College GPA calculator

College GPA works a little differently from the high school version. Courses come in different sizes, measured in credit hours, so a four-credit lab science moves your average more than a one-credit seminar. This calculator handles that, and it can also fold a new semester into the GPA you already have.

Settings this result uses

Plus/minus, A- = 3.7, A+ = 4.0
P, S, W, I, CR, NC, AU not counted
F counts as 0

Colleges vary on A+, thirds, repeats and transfer credit. Check your registrar's grade table and change the scale to match.

This term's courses

Credits are the course's credit hours (often 3 or 4).

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Add this term to my GPA so far

Two ways to use it

For a single semester, add each course with its credit hours and the grade you earned or expect. You get a term GPA.

For a cumulative GPA, also enter your current GPA and the number of credit hours behind it. The calculator adds the new semester on top and shows where the overall number lands.

Grades that do not carry points are left out of the average: pass, satisfactory, withdrawn, incomplete and audit. An F stays in, worth 0.0, because it counts as attempted credit.

The formula

Multiply the grade points by the credit hours for each course. Those are quality points. Add the quality points for the term and divide by the term's credit hours. The University of Notre Dame's registrar spells out the same steps, and then does the cumulative version the same way, using all quality points and all credit hours from every term.

The cumulative step works backward from your current GPA. Multiply it by your credits to recover the quality points you already have, add the new ones, and divide by the new total.

A worked example

You have a 3.40 GPA from 60 credits. This semester you take five 3-credit courses and finish with A, A-, B, B+ and B-.

A: 4.0 x 3 = 12.0
A-: 3.7 x 3 = 11.1
B: 3.0 x 3 = 9.0
B+: 3.3 x 3 = 9.9
B-: 2.7 x 3 = 8.1

The semester has 50.1 quality points over 15 credits, so the term GPA is 3.34. Your earlier work is worth 3.40 x 60 = 204.0 quality points. The cumulative result is (204.0 + 50.1) divided by 75, which is 3.388, shown as 3.39.

Notice that a semester GPA of 3.34 pulled the total down only from 3.40 to 3.39. A small new term against a large history moves little. The guide on raising your GPA shows how far each extra semester can push.

Do not average two semester GPAs directly. If one semester was 12 credits and the other 18, they should not count equally.

The scale is editable because schools differ

The default scale is the plus/minus table published by several registrars: A and A+ at 4.0, A- at 3.7, B+ at 3.3, B at 3.0, down to D- at 0.7 and F at 0. Indiana University, the University of Missouri and the University of Missouri-Kansas City all list those values. The University of Alberta uses the same numbers for its four-point scale.

Differences you may run into:

A+ is not always 4.0. Cornell's ILR college lists A+ as 4.3. Pepperdine's table has no A+ at all, and UMKC says its A+ exists only in the law school.
Some schools use exact thirds. Green Bay's public schools publish A- as 3.67 and B+ as 3.33. Three grades of A-, B+ and B- over 3 credits each come to 3.22 on that scale and 3.23 on the 3.7 one.
The bottom of the scale varies. Indiana lists D- as the lowest passing grade for undergraduates, and C- for graduate students.

You can edit any value in the calculator to match your school's grade table.

How colleges handle the edge cases

The registrar pages we read agree on the basic formula and disagree on the details.

Repeated courses are handled in different ways. UMKC states that since 1985 all grades, including those in repeated courses, are included in the GPA. Indiana's grade replacement policy marks the old grade with an X when a course is retaken. Check your school's rule before you assume a retake overwrites the first attempt.

Transfer credit often counts toward your degree without counting in your GPA. Elon says its GPA uses hours attempted at Elon only.

Satisfactory/unsatisfactory grades are excluded at Mizzou, where S and U do not appear in the semester or cumulative GPA. UMKC notes that a WF has not been calculated for undergraduates since Fall 2012, and that grades in MATH 100 have been left out of the cumulative GPA since Fall 2015.

Because of all this, the number on your official transcript is the one that counts. Use the calculator for planning, then compare it with the registrar's figure.

Common mistakes

Entering a letter grade but forgetting the credit hours.
Counting pass/fail or withdrawn courses as zero-point grades.
Using the wrong current-credit figure for a cumulative GPA. Use the credits that are in your GPA, not the total including transfer or exam credit, if your school leaves those out.
Averaging semester GPAs.
Rounding the current GPA early. A GPA shown as 3.4 might really be 3.38 or 3.42, and over many credits that gap can matter. Use your transcript's full number if it shows one.

The values behind the calculator

Default scale: plus/minus with A and A+ both 4.0 and A- 3.7, as listed by Indiana University, the University of Missouri and UMKC. Grades left out of the average: P (pass), S (satisfactory), W (withdrew), I (incomplete), CR (credit), NC (no credit), AU (audit). You can switch scale or edit any value above.

Grade points on each scale in the calculator
Letter	Plus/minus A+ = 4.0	Plus/minus A+ = 4.3	Thirds	Plain
A+	4	4.3	4	-
A	4	4	4	4
A-	3.7	3.7	3.67	-
B+	3.3	3.3	3.33	-
B	3	3	3	3
B-	2.7	2.7	2.67	-
C+	2.3	2.3	2.33	-
C	2	2	2	2
C-	1.7	1.7	1.67	-
D+	1.3	1.3	1.33	-
D	1	1	1	1
D-	0.7	0.7	0.67	-
F	0	0	0	0

Questions people ask

How do I work out a cumulative GPA?

Add up the quality points from every term and divide by the credit hours from every term. Quality points for a course are its grade points times its credit hours. Notre Dame's registrar gives the formula in exactly those terms. If you only have your GPA and credits, multiply them to get your quality points and add the new semester's.

Why can't I just average my semester GPAs?

Semesters can have different credit loads. A 12-credit semester should weigh less than an 18-credit one, and a straight average gives them the same weight.

Do pass/fail courses count?

Usually not in the GPA. Mizzou says S grades and U grades do not appear in the semester or cumulative GPA, though S earns credit. Indiana lists P and S separately from its point-bearing grades. Read your own school's rule before choosing the option.

What happens to a withdrawal?

A plain W is generally not calculated in the GPA. UMKC lists W as "withdrew; no academic assessment" and says that since Fall 2012 a WF is not calculated for undergraduates, which implies it counted before then. Your registrar's page is the authority.

Does a retake replace the old grade?

Sometimes. Indiana University marks a replaced grade with an X under its grade replacement policy. UMKC says that since 1985, all grades including repeated courses are included in the GPA. Ask your registrar before retaking a course for GPA reasons.

Do transfer credits change my GPA?

Often they do not. Elon states that its GPA uses hours attempted at Elon only, and transfer credit hours from other institutions do not affect it. Other colleges may handle them differently.

Is A+ worth more than an A?

At some colleges. Cornell's ILR college lists A+ as 4.3. At Indiana and Missouri an A+ counts as 4.0. Pepperdine's table has no A+. Check the grade table in your college catalog.

Is A- 3.7 or 3.67?

Most registrars publish 3.7. Some schools use exact thirds. Green Bay's public schools list 3.67 for A- and 3.33 for B+. The difference is tiny for one course and small across a whole transcript. Use the value your school publishes.