GPA stands for Grade Point Average. It's a single number, usually between 0.0 and 4.0, that summarises how well you've done across all your graded courses. Schools weight each course by its credits, then average the results.

For U.S. college admissions, anything 3.3 or above is generally considered competitive at most public universities. Selective colleges typically report admitted-student GPA medians of 3.7–3.9. For graduate programs, 3.0 is the common floor; 3.5+ is competitive. "Good" really means "good for the next thing you want" — check the actual GPA range your target program admits.

What's the difference between semester GPA and cumulative GPA?

Semester GPA only counts the courses in one specific term. Cumulative GPA averages every graded course you've taken at the institution, weighted by credits. Cumulative is the number that appears on transcripts and that admissions, scholarship, and probation rules use. Use our cumulative GPA calculator to combine prior terms with a new semester.

What's the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?

Unweighted GPA uses the same 4.0 scale for every class. Weighted GPA gives bonus points for advanced courses — typically +0.5 for Honors and +1.0 for AP or IB — so a weighted GPA can go above 4.0. High schools usually report both. For weighted GPA math, use our weighted GPA calculator .

What if my school doesn't use credits?

Toggle Use credit hours off at the top of the calculator. It treats every course equally and gives you a straight average. This matches how most non-credit transcripts (some high schools, international schools, summer programs) actually compute GPA.

Do Pass/Fail, Withdrawal, or Incomplete grades affect GPA?

A Pass adds credit but no GPA points. A Withdrawal (clean W) doesn't affect GPA at all. An Incomplete is excluded until it resolves. To keep these courses visible in the calculator above without letting them affect your GPA, pick P , W , or I from the grade dropdown — the row stays on screen and a small note below the result shows how many courses are excluded. Pass/Fail courses are a useful way to take a hard elective without GPA risk, but check whether your major requires the course be taken for a letter grade.

Does retaking a class fix a bad GPA?

It depends on your school's policy. Some schools replace the old grade entirely (the F drops out of GPA, the new grade counts). Others average both. Both grades always stay visible on the transcript. Ask your registrar which policy applies before you commit to a retake.

Is this GPA the same as what's on my transcript?

It will match if your school uses the standard 4.0 scale and you enter your courses correctly. It won't match exactly if your school uses a custom scale (some count A+ as 4.0 with no plus values; a few use a 4.33 system; some weight by quality points differently). For anything official — admissions, scholarships, financial aid — use the GPA on your registrar-issued transcript.

Is anything I type saved or sent anywhere?

No. Calculation runs entirely in your browser. Nothing leaves your device.

GPA Calculator — Free 4.0 Scale Tool with Credits & No-Credits Mode

A free 4.0-scale Grade Point Average calculator from your current course grades — no signup, no email, no saved data.

Type in your letter grades and credits — your semester and cumulative GPA update as you go. If your school doesn't track credits, flip the Use credit hours switch and the calculator treats every class equally. Working from percentages? Use our GPA from percentage calculator instead.

We built this to be the calculator we wished we had in college: clear about how the math works, honest about the edge cases — Pass/Fail, retakes, withdrawals — and useful when your school does something nonstandard.

Letter Grade	Percentage	4.0 Scale (Unweighted)	Honors (+0.5)	AP / IB (+1.0)
A+ / A	93–100	4.0	4.5	5.0
A−	90–92	3.7	4.2	4.7
B+	87–89	3.3	3.8	4.3
B	83–86	3.0	3.5	4.0
B−	80–82	2.7	3.2	3.7
C+	77–79	2.3	2.8	3.3
C	73–76	2.0	2.5	3.0
C−	70–72	1.7	2.2	2.7
D+	67–69	1.3	1.8	2.3
D	63–66	1.0	1.5	2.0
D−	60–62	0.7	1.2	1.7
F	0–59	0.0	0.0	0.0

How GPA is calculated

GPA is a credit-weighted average of your grade points. Each letter grade maps to a number on the 4.0 scale (an A is 4.0, a B is 3.0, an F is 0.0). Each course is weighted by its credits — a 4-credit class moves your GPA more than a 1-credit class. The formula:

GPA = Σ (grade points × credits) ÷ Σ (credits)

In plain English: multiply each grade's point value by the credits for that class, add up all the products, and divide by the total credits.

If your school doesn't use credits, the formula collapses to a simple average of your grade points. Our calculator handles both cases — flip the Use credit hours toggle and every course gets weight 1.

GPA scale chart (4.0 scale)

Most U.S. colleges and high schools use the standard 4.0 scale shown below. A few schools award an A+ at 4.3 or use a 4.33 system; if yours does, ask your registrar for the exact mapping — the calculator below uses the standard 4.0 scale.

Letter	GPA points (4.0 scale)	Typical % range
A+	4.0	97–100%
A	4.0	93–96%
A−	3.7	90–92%
B+	3.3	87–89%
B	3.0	83–86%
B−	2.7	80–82%
C+	2.3	77–79%
C	2.0	73–76%
C−	1.7	70–72%
D+	1.3	67–69%
D	1.0	65–66%
D−	0.7	60–64%
F	0.0	Below 60%

Pass (P), Withdrawal (W), and Incomplete (I) usually don't count toward GPA at all — they affect your transcript, but the math ignores them. See the Edge cases table below.

Worked example

Let's run a 4-course semester through the formula.

Course	Credits	Grade	Grade points	Quality points
Intro to Psychology	3	A	4.0	12.0
Calculus II	4	B+	3.3	13.2
World History	3	B−	2.7	8.1
Studio Art	2	A−	3.7	7.4
Total	12	—	—	40.7

GPA = 40.7 ÷ 12 = 3.39.

If you already have a prior cumulative GPA — say a 3.50 over 30 credits — the new cumulative is the credit-weighted average of the two: (3.50 × 30 + 3.39 × 12) ÷ (30 + 12) = 3.47. The cumulative GPA calculator handles this in one step.

What your GPA actually means

The number is just a starting point. Here's how admissions offices, employers, and your own school typically read it.

GPA range	What it usually means in the U.S.
3.7–4.0	Strong contender for selective colleges, honors programs, merit scholarships, and most graduate programs. Many top-25 colleges report admitted-student GPA medians in this range.
3.3–3.6	Above average. Comfortably meets requirements for most public universities, in-major progression, and the Dean's List at many schools.
3.0–3.2	Solid academic standing. Clears the baseline for graduation, federal aid, and most state university admission. Below this, scholarship and grad-school options narrow.
2.5–2.9	Below the comfort line for selective programs. Worth meeting with an advisor — small adjustments now can move this fast while you have credits left.
Below 2.0	At risk. Most colleges trigger academic probation here. Your school's policy will tell you exactly what 2.0 means on your transcript and how long you have to recover.

These ranges describe broad patterns, not your specific school. Your university's catalog defines its own honors, probation, and graduation thresholds — always confirm there.

Edge cases your transcript will throw at you

GPA math gets unusual at the margins. Here's how each common transcript scenario affects the number.

Situation	How it affects your GPA
Pass/Fail (P/NP, S/U)	A "Pass" gives credit toward graduation but doesn't move your GPA. A "Fail" usually counts as 0.0 and drags it down. Pick P in the grade dropdown to exclude a passed course from the calculator's GPA.
Withdrawal (W)	A clean W has no GPA impact. A "WF" (withdraw-fail) usually counts as an F. Pick W in the grade dropdown to keep the row visible but exclude it from the math.
Incomplete (I)	Excluded until the final grade is submitted, then it counts normally. Pick I in the grade dropdown as a placeholder until the grade resolves.
Retake	Some schools replace the old grade with the new one in GPA calculations. Others average both attempts. Both grades stay on the transcript either way. Confirm with your registrar which policy applies to you.
Transfer credits	Count toward your degree but typically don't affect your institutional GPA. Grad schools may recalculate using all transcripts — this is the "all-school GPA" you'll see on grad apps.
AP/IB credit (no grade)	If you got credit but no letter grade, it doesn't affect GPA.

If any of these apply, your school's registrar's office is the source of truth — policies vary more than you'd expect.

When you don't have credit hours

Some high schools, summer programs, and international transcripts don't list credit hours. Switch the Use credit hours toggle off and the calculator treats every course equally — your GPA becomes a straight average of grade points. This is mathematically the same as setting every credit value to 1.

If only some of your courses have credits (common when you're combining a transcript with a summer course that lists no credit), enter 1 for the missing values. The result is approximate — your school may treat those courses with different internal weights — but it's the right ballpark.

GPA Calculator

How GPA works in three steps

Map letters to grade points

Weight each course by credits

Average the weighted results

How GPA is calculated

GPA scale chart (4.0 scale)

Worked example

What your GPA actually means

Edge cases your transcript will throw at you

When you don't have credit hours

Other GPA calculators

Frequently Asked Questions

Need help with your grades?