GPA Calculator
Your GPA is one of the most referenced numbers in your academic record — and one of the most misunderstood. This calculator finds your exact GPA instantly, whether you need a weighted or unweighted result, a single semester, or your full cumulative GPA across every term you've completed.
How to Use This GPA Calculator
- Add each course, its letter grade, and its credit hours.
- Choose weighted or unweighted, depending on whether your school gives bonus points for Honors, AP, or IB courses.
- If you already have a GPA and credit total from previous semesters, enter them to include in your cumulative result.
- Add additional semesters as needed — the cumulative GPA updates automatically as you go.
Weighted vs. Unweighted GPA
An unweighted GPA uses a standard 4.0 scale for every course, regardless of difficulty — an A is 4.0 whether it's a Regular-level class or an AP class. A weighted GPA adds bonus points for more rigorous courses, typically +0.5 for Honors and +1.0 for AP, IB, or dual enrollment, allowing weighted GPAs to exceed 4.0 — often up to 5.0 depending on your school's scale.
This means a B in an AP class can still equal a 4.0 on the weighted scale, even though it's only a 3.0 unweighted. Most colleges look at both numbers, so it's worth knowing yours on each scale rather than just one.
Worked Example
Three courses, each worth 1 credit: AP Biology (A), English (B+, unweighted), History (A-, unweighted).
- Weighted GPA: (5.0 + 3.3 + 3.7) ÷ 3 = 4.00
- Unweighted GPA: (4.0 + 3.3 + 3.7) ÷ 3 = 3.67
The AP course contributes a full 5.0 to the weighted result but only 4.0 to the unweighted one — the gap between the two numbers grows with every advanced course you take.
The GPA Formula (Credit-Weighted)
GPA = Σ (Grade Points × Credit Hours) ÷ Total Credit Hours
Credit hours matter because a 4-credit course has roughly twice the impact on your GPA that a 1-credit course does. A C in a 4-credit core class does far more damage than a C in a 1-credit elective — and conversely, raising a grade in a high-credit course is the single most effective way to move your GPA.
Worked Example
- Math: A (4.0) × 4 credits = 16.0
- English: B+ (3.3) × 3 credits = 9.9
- Science: A- (3.7) × 4 credits = 14.8
- History: B (3.0) × 3 credits = 9.0
Total quality points: 16.0 + 9.9 + 14.8 + 9.0 = 49.7
Total credits: 4 + 3 + 4 + 3 = 14
GPA: 49.7 ÷ 14 = 3.55
Semester GPA vs. Cumulative GPA
Semester GPA reflects only the courses taken in one term. Cumulative GPA covers every completed course across your entire academic career, and it's the number colleges, scholarship committees, and academic standing policies rely on most.
The two are related but not interchangeable: a strong semester can meaningfully raise a cumulative GPA that took a hit earlier on, but the cumulative figure always carries more weight in how your overall academic record is judged.
A Common Mistake
Don't simply average your semester GPAs together if your semesters carried different total credits — that produces an inaccurate result. Instead, combine total quality points and total credit hours across every semester, then divide. If every semester happened to carry the same number of credits, straight-averaging the semester GPAs will coincidentally give the same answer — but this doesn't hold once credit loads differ.
GPA Scale Reference
| Letter Grade | Unweighted | Weighted (Honors) | Weighted (AP/IB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 4.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
| B | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| C | 2.0 | 2.5 | 3.0 |
| D | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.0 |
| F | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Some districts cap A+ at 4.3 unweighted instead of a flat 4.0 — check your school's specific policy, since this calculator's default reflects the most common national standard.
What's a Good GPA?
The national average unweighted high school GPA is roughly 3.0–3.4, a B average. However, GPA expectations vary enormously by context — the average GPA among applicants to selective colleges runs meaningfully higher than the national average, since the applicant pool itself skews stronger academically. Rather than comparing your GPA to a single universal benchmark, compare it against the typical range for the specific schools or programs you're targeting.
GPA Calculator vs. Weighted Grade Calculator
These sound similar but solve different problems:
- GPA Calculator (this page): converts letter grades and credit hours into a GPA across courses, semesters, or your full academic record.
- Weighted Grade Calculator: combines assignment categories — homework, quizzes, tests, finals — within a single course to find your current course grade or percentage.
Use the Weighted Grade Calculator first to determine your grade in an individual course, then bring that letter grade here to factor it into your overall GPA.