GPA stands for Grade Point Average — the number US schools use to summarize academic performance on a scale from 0.0 to 4.0. It appears on your transcript, gates scholarship eligibility, and is usually the first line an admissions committee reads.
The math is simple, but one detail trips people up constantly: GPA is not the plain average of your grades. It is an average weighted by how many credits each course is worth.
The 4.0 letter grade table
Each letter grade maps to a fixed number of grade points:
| Letter | 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 | | F | 0.0 |
This is the unweighted scale, and it is what nearly every college and university uses. Some US high schools also report a weighted GPA that goes up to 5.0, giving extra points for AP and Honors courses — but that is a high school convention. In higher education, 4.0 is the ceiling.
The formula
GPA = sum of (grade points × course credits) ÷ sum of credits
Multiplying by credits is the step people skip. A 4-credit course counts twice as much as a 2-credit elective. That is why a mediocre grade in a heavy required course hurts far more than the same grade in a light elective.
A worked example
Take a semester with four courses:
| Course | Grade | Credits | Points | Points × Credits | |---|---|---|---|---| | Calculus I | A− | 4 | 3.7 | 14.8 | | General Physics | B+ | 4 | 3.3 | 13.2 | | Intro to Programming | A | 3 | 4.0 | 12.0 | | Academic Writing | B | 2 | 3.0 | 6.0 |
Add up the last two columns:
- Total weighted points: 14.8 + 13.2 + 12.0 + 6.0 = 46.0
- Total credits: 4 + 4 + 3 + 2 = 13
GPA = 46.0 ÷ 13 = 3.54
Notice the weighting at work: the lowest grade of the semester (B+ in Physics) landed in a 4-credit course, so it pulled the average down harder than the A in a 3-credit course pulled it up. Equal credit loads would have produced a higher GPA.
You can check this calculation — and your own — with the free ToolNotch GPA Calculator, which handles the credit weighting for you.
Term GPA vs. cumulative GPA
Two numbers, two different questions:
- Term GPA covers one semester only. It is the trend indicator — it shows whether you are improving.
- Cumulative GPA (CGPA) covers every course since you started. This is the number on your transcript and the one applications ask for.
To roll a new semester into your cumulative GPA:
New GPA = ((old GPA × old credits) + (term GPA × term credits)) ÷ total credits
Say you had a 3.20 cumulative GPA across 60 credits, then finished a semester with a 3.60 GPA over 15 credits.
- (3.20 × 60) + (3.60 × 15) = 192 + 54 = 246
- 60 + 15 = 75 credits
- New cumulative GPA = 246 ÷ 75 = 3.28
An excellent semester moved the cumulative average by just 0.08, because 60 prior credits dominate the denominator. The further into a degree you are, the harder your cumulative GPA is to move — which is a strong argument for protecting it from the first year on.
Common mistakes
- Averaging grades directly. Without multiplying by credits, the result is wrong whenever course loads differ.
- Including pass/fail courses. Pass/fail classes usually earn credits but are excluded from the GPA calculation. Check your institution's policy.
- Forgetting failed courses. An F is worth 0.0 and still occupies credits in the denominator, which is why one failure drags the average down more than most students expect. Many schools let a retake replace the original grade — but not all do.
- Mixing scales. If your grades are recorded on a 0–10 or 0–100 scale, convert them to the 4.0 scale first. Averaging in one scale and reporting in another produces a meaningless number.
What if your grades are not on the 4.0 scale?
International transcripts usually are not. If yours is on a 0–10 or 0–100 scale, each grade has to be converted to a letter before the formula above applies — and there is no single official conversion table.
We cover that process, including a full band table and what credential evaluators actually do, in How to Convert Brazilian Grades to a 4.0 GPA.
Calculate your GPA now
Doing this by hand every semester is tedious and error-prone, especially when updating the cumulative number. The ToolNotch GPA Calculator does the credit-weighted math, supports the US 4.0, Portuguese/Brazilian 0–20 and Spanish 0–10 scales, and runs entirely in your browser — no grade ever leaves your device.