Calculate your GPA
Surprisingly, a lot of students don’t actually know how to calculate their own GPA. I’ve included a small tutorial and a link to a calculator because it is much easier just to plug it in and be given an answer. For those of you who are seriously clueless, GPA stands for grade point average and is an important factor on your transcript.
To calculate your GPA you’ll need to know your average and the weight (number of hours) for each class. You get a certain number of grade points for each class, depending on your grade. Points are awarded according to the chart below.
A=4 points
B=3 points
C=2 points
D=1 point
W/F = 0 points
Multiply the grade points by the weight of the class. For example, if your biology class is 4 hours and you made a B, you get 12 points for that class. Find all the points for every class and add them up. Then add up the total hours of all classes. To find your GPA, you divide total grade points by total number of hours
Here’s an example transcript:
| Class | Grade | Hours | Points | Grade Points | |
| Biology | A | 4 | 4 | 16 | |
| English | B | 3 | 3 | 9 | |
| Calculus | C | 4 | 2 | 8 | |
| Economics | A | 3 | 4 | 12 | |
| Speech | A | 2 | 4 | 8 | |
| 16 | 53 |
GPA = GRADE POINTS / TOTAL HOURS
3.3125 = 53 / 16 –> This student has a B.
If that’s just too complicated and time-consuming or you’re lazy (like me), here’s a GPA calculator for you provided by Back2College. It makes everything wonderfully simple.
8 Responses
I think you made a mistake on the first line.
Biology A 4 4 12
4×4 = 16, right?
LOL I kept changing everything around and I didn’t look after I posted. Thanks for pointing it out.
Hmm, I never knew that. I thought it was just an average.
I only went for one semester, but I was lucky they were all 4’s.
At my high school, we have weghted GPAs if you have honors courses. So my GPA is a 4.5/
@Zac: Right, my high school did the same thing, but that’s not how it works in college. Wish it did.
What if you are trying to calculate off of points for example (457.25 out of possible 510 or 575 out of possible 600) two classes different then an overall back to 3.0 ot 2.8 or whatever the case may be. How do I figure that?
Thanks!
I found a website recently that helps you calculate your grade for free. It even figures out what you need to get on the final exam to get a certain grade in the course. It also can calculate your GPA for you. Here’s the site: http://www.calculatemygrade.com
It’s helped me a bunch in the past - hope it’s helpful to you too!
Nov 16, 2007