🎓 GPA Calculator

How it works

A GPA (grade point average) turns your letter grades into a single number, but it is not a simple average of your grades. Each course is weighted by its credit hours, so a 4-credit course moves your GPA twice as much as a 2-credit one. This calculator multiplies each grade's point value by its credits, adds everything up, and divides by your total credits — which is exactly how schools compute it.

There are two flavours: a semester GPA, which covers one term, and a cumulative GPA, which covers everything you have taken. Graduation requirements, honour rolls, and graduate school applications use the cumulative number, so keep both in view.

The formula

GPA = Σ (grade points × credit hours) ÷ Σ (credit hours). On the standard 4.0 scale: A = 4.0, A− = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, B = 3.0, B− = 2.7, C+ = 2.3, C = 2.0, D = 1.0, F = 0. Canadian schools vary — some report percentages, some use a 4.33 scale — so confirm which scale your school uses before treating the result as official.

Worked example

Say you took three courses: a 3-credit course where you earned an A (4.0 × 3 = 12.0 points), a 3-credit course with a B+ (3.3 × 3 = 9.9 points), and a 4-credit course with a C (2.0 × 4 = 8.0 points). Total grade points: 12.0 + 9.9 + 8.0 = 29.9. Total credits: 3 + 3 + 4 = 10. GPA = 29.9 ÷ 10 = 2.99 — roughly a B average, dragged down mostly by that 4-credit C.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my GPA lower than the average of my letter grades?
Because credits do the weighting. A C in a heavy 4-credit course hurts more than an A in a light 2-credit course helps. The calculator handles this; a plain average of grades does not.

Can I fix a bad semester?
You cannot erase it, but you can dilute it: every new high-grade credit pulls the cumulative average up, though it takes more credits the deeper the hole.

Is a 4.0 GPA the same everywhere?
Not quite. Some universities use percentage grades or a 4.33 scale where an A+ is worth more. Always translate using your own school's published scale.