How the GPA calculator works
GPA (grade point average) converts each letter grade into a number of grade points, then averages them — weighted by credit hours, so a 4-credit course counts more than a 1-credit lab. That credit weighting is the part people forget when they eyeball their GPA: an A in a 1-credit seminar barely nudges the number, while a C in a 4-credit core course leaves a mark.
Select a grade and enter the credits for each course you want included. Rows you leave blank are ignored, so you can compute a single semester or everything you've taken so far.
The formula
Grade points come from the 4.0 scale below, credits are each course's credit hours, and Σ means "sum across all courses." The product of a course's grade points and credits is often called its quality points.
Worked example
A four-course semester: A in a 3-credit course, B+ in a 4-credit course, B in a 3-credit course, and A− in a 2-credit course:
Quality points = 4.0×3 + 3.3×4 + 3.0×3 + 3.7×2 = 12 + 13.2 + 9 + 7.4 = 41.6
GPA = 41.6 ÷ (3 + 4 + 3 + 2) = 41.6 ÷ 12 = 3.47
Notice the B+ in the 4-credit course did more damage than the B in the 3-credit one helped — credits are the lever.
The 4.0 scale (and the A+ question)
| Grade | Points | Grade | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 4.0 | C+ | 2.3 |
| A− | 3.7 | C | 2.0 |
| B+ | 3.3 | C− | 1.7 |
| B | 3.0 | D+ | 1.3 |
| B− | 2.7 | D | 1.0 |
| F | 0.0 |
This is the most common U.S. college scale, but A+ handling genuinely varies: many schools treat an A+ as a plain 4.0 (the convention here — just select A), while others award 4.3, making GPAs above 4.0 possible. A few schools also skip plus/minus entirely, so an A− and an A both earn 4.0. When precision matters — scholarship cutoffs, graduate school applications — pull the official scale from your registrar rather than assuming.