GPA Calculator
Add your courses with credit hours and letter grades to calculate your semester or cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale. Works for both college and high school.
Your GPA
out of 4.0
Enter courses to calculate GPA
Total Credits
0
Courses
0
Letter Grade
,
How to use
Enter each course name, the number of credit hours, and select your letter grade from the dropdown. Click "Add Course" to include more classes. Your GPA is calculated automatically as you enter grades. To calculate your cumulative GPA, include courses from all semesters.
Formula
Each letter grade corresponds to a point value on a 4.0 scale. Multiply each grade's point value by the course's credit hours, sum all the products, and divide by the total credit hours. This weighted average ensures that higher-credit courses have more impact on your GPA.
When this calculator helps
Your GPA is one of the most important numbers in your academic career, it affects scholarship eligibility, graduate school admissions, honors recognition, and even job applications. This calculator helps students check their standing mid-semester, plan which grades they need to hit their target GPA, and calculate cumulative GPA across multiple terms. Academic advisors use it to help students set realistic goals, and parents use it to track their student's progress. Knowing your exact GPA helps you to make strategic decisions about course loads, study priorities, and academic planning.
Examples
Example 1: Typical College Semester
A student takes English (3 credits, A), Chemistry (4 credits, B+), History (3 credits, A-), and Math (4 credits, B). GPA = (4.0×3 + 3.3×4 + 3.7×3 + 3.0×4) / 14 = 3.44. The higher-credit courses (Chemistry and Math) have more weight than the 3-credit courses.
Example 2: Dean's List Target
A student needs a 3.5 GPA for the Dean's List. Taking 15 credits this semester with three A's (9 credits) and two B+'s (6 credits): GPA = (4.0×9 + 3.3×6) / 15 = 3.58. They make the list. Dropping one A to an A- would give 3.52, still qualifying but with no room to spare.
Example 3: Recovering from a Bad Semester
A student has a 2.5 cumulative GPA after 60 credits (150 quality points). To reach a 3.0 after 30 more credits, they need: (3.0 × 90 - 150) / 30 = 4.0 GPA next semester, all A's. A more realistic target of 3.5 over those 30 credits would raise cumulative GPA to 2.83.
Things to watch
- •Higher-credit courses have more impact on your GPA, prioritize studying for 4-credit courses over 1-credit ones when time is limited.
- •Check if your school uses plus/minus grading. At schools without it, a B+ and B are both worth 3.0, the plus does not help your GPA.
- •Pass/fail or credit/no-credit courses typically do not affect GPA. Use this option strategically for challenging electives outside your major.
- •Cumulative GPA becomes increasingly difficult to change as you earn more credits. A low GPA early on requires sustained high performance to correct.
- •Some graduate programs and employers care more about major GPA (courses in your field) than overall GPA, calculate both if applying to competitive programs.
Sources and methodology
Last reviewed: Checked during calculator QA. We review formulas, default assumptions, and examples against public references when a formal source applies.
Method: This calculator uses the formula explained on this page. We also check example results by hand to catch obvious mistakes.
Found something off? Send a correction with the page URL, inputs, result, and expected result.
Common questions
- How is GPA calculated?
- GPA is calculated by multiplying each course's grade points by its credit hours, summing all the results, and dividing by total credit hours. For example, an A (4.0) in a 3-credit course and a B (3.0) in a 4-credit course gives (4.0×3 + 3.0×4) / (3+4) = 3.43 GPA.
- What is a good GPA?
- A GPA of 3.0 or above is generally considered good. A 3.5+ is very good, and 3.7+ is excellent. For graduate school applications, most programs prefer a 3.0 minimum. For competitive programs like law or medical school, a 3.5+ is typically expected.
- Does GPA include plus and minus grades?
- Most colleges use a plus/minus system where A- is 3.7, B+ is 3.3, etc. Some schools don't differentiate (an A- counts the same as an A at 4.0). Check your school's policy, this calculator uses the standard plus/minus scale.
- How can I raise my GPA?
- Focus on higher-credit courses where improvement has the biggest impact. Raising a grade from B to A in a 4-credit course improves your GPA more than the same improvement in a 1-credit course. If your school allows grade replacement (retaking a course), prioritize retaking courses where you received a C or below. Even one semester of straight A's can a lot boost a low GPA.
- What is the difference between semester GPA and cumulative GPA?
- Semester GPA reflects only the courses taken in a single term, while cumulative GPA includes all courses across your entire academic career. Employers and graduate schools typically look at cumulative GPA. Your semester GPA can fluctuate term to term, but cumulative GPA becomes harder to move a lot as you complete more credits.