How to Calculate Your GPA

February 17, 2026 |

education gpa

GPA stands for Grade Point Average. The formula is:

GPA = Total grade points / Total credit hours

Where total grade points = the sum of (each course’s grade value x that course’s credit hours).

The standard 4.0 scale

Most U.S. colleges use this scale:

Letter grade	Grade points
A	4.0
A-	3.7
B+	3.3
B	3.0
B-	2.7
C+	2.3
C	2.0
C-	1.7
D+	1.3
D	1.0
D-	0.7
F	0.0

Some schools use a simpler scale without plus/minus grades. Check your institution’s grading policy for the exact values.

Worked example: semester GPA

Suppose you took five courses this semester:

Course	Grade	Grade points	Credit hours	Quality points
Biology 101	A	4.0	4	16.0
English 201	B+	3.3	3	9.9
Statistics 150	A-	3.7	3	11.1
History 110	B	3.0	3	9.0
Art 100	A	4.0	2	8.0

Step 1: Multiply each course’s grade points by its credit hours to get quality points. That is the rightmost column above.

Step 2: Add up all quality points.

16.0 + 9.9 + 11.1 + 9.0 + 8.0 = 54.0

Step 3: Add up all credit hours.

4 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 = 15

Step 4: Divide total quality points by total credit hours.

54.0 / 15 = 3.60

Your semester GPA is 3.60.

How to calculate cumulative GPA

Cumulative GPA works the same way, but across all semesters combined. You do not average your semester GPAs together. Instead, you go back to the raw quality points and credit hours.

Example: Suppose your first semester looked like the example above (54.0 quality points, 15 credit hours). Your second semester has these results:

Course	Grade	Grade points	Credit hours	Quality points
Chemistry 101	B+	3.3	4	13.2
English 202	A-	3.7	3	11.1
Philosophy 200	B-	2.7	3	8.1
Math 220	C+	2.3	4	9.2

Second semester totals: 41.6 quality points, 14 credit hours. Second semester GPA: 41.6 / 14 = 2.97.

Cumulative GPA:

Total quality points: 54.0 + 41.6 = 95.6

Total credit hours: 15 + 14 = 29

Cumulative GPA: 95.6 / 29 = 3.30

Notice that the cumulative GPA (3.30) is not the average of 3.60 and 2.97 (which would be 3.285). The difference is because the two semesters have different numbers of credit hours. The first semester’s 15 credits carry more weight than the second semester’s 14 credits.

Common questions

Do all credit hours count equally? Yes. A 4-credit course has twice the impact on your GPA as a 2-credit course, regardless of the subject.

What about pass/fail courses? Most schools exclude pass/fail courses from GPA calculations entirely. They do not add quality points or credit hours to the totals.

Can I raise a low GPA quickly? Taking more credit hours in a semester gives those grades more weight. A full 18-credit semester of strong grades will move a cumulative GPA faster than a light 12-credit semester. But the further you are into your program, the harder it is to move the cumulative number, because you have more total credit hours in the denominator.

Key takeaways

GPA = total quality points / total credit hours
Quality points for one course = grade points x credit hours
Cumulative GPA uses raw totals from all semesters, not an average of semester GPAs
Higher-credit courses have more impact on your GPA than lower-credit ones
The standard 4.0 scale assigns A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, D = 1.0, F = 0.0

Try These Calculators

GPA Calculator

Calculate your GPA from course grades and credit hours. Supports both letter grades and percentage inputs.

Cumulative GPA Calculator

Calculate your cumulative GPA by combining previous semesters with new courses.