How to calculate GPA
GPA condenses your transcript into one number. The details depend on whether your school weights honors courses, uses plus/minus, or calculates college GPA with credits.
Start with grade points
Each letter maps to points on a scale—commonly 4.0 for an A in an unweighted system. Honors/AP/IB may add extra points so weighted GPAs can exceed 4.0.
High school averaging
Add up grade points for every counted class, then divide by the number of classes (unweighted). Weighted averages use bumped points per the policy for each course.
College credit hours
Multiply each class’s grade points by its credits, sum those quality minutes/points, and divide by total credits. Labs or intensive classes often carry more credits, so they move the GPA more.