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How to Calculate GPA

AllinOne Editorial · Published 2026-09-16

Unweighted averages of letter grades are wrong. Weight by credits, then divide. This page uses a common US 4.0 map — not every school’s scale.

GPA is not “add the grade points and divide by the number of classes” unless every class has the same credits. A four-credit lab should pull more than a one-credit seminar.

4.0 letter map on this site

A = 4.0, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, B = 3.0, and so on down to F = 0. Quality points for a course = points × credits. GPA = sum of quality points ÷ sum of credits.

Worked example

3 credits at B (3.0) and 4 credits at A (4.0) → 9 + 16 = 25 quality points ÷ 7 credits ≈ 3.571. That is what the GPA Calculator shows.

CGPA

If you already have 3.20 over 60 credits and this semester is 3.70 over 18 credits: (3.20×60 + 3.70×18) ÷ 78 ≈ 3.315. Use the CGPA Calculator rather than averaging semester GPAs as if they had equal weight.

Your transcript’s legend wins. If the registrar uses a different plus/minus table, this estimate will not match the official GPA.

Frequently asked questions

Does every university use this scale?+

No. Some omit plus/minus or use 4.3, 5.0 or 10-point scales. Convert before mixing.

How is CGPA different?+

CGPA is the same credit-weighted average across terms: (old CGPA × old credits + new GPA × new credits) ÷ total credits.

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