How to Calculate GPA: Step by Step, With Examples
To calculate your GPA, turn each letter grade into grade points, multiply by the course’s credits, add those up, and divide by your total credits. That is all a GPA is: one division. Below is each step with a worked example, then the two variations students get stuck on: weighted GPA and cumulative GPA.
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Step 1: Turn each letter into grade points
Every school has a table that says what each letter is worth. On the common 4.0 scale an A is 4.0, a B is 3.0, a C is 2.0, a D is 1.0 and an F is 0. Plus and minus grades sit in between, but schools disagree on exactly where: many colleges give a B+ 3.3, while some school districts give it 3.33. Use your own school’s table. Here is one university’s, as published:
| Grade | Grade points |
|---|---|
| A+ | 4.0 |
| A | 4.0 |
| A- | 3.7 |
| B+ | 3.3 |
| B | 3.0 |
| B- | 2.7 |
| C+ | 2.3 |
| C | 2.0 |
| C- | 1.7 |
| D+ | 1.3 |
| D | 1.0 |
| D- | 0.7 |
| F | 0.0 |
Source: UC Santa Cruz General Catalog: Grade Points, checked October 18, 2026. The same values (A 4.0, A- 3.7 ... D- 0.7, F 0) are used by Indiana University and the University of Tennessee. P and NP are not counted in GPA; I and IP carry no grade points until a final grade replaces them. Not counted in GPA: P, NP, I, IP.
Step 2: Multiply by credits to get quality points
A course that carries more credit hours counts more. Multiply each course’s grade points by its credits: the result is called quality points. A B+ in a 4-credit course is worth more quality points than a B+ in a 3-credit course.
Step 3: Add up the quality points and the credits
Add the quality points of every course, and separately add the credits. Leave out pass/fail courses: a P or NP has no grade points, so it counts toward neither total.
Step 4: Divide
Divide total quality points by total credits. Here is a full semester worked through, four courses and 14 credits:
| Course | Credits | Grade | Points | Quality points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Composition | 3 | A- | 3.7 | 11.10 |
| Calculus I | 4 | B+ | 3.3 | 13.20 |
| Biology | 4 | B | 3.0 | 12 |
| Psychology | 3 | A | 4.0 | 12 |
| Total | 14 | 48.30 |
48.30 ÷ 14 = 3.45
The GPA is 3.45. Most schools show two decimals; some cut off the third decimal instead of rounding it, so a transcript can differ in the last digit.
Weighted and unweighted GPA (high school)
An unweighted GPA uses the table above for every class. A weighted GPA adds extra points for harder classes, commonly 0.5 for honors and 1.0 for AP, IB and college classes, so an A in an AP class counts as 5.0. Weighting rules are set by each school or state. In this example the same five classes give an unweighted GPA of 3.20 and a weighted GPA of 3.50:
| Class | Level | Credits | Grade | Points | Weighted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English 10 | Honors | 1 | 93% (A) | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Algebra II | Regular | 1 | B | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| AP US History | AP/IB | 1 | 88% (B) | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| Chemistry | Regular | 1 | A | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Spanish II | Regular | 1 | 79% (C) | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| GPA | 5 | 3.20 | 3.50 |
Unweighted 16 ÷ 5 = 3.20 · Weighted 17.50 ÷ 5 = 3.50
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Cumulative GPA: adding a new term
Your cumulative GPA covers every term so far. Don’t average your semester GPAs: a light semester would count as much as a heavy one. Instead, combine quality points and credits. With a 3.20 GPA over 45 credits (144 quality points) and a 3.60 term of 15 credits (54 quality points), the new cumulative GPA is 198 ÷ 60 = 3.30.
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Four mistakes that give the wrong GPA
- Averaging letter grades without credits. A 1-credit lab and a 4-credit lecture don’t count equally.
- Averaging semester GPAs. Weight each term by its credits, as above.
- Counting pass/fail courses. They have no grade points and stay out of the division.
- Mixing weighted and unweighted numbers. Compare like with like: colleges often recalculate GPA with their own rules.
Where the numbers on this page come from
The grading scale above is copied from the university’s published catalog, with the date it was checked. The worked examples are printed from the same tested calculators you can use on this site, so the arithmetic here and in the calculators can’t disagree. See the methodology for every scale and formula.