Free GPA Calculator
Add your courses with grades and credit hours to get your semester GPA, or fold it into your cumulative GPA with your prior record.
This free GPA calculator computes semester GPA from course grades and credit hours on the standard 4.0 scale (A = 4.0 through F = 0.0), and can combine it with your prior GPA and completed hours to update your cumulative GPA.
Use the Semester GPA tab above, or enter it directly.
Uses the standard unweighted 4.0 scale. Your school may weight honors or AP courses differently; check your registrar's policy.
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How GPA math actually works
GPA is a weighted average, not a simple average of grades. Each course contributes its grade points multiplied by its credit hours, and the GPA is the total grade points divided by the total credit hours. A 4-credit A moves your GPA more than a 1-credit A, which is why credit hours matter as much as grades.
On the standard 4.0 scale, A is 4.0, A- is 3.7, B+ is 3.3, B is 3.0, B- is 2.7, C+ is 2.3, C is 2.0, C- is 1.7, D+ is 1.3, D is 1.0, D- is 0.7, and F is 0.0. Some schools cap A+ at 4.0 and others award 4.3; this calculator uses the common 4.0 cap.
Cumulative GPA works the same way across semesters: multiply each semester's GPA by its credit hours, add those products, and divide by total hours. Because early semesters carry many hours, a low freshman GPA takes several strong semesters to repair, and a high early GPA is hard for one bad semester to sink.
Weighted GPA adds bonus points for honors, AP, or IB courses (often +0.5 or +1.0), which is why weighted GPAs can exceed 4.0. Colleges that recalculate GPA usually strip the weighting back to unweighted 4.0 first, so the unweighted number is the one that travels.
If you are trying to raise your GPA, retaking a course you failed or got a D in is the fastest lever at schools with grade replacement, because the new grade points replace the old ones in the same credit hours. Otherwise, the math is simple: earn more A credits than the low grades you already banked.
GPA calculator questions
How is GPA calculated?
Multiply each course's grade points by its credit hours, add those products, and divide by the total credit hours. For example, an A (4.0) in a 3-credit course gives 12 grade points; divide your total grade points by total hours for the GPA.
What is a good GPA in college?
Most advisors treat 3.0 as the solid baseline, 3.5 as strong, and 3.7 or higher as excellent for competitive programs and graduate school. Context matters: a 3.4 in engineering often impresses more than a 3.8 in a less demanding major.
Is a weighted GPA better than unweighted?
Weighted GPA adds bonus points for honors, AP, or IB classes and can exceed 4.0. Unweighted GPA caps at 4.0. Many colleges recalculate applicants to an unweighted scale, so both numbers matter but the unweighted one is more comparable.
Can I raise my GPA in one semester?
One strong semester moves a low cumulative GPA slowly, because all your past credit hours dilute the new grades. Retaking courses you failed or earned D's in is the fastest lever at schools with grade replacement policies.