How this instrument works
College GPA weights each course's grade points by how many credit hours it's worth, then divides by the total credit hours attempted — a plain average of grade points alone would let a 1-credit seminar count as much as a 4-credit lab, which isn't how most registrars actually compute the number on your transcript. Three courses worth 4.0, 3.0 and 3.7 grade points across 3, 4 and 3 credit hours combine to (4.0x3 + 3.0x4 + 3.7x3) / 10 = 35.1/10 = 3.51, not the unweighted average of the three grade points.
Grade points come from your institution's letter-grade scale, almost always built around a 4.0 maximum: A = 4.0, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, B = 3.0, and so on down to F = 0.0, though the exact cutoffs and whether plus/minus grades exist at all vary by school. Check your registrar's official grading scale before entering grade points here, since a few tenths of a point per course compounds across a full course load.
This instrument computes a single semester's GPA — the credit-weighted average for the courses you enter this term, not your cumulative GPA across every semester you've completed. To roll a new semester into your overall standing, add this semester's total grade points and credit hours to your prior cumulative totals before dividing, exactly the way your registrar's transcript does it term over term.
- For each course, enter its grade points on the 4.0 scale (for example, 4.0 for an A, 3.0 for a B) into the Grade points field.
- Enter that same course's credit hours into the matching Credit hours field.
- Leave any unused course rows at their 0 grade points and 0 credit hours default — they drop out of the calculation automatically.
- Semester GPA updates as you fill in each course, showing the credit-weighted average across everything entered so far.
- Cross-check the result against your school's official grading scale, since plus/minus grade point values can differ slightly between institutions.
Worked example — three courses across 10 credit hours
Enter an A (4.0 grade points) for a 3-credit course, a B (3.0) for a 4-credit course, and an A- (3.7) for another 3-credit course, leaving the remaining two course rows at their 0/0 default. The weighted total is 4.0x3 + 3.0x4 + 3.7x3 = 12 + 12 + 11.1 = 35.1 grade points across 3+4+3 = 10 credit hours. Semester GPA reads 35.1 / 10 = 3.51.
An unweighted average of the three grade points alone would be (4.0 + 3.0 + 3.7) / 3 = 3.567 — but credit-weighting pulls the true GPA down slightly to 3.51, because the B course carries the most credit hours (4) of the three while also having the lowest grade points, giving it more influence over the final number than a simple average would.
Questions
How is college GPA calculated?
Multiply each course's grade points by its credit hours, add those products together, then divide by the total credit hours across all courses. For an A (4.0) worth 3 credits, a B (3.0) worth 4 credits and an A- (3.7) worth 3 credits, that's (4.0x3 + 3.0x4 + 3.7x3) / (3+4+3) = 35.1/10 = 3.51. Credit hours act as weights, so bigger courses influence the result more than smaller ones.
Why is my weighted GPA different from a simple average of my grades?
Because credit-hour weighting gives more influence to courses worth more credits. A simple average of 4.0, 3.0 and 3.7 is 3.567, but if the 3.0 course carries the most credit hours of the three, weighting pulls the true GPA down to 3.51 — lower than the plain average — since that lower grade counts more heavily toward the total than the courses worth fewer credits.
What grade points should I use for a B+ or an A-?
Most US colleges use a 4.0-scale table similar to A = 4.0, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, B = 3.0, B- = 2.7, C+ = 2.3, C = 2.0, down to F = 0.0, but the exact values and whether plus/minus grades even exist vary by institution. Check your school's official grading-scale page or student handbook for the precise figure before entering it here.
Does this calculate my semester GPA or my cumulative GPA?
It calculates the credit-weighted GPA for whatever courses you enter — typically one semester or term. To fold a new semester into your cumulative GPA, add this term's total grade points (grade points x credits, summed) and total credit hours to your prior cumulative totals, then divide the combined sums, matching how your registrar updates your transcript each term.
What happens if I leave a course row at its 0/0 default?
It contributes nothing to either the numerator or the denominator, so it has no effect on the result — 0 grade points times 0 credit hours adds 0 to the weighted total, and 0 credit hours adds nothing to the credit total either. Fill in only the course rows you're actually using; the rest can safely stay at their default.