Your GPA (grade point average) turns a semester of letter grades into one number. Colleges, scholarship programs and some honor societies look at it, so it is worth knowing how it is calculated, and why the same report card can produce two different GPAs.
Every school’s rules are a little different, so always check your school’s handbook or ask your counselor for the exact scale they use.
The standard 4.0 scale
Most US high schools convert letter grades to points like this:
| Letter grade | Grade points (unweighted) |
|---|---|
| A | 4.0 |
| B | 3.0 |
| C | 2.0 |
| D | 1.0 |
| F | 0.0 |
Many schools also use plus and minus grades. A common version is A− = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, B− = 2.7, C+ = 2.3, and so on, with A+ usually still counted as 4.0. Some schools don’t use plus or minus at all.
Unweighted GPA
An unweighted GPA treats every class the same. An A in an AP class and an A in a regular class are both worth 4.0.
To calculate it:
- Convert each grade to points using the scale above.
- Add up the points.
- Divide by the number of classes.
Example. Five classes, all worth the same credit:
| Class | Grade | Points |
|---|---|---|
| AP Biology | A | 4.0 |
| Honors English | B | 3.0 |
| Algebra II | A | 4.0 |
| US History | B | 3.0 |
| Spanish II | A | 4.0 |
Total points: 4 + 3 + 4 + 3 + 4 = 18. Divided by 5 classes: 18 ÷ 5 = 3.6 unweighted GPA.
Weighted GPA
A weighted GPA gives extra points for harder classes, to reward students who take a tougher schedule. A common system adds:
- +0.5 for honors classes
- +1.0 for AP, IB and dual-enrollment college classes
So an A in an AP class becomes 5.0, and a B in an honors class becomes 3.5. Some schools add the same bonus to every passing grade; others don’t give the bonus for a D or F. Again, check your school’s rules.
Same example, weighted:
| Class | Grade | Weighted points |
|---|---|---|
| AP Biology | A | 5.0 |
| Honors English | B | 3.5 |
| Algebra II | A | 4.0 |
| US History | B | 3.0 |
| Spanish II | A | 4.0 |
Total: 5 + 3.5 + 4 + 3 + 4 = 19.5. Divided by 5: 19.5 ÷ 5 = 3.9 weighted GPA.
Same grades, two different numbers. That’s why it is important to say which one you mean.
When classes have different credits
Not every class counts the same. A full-year class might be worth 1 credit and a semester elective or PE class 0.5. In that case you calculate a credit-weighted average:
- Multiply each class’s grade points by its credits.
- Add up those results.
- Divide by the total number of credits.
Example. Same classes as above, but Spanish II is a half-credit class:
| Class | Weighted points | Credits | Points × credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| AP Biology | 5.0 | 1 | 5.0 |
| Honors English | 3.5 | 1 | 3.5 |
| Algebra II | 4.0 | 1 | 4.0 |
| US History | 3.0 | 1 | 3.0 |
| Spanish II | 4.0 | 0.5 | 2.0 |
Total quality points: 5 + 3.5 + 4 + 3 + 2 = 17.5. Total credits: 4.5. 17.5 ÷ 4.5 ≈ 3.89 weighted GPA.
The A in the half-credit class counts for less, so the GPA dropped slightly from 3.9.
Semester GPA vs. cumulative GPA
Your semester GPA covers one semester. Your cumulative GPA covers every semester of high school so far. To calculate cumulative GPA, don’t average your semester GPAs; add up all the quality points and divide by all the credits. Averaging the averages gives the wrong answer when semesters have different numbers of credits.
Which GPA do colleges use?
Colleges see the GPA on your transcript, but many also recalculate it their own way, for example by removing PE and electives or by using their own weighting. They usually look at how hard your schedule was alongside your grades. A strong unweighted GPA in a challenging schedule is the clearest signal you can send.
Ways to raise your GPA (honestly)
- Find out early how each class is graded. If homework is 30% of the grade, missed homework costs more than you think.
- Recover early. A bad first quiz is much easier to fix in September than a bad quarter is in December.
- Ask about retakes and corrections. Many teachers allow test corrections for partial credit, but only if you ask.
- Use spaced practice before tests. Reviewing a little each day beats cramming, especially for cumulative finals.
- Balance your schedule. Taking every AP class can lower your grades if it leaves no time to study for any of them.
Calculate yours
Our free High School GPA Calculator does the math for you: enter your classes, grades, levels and credits to see both your weighted and unweighted GPA. It runs in your browser and does not need an account.
If your weighted GPA is above 4.0, that’s normal for students taking honors or AP classes. An unweighted GPA can never go above 4.0 on this scale.