![TheCollegeInvestor_AllSizes_How_to_Calculate_Your_GPA_1200x628 How to calculate your GPA](https://cdn.thecollegeinvestor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/TheCollegeInvestor_AllSizes_How_to_Calculate_Your_GPA_1200x628.jpg)
All students should know how to calculate their own GPA (grade point average). You may want to know where you stand among your classmates, or you may need to fill out a college application or transfer application.
The formula for how to calculate your GPA will help you get a better idea of how you are performing in school. Also prepare for the possibility of getting into the school of your choice or transferring to another university.
Calculating a GPA is easy and should be easy for anyone to do.
What does your GPA mean?
GPA stands for Grade Point Average and is used as an indicator of overall school performance. There are various scales of his GPA (more on that later), but most schools standardize on a 4.0 scale.
So someone with a perfect grade (straight As) would have a GPA of 4.0. GPA is one of her indicators of class performance and a way to compare the performance of different students.
How are letter grades converted to percentages?
To calculate your GPA, you first need to convert the letter grades you receive into numbers. Different schools may do this in different ways, but here is one example.
![CollegeInvestor_1200x1000__Infographic_-_GPA_Infographic Calculate GPA chart](https://cdn.thecollegeinvestor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/CollegeInvestor_1200x1000__Infographic_-_GPA_Infographic.jpg)
This is just one example of how to convert letter grades to numbers, there may be others. One common alternative is to use 0.667 and 0.333 for the plus and minus grades instead of 0.7 and 0.3.
Other schools may not adjust positives and negatives at all (that is, B+, B, and B- all score 3.0 points). If you don’t know how to do it at school, ask your school administrator.
How to calculate your GPA
Once you’ve calculated the numbers for all the grades you’ve received, there’s one step before you can calculate your GPA.
That number must be multiplied by the total number of credits for that particular class. This gives you GPA “points” for each class. Then add up all your GPA points and divide by the total number of credits. This will give you your overall GPA.
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GPA calculation example
To better explain how GPA is calculated, let’s use a simple example in the following assessment, using the rating scales in the table above.
- English, 3 credits, B+
- Mathematics, 4 credits, A-
- History, 3 credits, B
- PE, 1 credit, A
- Science, 3 credits, A-
- Government, 2 Credits, B-
First, convert each letter grade to a number and multiply by the number of credits to get the total number of GPA points for each class.
Dividing the total number of GPA points (54.2) by the total number of credits (16) gives the student in this example a GPA of 3.3875.
What about AP classes and a 5.0 GPA?
In high school, many schools tailor their grading scales based on specific types of classes. This is to account for the fact that the AP Biology class is harder than the Honors Biology class and more difficult than the General Biology class.
It is common to add 1.0 to the base value for AP grades and add 0.5 for superior grades.
- “A” for the normal (unadjusted) class is 4.0.
- An honors class ‘A’ counts as 4.5.
- An “A” in AP class is worth 5.0.
This means that it is theoretically possible to have a 5.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) if you get As in all AP classes. In universities, it’s not very common to have this type of coordination.
This influences the difference between a weighted GPA and an unweighted GPA. Unweighted GPA is a calculation of GPA on a strict 4.0 scale, with no honors or AP class adjustments.
A weighted GPA takes these adjustments into account and may result in a GPA greater than 4.0.
Conclusion
Calculating your GPA is a useful skill because it helps you determine how different classes and grades translate into your overall transcript. While it is possible to use your GPA to compare your academic performance at school with others, remember that GPAs are often not comparable across schools.
A 3.5 GPA at one school is not necessarily the same as a 3.5 GPA at another school.
Still, knowing how to calculate your GPA and convert grades can help you advance in your academic career.