Your GPA (grade point average) is the single number transcripts, scholarships and employers look at first. This GPA calculator computes your credit-weighted semester or cumulative GPA on the standard 4.0 scale — add a row per course, pick the grade, set the credits, and it updates live.
How GPA is calculated
Each letter grade maps to points: A = 4.0, A− = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, B = 3.0, and so on down to F = 0. Multiply each course's points by its credit hours, sum those "quality points," and divide by total credits. Because it's credit-weighted, an A in a 4-credit course lifts your GPA more than an A in a 1-credit seminar.
Worked example
An A (4.0) in a 3-credit course, a B+ (3.3) in a 4-credit course, and a B (3.0) in a 3-credit course: quality points = 4.0×3 + 3.3×4 + 3.0×3 = 34.2, over 10 credits = 3.42 GPA.
Semester vs cumulative GPA
Your semester GPA covers one term; your cumulative GPA pools every course you've taken. To project a cumulative figure, enter all courses to date — or treat your existing GPA as one big "course" weighted by the credits it represents, then add the new term's rows.
Weighted vs unweighted — a common confusion
This calculator is credit-weighted (heavier courses count more), which is how colleges compute GPA. That's different from a weighted high-school GPA, where honors/AP classes earn bonus points (often +0.5 or +1.0), pushing scales to 4.5 or 5.0. Check which convention your institution uses before comparing numbers.
What's a good GPA?
As a rough guide: 3.5+ typically earns Dean's List recognition, 3.0+ keeps most scholarships and graduate-school doors open, and 2.0 is the common good-standing floor. Trends matter too — an upward trajectory reads well even if the start was rocky.