How to Calculate Cumulative GPA

Your cumulative GPA is the weighted average of every course grade you've earned across all terms. Multiply each course's grade points by its credit hours, add those products, then divide by your total credit hours.

The Formula

Cumulative GPA = (sum of grade points × credit hours) ÷ (total credit hours)

That's it. The trick isn't the math. It's making sure you use the right grade-point scale and count every credit, including transfer credits and repeats your school still factors in.

Standard 4.0 Scale

Most U.S. colleges use the unweighted 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
• F = 0.0

Some schools skip the plus/minus and only award whole numbers (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0). Check your registrar's grading policy before you plug numbers in. A B+ worth 3.3 at one school might be a flat 3.0 at another.

Step by Step

1. List every course you've taken with credit hours and letter grade.
2. Convert each letter to its grade-point value.
3. Multiply grade points by credit hours for each course. That's your "quality points" for that course.
4. Add up quality points across all courses.
5. Add up credit hours across all courses.
6. Divide total quality points by total credit hours.

Round to two decimals at the end, not at each step. Rounding early drifts the result.

Worked Example

Say you've completed two semesters:

Semester 1

• English 101, 3 credits, B (3.0) → 9.0 quality points
• Calculus I, 4 credits, A- (3.7) → 14.8 quality points
• History 110, 3 credits, B+ (3.3) → 9.9 quality points
• Psychology 101, 3 credits, A (4.0) → 12.0 quality points

Semester 1 totals: 13 credits, 45.7 quality points. Term GPA = 45.7 ÷ 13 = 3.515.

Semester 2

• Chemistry 101, 4 credits, C+ (2.3) → 9.2 quality points
• English 102, 3 credits, A- (3.7) → 11.1 quality points
• Statistics, 3 credits, B (3.0) → 9.0 quality points
• Art History, 3 credits, A (4.0) → 12.0 quality points

Semester 2 totals: 13 credits, 41.3 quality points. Term GPA = 41.3 ÷ 13 = 3.177.

Cumulative: (45.7 + 41.3) ÷ (13 + 13) = 87.0 ÷ 26 = 3.35.

Notice that your cumulative isn't the average of your two term GPAs (3.515 + 3.177)/2 = 3.346. Close, but not identical. When each term has different credit hours, the gap gets wider. Always sum the raw numbers, don't average the averages.

Common Things That Trip People Up

Pass/Fail and Withdrawals

P, NP, W, and I grades usually carry no grade points and don't count toward credit hours in your GPA. They still appear on your transcript. Confirm with your registrar, since a few schools treat NP as a 0.0.

Repeated Courses

Policies vary. Some schools replace the old grade entirely (only the new one counts). Others average both attempts. Read your catalog. If you retook Chem 101 and got an A after a D, your cumulative GPA could swing half a point depending on which rule applies.

Transfer Credits

Many schools accept transfer credits toward your degree but exclude the grades from your cumulative GPA. Your transcript shows two GPAs in that case: one institutional, one overall. Graduate programs often want both.

Weighted vs. Unweighted

High school cumulative GPAs sometimes use a 5.0 weighted scale for AP and honors classes. College almost never does. If you're calculating for a college application, use whichever your target school requests.

Quick Sanity Check

If your math gives you a number above 4.0 and your school uses an unweighted scale, you made an error. If it's below your worst single-course grade, you also made an error. Your cumulative GPA will always land between your lowest and highest course grade points.

Calculate your cumulative GPA →