GPA Calculator Formula

Understand the math behind the gpa calculator. Each variable explained with a worked example.

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Formulas Used

Grade Point Average

gpa = total_quality_points / total_credits

Total Quality Points

total_quality_points_out = total_quality_points

Total Credit Hours

total_credits_out = total_credits

Variables

VariableDescriptionDefault
grade1Course 1 Grade Points3.5
credits1Course 1 Credits3
grade2Course 2 Grade Points3
credits2Course 2 Credits4
grade3Course 3 Grade Points4
credits3Course 3 Credits3
grade4Course 4 Grade Points2.5
credits4Course 4 Credits3
total_quality_pointsDerived value= grade1 * credits1 + grade2 * credits2 + grade3 * credits3 + grade4 * credits4calculated
total_creditsDerived value= credits1 + credits2 + credits3 + credits4calculated

How It Works

How to Calculate GPA

GPA (Grade Point Average) is the weighted average of your course grades, where each grade is weighted by the number of credit hours.

Formula

GPA = Sum of (Grade Points x Credit Hours) / Total Credit Hours

Grade Point Scale

  • 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
  • F = 0.0

    • Worked Example

    A student takes 4 courses: Course 1 (3.5 grade, 3 credits), Course 2 (3.0 grade, 4 credits), Course 3 (4.0 grade, 3 credits), Course 4 (2.5 grade, 3 credits).

    grade1 = 3.5credits1 = 3grade2 = 3credits2 = 4grade3 = 4credits3 = 3grade4 = 2.5credits4 = 3
    1. 01Course 1 quality points: 3.5 x 3 = 10.5
    2. 02Course 2 quality points: 3.0 x 4 = 12.0
    3. 03Course 3 quality points: 4.0 x 3 = 12.0
    4. 04Course 4 quality points: 2.5 x 3 = 7.5
    5. 05Total quality points: 10.5 + 12.0 + 12.0 + 7.5 = 42.0
    6. 06Total credits: 3 + 4 + 3 + 3 = 13
    7. 07GPA = 42.0 / 13 = 3.23

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