GPA Calculator Guide

What This Calculator Does

The GPA Calculator weights each course’s grade points by credits to produce a semester GPA. Previous GPA-bearing credits and cumulative GPA can be added to calculate a new cumulative average. Letter grades map to an editable points table; direct point entry supports other grading labels.

When to Use It

Use it for college semester and cumulative planning. Include only courses that count toward your institution’s GPA, up to 50 rows. For an exam target use the final grade calculator; for points on a single test use the test grade calculator.

Inputs Explained

Credits must be positive and no more than 1000 per course. Grade points must be between zero and the chosen maximum; the maximum can be greater than zero and up to 10. The default 4.0 letter table is an example, not a universal conversion. Previous GPA-bearing credits may be zero, up to 100000. When they are zero, the previous GPA is ignored.

How the Calculation Works

Quality points = course credits×grade points. Semester GPA = total semester quality points÷semester credits. New cumulative GPA = (previous GPA×previous credits+semester quality points)÷(previous credits+semester credits). The previous and new values must use the same grading scale.

Example

A 3-credit A at 4 points and a 3-credit B at 3 points produce 3×4+3×3=21 quality points over 6 credits: semester GPA 3.5. If your earlier GPA is 3.2 across 30 credits, the new cumulative GPA is (30×3.2+21)÷36=3.25. Try example fills the two courses without a previous balance.

For unequal credits, 1 credit at 4 points and 3 credits at 2 points produce 10 quality points over 4 credits: GPA 2.5, not the unweighted average of 3. Editing the grading table clears the old result until recalculated. Do not combine an old 4.0 GPA with new 10-point grades without converting to one scale.

How to Understand the Result

The large number is semester GPA. Cumulative GPA is shown separately, alongside weighted points and GPA-bearing credits. Results display up to four decimal places but calculations use unrounded numbers. Your institution may truncate or round differently.

Common Mistakes

Exclude pass/fail, zero-credit and other non-GPA courses. Do not enter a percentage such as 85 as grade points on a 4.0 scale. Repeated rows all count: the tool does not replace an old grade. Adjust previous GPA and credits yourself if your institution applies a replacement policy.

FAQ

Can I edit the grading scale?

Yes. Open Edit grading scale, change the maximum and individual letter values, or enter points directly.

Does it add AP or IB bonuses?

No. Enter the points supplied by your institution.

What happens with zero-credit courses?

Remove them. Every included row requires positive credits.

Notes

The Illinois registrar’s GPA guide supports the credit-weighted principle, while school-specific repeat and transfer policies remain your responsibility. This is not an official transcript, degree audit or admission decision. Inputs stay in page state and are cleared from the result when edited.