Your semester GPA in a minute
End of term is stressful enough. You shouldn't need a spreadsheet to find out how you did. List your courses, pick the letter grade for each, enter the credit hours and the calculator gives you the semester GPA.
Add or delete rows as you need. It handles a light term of three courses just as well as a heavy one of seven.
The math, step by step
Each letter grade has a point value. On the common 4.0 scale an A is 4, a B is 3, a C is 2, a D is 1 and an F is 0. Many schools also use plus and minus steps, such as 3.7 for an A-, so use whatever your school publishes.
Multiply the points by the course credits. Add up all those products. Divide by the total credits.
Here's an example. A 4-credit B gives 12. A 3-credit A gives 12. A 3-credit C gives 6. Total points are 30, total credits are 10, so the GPA is 3.0.
Notice that a 3-credit C didn't pull the GPA down as far as it might feel. Credits decide the weight of each grade.
Dean's List
Requirements are set by each school. A GPA of 3.5 is common, though some use 3.2, others 3.7 or more. Many also require a minimum number of credit hours in the term, and some exclude pass/fail courses. Check your student handbook for the real number, then enter your grades and see if you made it.
How one bad grade matters
In a single semester it can matter a lot. One F in a 3-credit course among five courses will pull a 4.0 down to around 3.2. Over your whole degree its effect shrinks, since it's averaged with many more credits. That's the difference between semester and cumulative GPA.
If you want to see the bigger picture, use the cumulative GPA calculator after this one.
Using it before grades are final
Try what-if scenarios. Enter your expected grades and see where you land. If you're borderline on a B or an A- in one course, check what each result does to the total. It tells you where extra effort pays off most, which is usually the course with the most credits.
Everything runs in your browser and your grades aren't saved on any server.
A full example
Say you took five courses. A in a 4 credit course gives 16 points. B+ in a 3 credit course gives 9.99, about 10. A- in a 3 credit course gives 11.1. B in a 3 credit course gives 9. C+ in a 2 credit course gives 4.6. Total points are 50.7 over 15 credits, so your GPA is 3.38.
Notice how the 4 credit A carried the most weight. A hard lab with high credits moves your average more than a light elective, in both directions.
Use the calculator to try 'what if' grades before the final exam and see which course is worth the extra study night.
Scales differ by school
Most US schools use 4.0, but some give 4.3 for an A+ and others have no plus or minus at all. Some use weighted scales where honors or AP courses count extra. Pakistan, India, the UK and Canada all have their own systems.
Copy the table from your own school's handbook and compare it with the tool's. If they don't match, your transcript is the one that counts.
Pass or fail courses usually add credits earned but not grade points, so leave them out of the calculation.
Using your result
Scholarships and honors often check semester GPA and cumulative GPA separately. A strong semester can still leave the cumulative figure lower if earlier ones were weak, and the effect is slow. The more credits you have behind you, the less a single term moves it.
Retaking a course may replace the old grade or average with it, depending on policy. Ask your registrar before you assume.
Keep a running copy of your grades. It saves a scramble at application time.