To calculate a college GPA, multiply each grade’s points (A is 4.0, B is 3.0 and so on) by the class’s credits, add them up and divide by total credits. For a cumulative GPA, add this term’s points and credits to your earlier totals. The calculator below does both, handles a retake under grade replacement and shows the term GPA you need to reach a target.
College GPA calculator
Your term and cumulative GPA update as you type. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
Step 1: This term’s classes
Step 2: Your record before this term (optional)
Both numbers are on your transcript or student portal. Use the credits that count toward GPA. Leave both blank if this is your first term.
Choose a grade for at least one class to see your GPA.
What GPA do I need this term?
Uses your record before this term from Step 2.
Grade replacement policies vary. Some colleges replace the earlier grade, some average both attempts, and many limit how many classes you can repeat. If your college averages both attempts, leave Repeat unchecked. Your registrar or academic advisor has the official rule.
How to use the calculator
- Add this term's classes. Enter the credits and pick the letter grade, or the grade you expect. The class name is optional.
- Mark any retakes. If a class is a repeat, check the Repeat box and choose the grade you earned the first time.
- Add your record so far. Enter your cumulative GPA and the credits that count toward GPA before this term. Pass/fail and transfer credits usually do not count, so use the GPA credits figure on your transcript.
- Try a target. In the last box, enter the cumulative GPA you are aiming for and the credits you plan to take, and the calculator shows the term GPA you need.
How the math works
Each grade has a point value: 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. Multiply the points by the credits to get quality points, then divide total quality points by total credits.
Here is an example. An A in a 3-credit class is 12 quality points, a B in a 4-credit class is 12, and a C+ in a 3-credit class is 6.9. That is 30.9 points over 10 credits, a 3.09 term GPA. A student who started the term with a 2.50 over 30 credits had 75 points. The new cumulative GPA is 105.9 points over 40 credits, or 2.65.
Now say that C+ class was a retake of a class the student failed. Under grade replacement, the F and its 3 credits come out of the earlier record, leaving 75 points over 27 credits. Adding the term gives 105.9 points over 37 credits, a 2.86 cumulative GPA.
Grade replacement: policies vary
- Some colleges replace the earlier grade in the GPA; others average both attempts.
- Many limit how many classes you can repeat, or allow replacement only for a D or an F.
- The transcript usually still shows both attempts, and graduate and professional schools often recalculate GPA using every grade.
- Financial aid rules on progress may count both attempts. See how a SAP appeal works if aid is at risk.
Read retaking a class for grade replacement before you register for a repeat, and confirm the rule with your registrar or advisor.
Using the target helper
The helper solves for the term GPA that brings your cumulative GPA to the target. The more credits you have, the slower a cumulative GPA moves. If the target is not reachable this term, the helper says so and estimates how many credits at straight A grades it would take.
This matters most when a number is attached to something: getting off academic probation, keeping a scholarship with a GPA requirement (see what to do if you lost a scholarship over GPA) or meeting a cutoff for a major. Our guide on how to raise a college GPA covers the strategies.
Practical next steps
- Go to office hours early in a class that is slipping. See talking to professors in office hours.
- Check your course load. A lighter term with strong grades can do more than a heavy one with weak grades. How many classes to take walks through it.
- Talk to your advisor before you drop, withdraw or retake anything, because each choice affects aid and progress differently.
Where a mentor helps
A GPA changes one week at a time: going to class, starting assignments early and asking for help before the exam. A mentor is not a tutor and does not handle academic advising. A mentor works one-on-one with a college student on the routines behind the grades, with weekly sessions and text and phone check-ins between them. See mentoring for college students.
Related
- How to raise a college GPA
- Retaking a class for grade replacement
- Failed a class in college?
- High school GPA calculator
Common questions
What is the difference between term GPA and cumulative GPA?
Term GPA covers one semester or quarter. Cumulative GPA covers every graded credit you have taken at that college, so it moves more slowly as credits add up.
Does a W or a pass grade affect my GPA?
Usually not. Withdrawals and pass grades typically carry no grade points, but they can still affect financial aid progress, so check with your college.
Is an A+ worth more than 4.0?
At many colleges an A+ counts as 4.0, but some count it as 4.33. This calculator uses 4.0; check your college's scale.
Get started
Want help building the habits behind a better GPA? Call (888) 305 5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. A member of our team reviews every assessment personally and sets up a free intro call.