GPA Calculator

How GPA Calculation Works

Your Grade Point Average, or GPA, is a single number that summarizes how you performed across all your courses. In the United States, most schools use a 4.0 scale, where each letter grade converts to a fixed number of grade points: A equals 4.0, B equals 3.0, C equals 2.0, D equals 1.0, and F equals 0.0. A simple average would treat every course the same, but that is not how GPA actually works, because not every class carries the same weight in your schedule.

That is where credit hours come in. Each course you take is assigned a number of credits based on its length and workload, often 1 credit for a full year class or 0.5 for a semester elective. To calculate a weighted GPA, multiply each course’s grade points by its credit value to get that course’s quality points. Add up the quality points for every course, then divide by the total number of credits. The formula looks like this: GPA equals the sum of grade points times credits, divided by the sum of credits. A four credit A counts more toward your GPA than a one credit A, because it represents more coursework.

For example, imagine three courses: an A worth 4 credits, a B worth 3 credits, and a C worth 2 credits. The quality points are 16, 9, and 4, for a total of 29. Divide by the total credits, 9, and the weighted GPA is 3.22. That is exactly what the calculator above does automatically every time you add, edit, or remove a course, so you can test different grade and credit combinations and see your GPA update instantly.

One note on terminology: some high schools use the term weighted GPA to mean extra points added for Honors or AP courses, on a scale that can go above 4.0. This calculator uses the standard credit weighted method described above rather than course difficulty bonuses. If your school has its own weighting policy for advanced courses, check with your counselor to see how it compares to the number shown here.