honors B+ becomes 3.3 + 0.5 = 3.8, and the AP A− becomes 3.7 + 1.0 = 4.7. That’s 41.5 ÷ 10 = 4.15.
- Cumulative GPA: if you started the term with a 3.4 over 30 credits, you had 3.4 × 30 = 102 quality points. Your new GPA is (102 + 37) ÷ (30 + 10) = 139 ÷ 40 = 3.475, which rounds to 3.48.
How much one semester can change your GPA
The more credits you’ve completed, the harder your GPA is to move. This table shows your new cumulative GPA after a 15-credit semester at 4.0 or 3.5:
| Current GPA | Credits so far | After a 4.0 term | After a 3.5 term |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 | 15 | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| 2.5 | 30 | 3.00 | 2.83 |
| 2.5 | 60 | 2.80 | 2.70 |
| 2.5 | 90 | 2.71 | 2.64 |
| 3.0 | 15 | 3.50 | 3.25 |
| 3.0 | 30 | 3.33 | 3.17 |
| 3.0 | 60 | 3.20 | 3.10 |
| 3.0 | 90 | 3.14 | 3.07 |
| 3.5 | 30 | 3.67 | 3.50 |
| 3.5 | 90 | 3.57 | 3.50 |
If you need a particular GPA for a scholarship, graduate school or academic standing, start early. A strong first year does far more than a strong final year.
Tips for using your GPA
- Know which GPA is being asked for. Scholarship and college applications may want weighted, unweighted or a recalculated “core” GPA. When in doubt, give the unweighted figure, which is comparable across schools.
- Credits matter as much as grades. Raising a B to an A in a 4-credit class lifts your term GPA more than the same jump in a 1-credit lab.
- Check single courses first. If you’re not sure what letter grade you’ll get, the grade calculator works out your current course grade and the final exam score you need.
- Retakes may replace grades. Many colleges replace or average a repeated course’s grade. This calculator treats every course you enter as a separate course.
- Rounding. The calculator rounds to two decimals (3.475 becomes 3.48). Some schools truncate instead, which would give 3.47.
For a simple average of test scores or other unweighted numbers, use the average calculator.
Assumptions and limitations
The calculator uses the common US 4.0 plus/minus scale, adds 0.5 for honors and 1.0 for AP/IB classes (except on an F), and weights every course by its credits. Your cumulative GPA is combined using the unweighted semester GPA. If your current GPA is a weighted one, a note shows the weighted cumulative figure as well. Your official GPA is always the one on your transcript, calculated under your school’s own rules.
Sources
- College Board BigFuture: How to Calculate Your GPA on a 4.0 Scale, which notes that grading scales vary by school, that some schools weight honors and AP classes, and that colleges may recalculate GPAs.
Frequently asked questions
How is GPA calculated?
Each letter grade is converted to grade points (A = 4.0, B = 3.0 and so on), then multiplied by the course's credit hours to give quality points. Add up the quality points, add up the credits, and divide the first total by the second. A 4-credit A and a 3-credit B give (16 + 9) ÷ 7 ≈ 3.57.
What's the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?
An unweighted GPA uses the 4.0 scale for every class. A weighted GPA adds extra points for harder classes; a common scheme, used in this calculator, adds 0.5 for honors and 1.0 for AP or IB, so an A in an AP class counts as 5.0. Policies vary by school, and many colleges recalculate GPAs their own way.
How do I calculate my cumulative GPA?
Multiply your current cumulative GPA by the credits you've completed to recover your total quality points, add this term's quality points, then divide by your new total credits. With a 3.4 over 30 credits and a term of 37 quality points over 10 credits, that's 139 ÷ 40 ≈ 3.48.
Is an A+ worth more than 4.0?
Usually not. Many US schools record an A+ as 4.0, the same as an A, because 4.0 is the top of the scale. Some colleges count it as 4.33. You can switch the calculator to 4.33 under Grading scale.
How much can one semester raise my GPA?
It depends on how many credits you already have. A 4.0 semester of 15 credits lifts a 3.0 GPA to 3.50 if you had 15 credits before, but only to 3.14 if you had 90. Early terms move your GPA much more than later ones.
Do pass/fail or withdrawn courses count?
Usually not. Pass/fail, withdrawn and audited courses generally carry no grade points and aren't included in GPA credits, so leave them out. Check your school's catalog, since repeated courses and incompletes are handled differently from place to place.
Updated November 2026. Results are estimates for educational purposes and depend on the inputs you provide.