Weighted GPA Calculator
Calculate a credit-weighted GPA from up to five courses using each course's credit hours and grade points.
How to use this tool
- Enter each course's credit hours; leave unused courses at 0 credits.
- Enter each course's grade points on the 4.0 scale (A=4.0, B=3.0, A-=3.7, etc.).
- Read your weighted GPA, total credit hours, and total quality points.
Average your grades the way schools actually do it — by credit hours. Enter each course's credits and grade points to get a credit-weighted GPA, total credits, and total quality points.
Formula
Weighted GPA = Total quality points ÷ Total credit hours
Quality points for a course = Credit hours × Grade points
The weighting comes from credit hours: a 4-credit course moves your GPA twice as much as a 2-credit course at the same grade. A simple (unweighted) average ignores this.
How it works
A weighted GPA averages your grades after weighting each by its credit hours, so harder, higher-credit courses count more than light electives. The calculator converts each grade to grade points on the common 4.0 scale, multiplies by the course's credits to get quality points, sums quality points and credits across all courses, and divides. Courses left at zero credits are ignored, so you can enter anywhere from one to five courses.
Grade-point conventions differ between schools — some add 0.33 for plus/minus grades, some give honors or AP courses an extra point, and a few use a 5.0 scale. Because of that we take grade points as a direct input rather than hard-coding a letter-to-points table, which keeps the math correct under any scale. To reproduce your transcript exactly, use the same grade points your registrar assigns.
Reviewed by the AbraCalc Education Desk. This is an educational estimate; your official GPA is set by your institution's registrar, who may round, weight, or exclude courses differently.
Worked example
Three courses: 3cr A (4.0), 4cr B (3.0), 3cr A- (3.7)
- Quality points per course: 3×4.0 = 12, 4×3.0 = 12, 3×3.7 = 11.1.
- Total quality points = 12 + 12 + 11.1 = 35.1.
- Total credit hours = 3 + 4 + 3 = 10.
- Weighted GPA = 35.1 ÷ 10 = 3.51.
Weighted GPA = 3.51 over 10.0 credit hours
Common letter grade to 4.0-scale grade points
| Letter grade | Grade points | Quality points for a 3-credit course |
|---|---|---|
| A | 4.0 | 12.0 |
| A- | 3.7 | 11.1 |
| B+ | 3.3 | 9.9 |
| B | 3.0 | 9.0 |
| C+ | 2.3 | 6.9 |
| C | 2.0 | 6.0 |
| D | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| F | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Key terms
- GPA
- Grade point average — the credit-weighted mean of your grade points, usually on a 0–4.0 scale.
- Credit hour
- A unit measuring a course's weight, typically the number of lecture hours per week per term.
- Quality points
- Credit hours times grade points for a single course; the numerator of the GPA.
- Grade points
- The numeric value of a letter grade (A=4.0, B=3.0, C=2.0, etc.) under a school's scale.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?
- An unweighted GPA averages grade points equally; a weighted GPA multiplies each grade by its credit hours first, so a 4-credit course counts more than a 1-credit one. This tool computes the credit-weighted GPA.
- How do I enter plus and minus grades?
- Use the grade points your school assigns — commonly A-=3.7, B+=3.3, B-=2.7, and so on. Enter that number directly in the grade points field.
- What if my school uses a 5.0 honors scale?
- Just enter grade points above 4.0 (for example 5.0 for an A in an honors or AP course). The credit-weighted math is identical, so the result reflects your school's scale.