GPA Calculator
Add your courses to get your unweighted and weighted GPA — plus cumulative GPA if you already have credits on the books. Or switch to Goal GPA to find the grade you need in your remaining courses to hit a target.
GPA Calculator
Standard 4.0 GPA Scale (Reference)
Used for every course's unweighted grade points. Honors adds +0.5 and AP/IB adds +1.0 per course for the weighted GPA.
| Letter Grade | Grade Points |
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How This Calculator Works
Add one row per course, pick the letter grade you earned, enter the credit hours (defaults to 1 per course — change it if your school reports actual credit hours), and mark whether it was a Regular, Honors, or AP/IB class. Your Unweighted GPA uses the standard 4.0 scale for every course equally; your Weighted GPA adds bonus points for Honors and AP/IB courses to reflect their difficulty.
If you already have a GPA on the books from previous semesters, turn on Include Prior GPA and enter your existing GPA and credit total — the calculator will merge it with your new courses to give a cumulative GPA.
Switch to the Goal GPA tab to work backwards: enter your current GPA, credits completed, target GPA, and credits remaining, and it tells you the average GPA you need in those remaining courses to hit your target.
Weighted vs. Unweighted GPA: What Students & Parents Need to Know
In the United States education system, your Grade Point Average (GPA) is the single most recognized metric of your academic performance. However, there is an important distinction between unweighted and weighted GPAs:
Unweighted GPA (The Standard 4.0 Scale)
An unweighted GPA measures your academic grades on a flat 0.0 to 4.0 scale without considering course difficulty. Whether you earn an "A" in standard physical education or an "A" in multi-variable AP Calculus, each grade translates to an identical 4.0 quality point value. While unweighted GPA provides a pure baseline, it does not reflect the academic rigor or challenge of advanced coursework.
Weighted GPA (Rewarding Academic Rigor)
To incentivize students to tackle challenging classes, most U.S. high schools use a weighted GPA scale that grants bonus grade points based on course level:
- Regular / College Prep: Standard 4.0 scale (A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, D = 1.0, F = 0.0).
- Honors Courses: Adds a +0.5 bump (A = 4.5, B = 3.5, C = 2.5, D = 1.5).
- Advanced Placement (AP) & International Baccalaureate (IB): Adds a +1.0 bump (A = 5.0, B = 4.0, C = 3.0, D = 2.0).
This weighting system allows high-achieving students taking rigorous class schedules to earn GPAs well above 4.0 (often reaching 4.5 to 4.8 on weighted transcripts).
How U.S. Colleges Evaluate High School GPAs
College admissions committees review both metrics in context. Many selective colleges "recalculate" applicant GPAs using their own standardized institutional formula, focusing primarily on core academic subjects (English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Foreign Language) while heavily noting the rigor of the courses available at your specific high school.
Frequently Asked Questions
The standard 4.0 scale (A = 4.0 down to F = 0.0), the same scale used by the vast majority of US high schools and colleges. Some schools use slightly different conventions, so check your school's official policy if you need your exact transcript GPA.
Unweighted GPA treats every class equally on a 4.0 scale regardless of difficulty. Weighted GPA adds extra points for Honors (+0.5) and AP or IB (+1.0) classes to reflect their added difficulty, which is why weighted GPAs can go above 4.0.
Cumulative GPA combines your prior grade points and credits with your new courses: (prior GPA × prior credits + new grade points) ÷ (prior credits + new credits).
No. The +0.5 for Honors and +1.0 for AP/IB used here are the most common conventions, but individual schools and districts set their own weighting scale. Check your school's profile or counselor for the exact policy if you need an official GPA.
Use the Goal GPA tab. Enter your current cumulative GPA, the credits you've completed so far, your target GPA, and how many credits you have left. It solves for the average grade you'd need across those remaining credits to reach your target — and tells you if that target is realistically achievable on a 4.0 scale.