Understanding Grade Point Average (GPA)
Grade point average (GPA) is a commonly used indicator of an individual's academic achievement in school. It is the average of the grades attained in each course, taking course credit into consideration.
How is GPA Calculated?
A GPA is fundamentally a weighted average. Grading systems vary in different countries, or even schools. In the standard US 4.0 system, each letter grade is converted to a numeric "Grade Point" value. This numeric value is then multiplied by the number of credits the class is worth to get your "Quality Points".
GPA = (Total Quality Points) ÷ (Total Credits Attempted)
Unweighted vs. Weighted GPA (AP/IB/Honors)
Unweighted GPA is measured on a scale of 0 to 4.0. It does not take the difficulty of your courses into account. An "A" in an introductory class and an "A" in an Advanced Placement (AP) class both translate to a 4.0.
Weighted GPA is often used by high schools to better represent students' academic accomplishments. Weighted GPAs take course difficulty into account and are typically measured on a 0 to 5.0 scale. In this system:
- An "A" in an AP or IB class translates to a 5.0.
- An "A" in an Honors class might translate to a 4.5.
- An "A" in a standard class remains a 4.0.
If you are calculating a Weighted GPA, you can manually adjust the numerical values in our calculator, or calculate the points based on your specific high school's handbook, as weighting policies vary heavily by school district.
GPA Planning Calculator
The GPA Planning tool helps you determine the minimum GPA you must achieve in future courses to raise your cumulative GPA to a desired level. By entering your current GPA and total credits, along with the amount of additional credits you plan to take, the calculator runs a reverse-weighted formula to output exactly what grade average you need to maintain.
Standard 4.0 Scale
Letter grades and their numerical equivalents used as the baseline for this calculator:
- A+ / A 4.0 points
- A- 3.7 points
- B+ 3.3 points
- B 3.0 points
- B- 2.7 points
- C+ 2.3 points
- C 2.0 points
- C- 1.7 points
- D+ 1.3 points
- D 1.0 points
- D- 0.7 points
- F 0.0 points