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GPA Calculator

Calculate your grade point average from letter grades and credit hours.

Result

GPA
3.327
Total Credit Hours
15
GradeCreditsGrade Points
A312
B+413.2
A-311.1
B39
C+24.6

About the GPA Calculator

Your GPA is a weighted average, not a simple average - a 4-credit A carries more weight than a 2-credit A. Our GPA Calculator takes your letter grades and their corresponding credit hours and calculates your accurate, weighted grade point average on the standard 4.0 scale.

How It Works

Each letter grade is converted to a grade point value (A = 4.0, B+ = 3.3, and so on), multiplied by the credit hours for that course, and summed across all courses. That total is then divided by your total credit hours to produce your GPA - which is why a high grade in a high-credit course impacts your GPA more than the same grade in a low-credit course.

GPA = Σ(grade points × credit hours) ÷ Σ(credit hours)

Formula & Methodology

GPA is a weighted average, using the same underlying math as any weighted average calculation - each course's grade point value gets weighted by its credit hours before summing, and the total is divided by total credit hours rather than by the number of courses. This is exactly why a 4-credit A contributes more to the overall GPA than a 1-credit A, even though both represent the identical letter grade.

Step-by-Step: Calculating It By Hand

  1. 1Convert each letter grade to its standard grade point value (A = 4.0, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, and so on down the scale).
  2. 2Multiply each course's grade point value by its credit hours.
  3. 3Sum all of those products together.
  4. 4Divide by the total credit hours across all courses to find GPA.

Examples

Balanced course load

A, B+, A-, B, and C+ across 3, 4, 3, 3, and 2 credit hours respectively works out to a GPA of about 3.28.

Impact of credit weight

The same grades with the A shifted to a 5-credit course (instead of 3) raises the overall GPA slightly, since that top grade now carries more weight.

Advantages

  • Correctly weights grades by credit hours instead of averaging them equally
  • Uses the standard 4.0 scale recognized by most US institutions
  • Fast to update as you add or change courses
  • Useful for planning what grades you need going forward

Common Mistakes

  • Averaging letter grades without weighting by credit hours
  • Using a school-specific grading scale that differs from the standard 4.0 scale
  • Forgetting to include a low grade, which skews the GPA higher than reality
  • Mismatching the order of grades and credit hours entered

Edge Cases to Watch For

  • Pass/fail courses are typically excluded from GPA calculation entirely, rather than counted as a specific grade point value.
  • Some institutions use a weighted scale that gives extra grade points for honors or AP-level courses, which differs from the standard unweighted 4.0 scale used here.
  • Repeated courses are handled differently by different institutions - some replace the original grade in GPA calculations, others average both attempts.
  • The specific grade-point mapping for plus/minus grades (like B+ = 3.3 versus 3.33) can vary slightly by institution, though the standard values used here are widely applied.

Common Use Cases

  • Tracking semester or cumulative GPA
  • Planning what grades are needed to reach a target GPA
  • Estimating GPA before final grades are posted
  • Preparing GPA figures for applications or scholarships
Written & fact-checked by the Calculateus TeamLast updated August 5, 2026How we verify our formulas

Frequently asked questions

What GPA scale does this use?

The standard U.S. 4.0 scale (A = 4.0, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, and so on down to F = 0), which is what most U.S. colleges and high schools use.

How do I calculate my cumulative GPA across multiple semesters?

List every grade and its credit hours from all semesters together in the two fields - the calculator weights every course by its credit hours regardless of which semester it's from.

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Conclusion

An accurate, credit-weighted GPA gives you a much clearer picture than rough mental math. If you're trying to figure out exactly what score you need on an upcoming final to hit a target grade, our Final Grade Calculator is the natural next step.