College GPA calculator

Semester GPA vs. cumulative GPA

Your semester GPA covers the courses in a single term; your cumulative GPA rolls every term together, weighted by credit hours. Add a block for each semester and the dial shows your running cumulative GPA as you type. Both use the same core formula — the cumulative number just pools every course's quality points and every credit hour.

How the calculation works

Each letter grade becomes grade points (A = 4.0, B = 3.0, and so on). Multiply by the course's credit hours to get quality points, sum them, and divide by total credits:

GPA = Σ(grade points × credits) ÷ Σ(credits)

Because credits are the weight, a 4-credit A pulls your average up more than a 1-credit A. The cumulative GPA applies the same weighting across every semester at once, which is why simply averaging your semester GPAs can be slightly off when terms carry different credit loads.

Worked example

Two semesters:

• Fall — Calculus (4 cr, A = 4.0), English (3 cr, B+ = 3.3), Chemistry (4 cr, A− = 3.7). Semester GPA = (16.0 + 9.9 + 14.8) ÷ 11 = 3.70.
• Spring — Statistics (3 cr, B = 3.0), History (3 cr, A = 4.0), Physics (4 cr, B+ = 3.3). Semester GPA = (9.0 + 12.0 + 13.2) ÷ 10 = 3.42.

Cumulative GPA = (40.7 + 34.2) ÷ 21 = 3.57 across 21 credits — not simply the average of 3.70 and 3.42, because Fall carried one extra credit.

Tips for an accurate result

• Use real credit hours from your transcript — labs and seminars are often 1–2 credits, not 3.
• Check your school's plus/minus policy. Some schools count A+ as 4.0, others 4.3 — switch the scale above to match.
• Leave out pass/fail and withdrawn courses, which usually don't carry grade points.