GPA Calculator
Add courses with credits and letter grades for an instant weighted or unweighted GPA — multiple semesters, pass/fail handling, and a target mode.
| Course | Credits | Grade | Level | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
What do I need? Target-GPA mode
Current standing in, target out — this solves for the average you need on your upcoming credits.
The one formula behind every GPA
GPA looks mysterious until you see the arithmetic: GPA = Σ(grade points × credits) ÷ Σ(credits). Every course converts its letter to points on the 4.0 scale — A/A+ = 4.0, A− = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, down to F = 0 — multiplies by the credit hours, and the sum of those quality points divides by the credits attempted. A 1-credit PE class barely moves the needle; a 5-credit calculus lecture moves it a lot. That weighting by credits is why the calculator asks for both columns.
The pre-loaded example shows it working: Biology (3 cr, A− = 11.1 points), US History honors (3 cr, B+ = 11.4 with the +0.5 bump), and English AP (4 cr, A = 20.0 with the +1.0 bump) come to 42.5 quality points over 10 credits — a 4.25 weighted GPA. Switch weighting to unweighted and the same grades drop to 3.70.
Three scales, one toggle each
Schools don’t all grade alike, so the scale is configurable. Standard is the common convention: A+ capped at 4.0 with the full +/− ladder (A− 3.7, B+ 3.3…). A+ counts 4.3 lifts the cap for schools on the uncapped scale. No +/− collapses everything to flat letters — A− and A+ both count 4.0 — for districts that never adopted refinements. Weighting is a separate toggle: honors courses gain half a point, AP/IB a full point, but only on passing grades (an F is an F).
Pass/fail is handled the way registrars actually handle it: mark a row P, NP or W and it’s excluded from the GPA entirely — no quality points, and its credits leave the denominator too.
Stack semesters, then aim
Each semester block computes its own GPA; add a second and the headline becomes your cumulative figure — every quality point and every credit across all terms. When you’re planning rather than reporting, the What do I need? panel runs the formula in reverse: current GPA × credits completed, plus a target and the credits ahead, returns the exact average required — and tells you plainly when the target needs more than straight A’s in AP.
Go deeper
- Weighted vs unweighted GPA — both numbers side by side, and which one admissions actually reads.
- How colleges recalculate your GPA — why your transcript number and your admissions number differ.
- Raise your GPA: the math — how many credits and what grades it really takes to move a cumulative average.
Weighted vs Unweighted GPA
Same transcript, two different numbers — how the +0.5/+1.0 bumps work and which GPA actually matters.
Open →How Colleges Recalculate Your GPA
Why the number on your transcript isn't the number colleges read — and what they strip out, keep, and re-weight.
Open →Raise Your GPA: The Math
A semester of A's moves a 2.8 by a few tenths, not points — the arithmetic of catching up, and why early credits are the heavy ones.
Open →Frequently asked questions
How is GPA calculated?
GPA = total quality points ÷ total credits. Each course contributes (grade points × credits): a 3-credit A- is 3.7 × 3 = 11.1 quality points. Add those up, divide by the credits that count, and that's your GPA. The calculator does exactly this — points in tenths, so 4.25 means 4.25.
What's the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?
Unweighted caps every course at 4.0 — an A in gym equals an A in AP Chemistry. Weighted adds a bonus for course difficulty: +0.5 for honors, +1.0 for AP/IB on this site, which is how GPAs above 4.0 happen. Toggle between the two above; the full comparison explains which number colleges actually read.
Do pass/fail courses count in GPA?
No — that's why the grade list includes P, NP and W. A pass/fail course earns credits toward graduation but contributes zero quality points and zero GPA credits, so it can't raise or lower your average. The calculator excludes those rows from both sides of the division and tells you how many it skipped.
Can a GPA go above 4.0?
Yes, two ways. Weighted courses: an A in an AP/IB class counts 5.0 here. Uncapped A+: some schools count A+ as 4.3 instead of 4.0 — pick "A+ counts 4.3" in the scale menu if yours does. Both can combine to a theoretical 5.3 max.
How do I figure out what grades I need to reach a target GPA?
Use the What do I need? panel: enter your current GPA, credits completed, target GPA, and next term's credits. It solves for the required average — e.g. a 3.40 over 60 credits needs a 3.90 across the next 15 to reach 3.50. If the answer is above the scale's maximum, the tool says so instead of pretending.
Does an F in an AP class still get the +1.0 bump?
Not here. The honors/AP bonus only applies to passing grades — an F is 0 points regardless of level, matching the most common published weighting policies. Some districts do weigh a D or even an F differently; check your school profile if it matters.
Is my data saved anywhere?
No. Everything runs in your browser — no accounts, no uploads, nothing leaves your device. Reload the page and the rows reset; the math works fully offline once loaded.
Latest articles
How Colleges Recalculate Your GPA
Why the number on your transcript isn't the number colleges read — and what they strip out, keep, and re-weight.
Raise Your GPA: The Math
A semester of A's moves a 2.8 by a few tenths, not points — the arithmetic of catching up, and why early credits are the heavy ones.
Weighted vs Unweighted GPA
Same transcript, two different numbers — how the +0.5/+1.0 bumps work and which GPA actually matters.