About this tool
This GPA calculator takes a list of courses with a letter grade, credit hours, and course level (Regular, Honors, or AP/IB) and returns both the unweighted GPA on the standard 4.0 scale and the weighted GPA that adds 0.5 for Honors and 1.0 for AP or IB classes, along with a quality-points table that shows exactly how each course contributes. A cumulative panel combines this term with your prior GPA and credits, and a solver tells you the GPA you must earn over your next credits to reach a target, flagging targets that are mathematically out of reach. It is meant for high-school students checking transcripts against college requirements, college students tracking scholarship or Dean's List thresholds, and parents and counselors who want the arithmetic in the open. The A+ toggle switches between schools that cap A+ at 4.0 and those that award 4.3.
How it works
Each letter grade maps to grade points on the common 4.0 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, D- 0.7, F 0. Quality points for a course are grade points x credits, and GPA = total quality points / total credits attempted, so a 4-credit course counts more than a 1-credit one. Weighted GPA adds 0.5 to the grade points of Honors courses and 1.0 to AP or IB courses before multiplying, which lets a straight-A AP schedule reach 5.0. Pass/fail courses are excluded from both totals. Cumulative GPA = (prior GPA x prior credits + term GPA x term credits) / (prior credits + term credits). The required-GPA solver rearranges that formula: needed = (target x (current credits + new credits) - current GPA x current credits) / new credits; if the answer exceeds the maximum grade points on your scale the target cannot be reached in that many credits.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?
Unweighted GPA treats every course the same on a 0 to 4.0 scale, so an A in gym and an A in AP Calculus both count 4.0. Weighted GPA adds bonus points for harder courses, typically +0.5 for Honors and +1.0 for AP or IB, so the AP A counts 5.0 and the scale tops out around 5.0. Colleges usually recalculate GPA their own way from the transcript, so report whichever your school uses and know both.
How many credits does a class count for?
Credits (or credit hours) weight each course by how much of your schedule it takes. In US colleges a standard lecture course is 3 credits and a course with a lab is 4; a one-credit seminar counts a third as much as a lecture. Many high schools give 1.0 credit for a full-year class and 0.5 for a semester class. Use whatever appears on your transcript; if every class has the same credit value the GPA is simply the average of the grade points.
Is an A+ worth 4.0 or 4.3?
It depends on the school. Most US high schools and many universities cap grade points at 4.0, so A+ and A are identical. Some institutions award 4.3 (or 4.33) for A+, which lets a GPA exceed 4.0 even without weighting. Check your transcript or student handbook; the toggle on this page recalculates instantly so you can see the difference, which is at most 0.3 points on a single course.
What GPA do I need next semester to reach my goal?
Use the solver panel. If you have a 3.0 over 60 credits and want a 3.5 after 15 more credits, you would need (3.5 x 75 - 3.0 x 60) / 15 = 5.5, which is impossible on a 4.0 scale, so the target needs more semesters. GPA moves slowly once you have many credits behind you: the same student earning a 4.0 for 15 credits reaches only 3.2. The solver flags unreachable targets and the cumulative panel lets you try different scenarios.