Work out your high school GPA in under a minute — weighted and unweighted, side by side. Enter each course, its grade and whether it is Regular, Honors or AP/IB, and this free calculator does the maths on the 4.0 or 4.33 scale. Then add your previous GPA to see your new cumulative GPA. No signup, no limits.
1
Add your courses
One row per class this semester, with the credit hours for each.
2
Pick grades & levels
Choose the letter grade you earned and the course level — Regular, Honors or AP/IB.
3
See both GPAs
Your weighted and unweighted GPA appear instantly, plus your cumulative GPA below.
Semester GPA Calculator
The five courses below are a worked example — replace them with your own and your GPA updates as you type. Honors courses earn a +0.5 boost and AP/IB courses a +1.0 boost in the weighted result only.
Grading scale:
Where to find this: check your school handbook or transcript. Most US high schools use the 4.0 scale; on the 4.33 scale an A+ is worth 4.33 points instead of 4.0.
Course nameGradeCreditsCourse level
Where to find this: grades are on your report card or student portal, credit hours in your course catalogue (most semester classes are 1 credit, or 0.5 for a half-semester class), and the course level is printed next to the class name on your schedule.
Your semester GPA
Unweighted GPA treats every class equally. Weighted GPA adds the Honors and AP/IB boosts, so it can go above 4.0.
Unweighted GPA
—
No course-level boosts applied
Weighted GPA
—
Honors +0.5 · AP/IB +1.0
Total credits: 0Unweighted points: 0Weighted points: 0
Cumulative GPA Calculator
Your cumulative GPA blends every semester together. Enter the GPA and total credits you had before this semester, and the calculator combines them with the courses above for your new overall GPA.
Where to find this: the credit total on your latest transcript.
Where to find this: the cumulative GPA printed on your transcript.
Leave blank if your school only reports one GPA — your unweighted figure is used.
Add your previous credits and GPA above — this semester’s courses from the calculator are added automatically.
Your new cumulative GPA
Previous semesters plus this semester, weighted by credits — exactly how your school calculates it.
Cumulative unweighted GPA
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All semesters combined
Cumulative weighted GPA
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With Honors & AP/IB boosts
Combined credits: 0
How to Calculate Your High School GPA Step by Step
Your GPA (grade point average) is a single number that summarises all your grades. Schools calculate it the same basic way everywhere: convert each letter grade into grade points, weight them by the credits each course carries, and average the result.
List every course and its credit hours. Most full-semester classes are worth 1 credit; shorter electives are often 0.5. Credits matter: a 1-credit class moves your GPA twice as much as a 0.5-credit class.
Convert each letter grade to points. On the 4.0 scale an A is 4.0, a B is 3.0, a C is 2.0, a D is 1.0 and an F is 0, with plus and minus grades in between (A− 3.7, B+ 3.3). The full table is below; on the 4.33 scale an A+ earns 4.33.
Multiply points by credits for each course. A B (3.0) in a 1-credit class contributes 3.0 quality points; in a 0.5-credit class, 1.5.
For a weighted GPA, add the course-level boost first. Add +0.5 for an Honors course and +1.0 for AP or IB before multiplying by credits. An F never receives a boost. Skip this step for unweighted GPA.
Add everything up and divide by total credits. Total quality points ÷ total credits = GPA, rounded to two decimal places.
For a cumulative GPA, blend the semesters by credits. Multiply your previous GPA by your previous credits, add this semester’s quality points, and divide by the combined credits — the tool above does this for you.
Worked example
Sam finishes the semester with five 1-credit courses, on the 4.0 scale:
English — A, Regular: 4.0 points
Algebra II — B+, Honors: 3.3 points
AP Biology — A−, AP: 3.7 points
History — B, Regular: 3.0 points
Spanish — A, Regular: 4.0 points
Unweighted: add the points — 4.0 + 3.3 + 3.7 + 3.0 + 4.0 = 18.0 — and divide by 5 credits:
18.0 ÷ 5 = 3.60 unweighted GPA
Weighted: Algebra II gains the Honors boost (3.3 + 0.5 = 3.8) and AP Biology the AP boost (3.7 + 1.0 = 4.7). New total: 4.0 + 3.8 + 4.7 + 3.0 + 4.0 = 19.5:
19.5 ÷ 5 = 3.90 weighted GPA
Cumulative: Sam started with a 3.50 GPA over 30 credits. Blending in this semester: (3.50 × 30 + 3.60 × 5) ÷ 35 = (105 + 18) ÷ 35 = 123 ÷ 35 = 3.51 cumulative GPA. The calculator above is pre-filled with Sam’s courses — enter 30 previous credits and 3.50 to check.
Weighted vs Unweighted GPA: What Is the Difference?
Every high school GPA is one of two kinds. The difference comes down to one question: does the number give you credit for taking harder classes?
An unweighted GPA ignores course difficulty. An A is worth 4.0 in a regular, Honors and AP class alike, and the scale stops at 4.0 — nobody can score above it. That makes it the fairest way to compare students from different schools, because it measures only the grades themselves, and it is the figure most colleges recalculate for themselves.
A weighted GPA rewards rigour. Honors courses typically add +0.5 points and AP or IB courses +1.0, so an A in AP Biology can be worth 5.0. Schools use the weighted figure for class rank and honour rolls, because it recognises a B in AP Chemistry over an A in a far easier class. The catch is that weighted scales are not standardised — one school’s 4.6 might equal another’s 4.3 — which is why colleges ask for both numbers, or recalculate an unweighted GPA from your transcript.
Neither figure is “the real one.” Report whichever your school prints, calculate both so you are never caught out, and remember that admissions officers read them alongside the courses behind them — a slightly lower GPA built on demanding classes usually beats a perfect GPA built on easy ones.
The 4.0 Scale: Letter Grades and Grade Points
This is the standard unweighted scale used by most US high schools, shown alongside the 4.33 variant. The percentage ranges are the ones most schools use, but your school’s handbook is the final word — a few schools do not award A+ grades at all.
Letter grade conversion table
Letter grade
4.0 scale
4.33 scale
Typical percentage
A+
4.0
4.33
97–100%
A
4.0
4.0
93–96%
A−
3.7
3.67
90–92%
B+
3.3
3.33
87–89%
B
3.0
3.0
83–86%
B−
2.7
2.67
80–82%
C+
2.3
2.33
77–79%
C
2.0
2.0
73–76%
C−
1.7
1.67
70–72%
D+
1.3
1.33
67–69%
D
1.0
1.0
63–66%
D−
0.7
0.67
60–62%
F
0.0
0.0
Below 60%
For a weighted GPA, add the course-level boost to the scale figure before averaging: +0.5 for Honors, +1.0 for AP or IB. That is how a weighted GPA can exceed 4.0 when no unweighted grade can.
How Colleges Use Your High School GPA
GPA is usually the first number an admissions office looks at, because four years of grades predict college performance better than any single test. But colleges rarely take the number at face value. Grading scales differ so much between schools that many universities strip your transcript back to individual course grades and recalculate a GPA on their own scale, often counting only core subjects: English, maths, science, social studies and foreign languages.
Context matters as much as the number. Readers compare your GPA with the courses behind it — a 3.6 earned in AP and Honors classes signals more than a 4.0 from the easiest available schedule — and they read the trend: a GPA climbing from 3.1 in freshman year to 3.8 by junior year tells a story a flat 3.5 does not. Junior year grades carry particular weight, as the most recent full year on most applications.
Your GPA also decides which colleges are realistic targets, whether you qualify for merit scholarships — many are awarded automatically at set GPA thresholds — and eligibility for athletics and honours programmes. Calculate both figures each semester and you will always know where you stand.
High School GPA FAQs
What is a good high school GPA?
A 3.0 GPA — a B average — is solid, and 3.5 or higher is strong for most college applications. Students aiming at highly selective colleges usually hold an unweighted 3.7 to 4.0. What counts as “good” depends on where you apply: many state universities accept students in the 3.0 to 3.5 range, especially with challenging Honors or AP courses and an upward trend in grades.
What is the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?
An unweighted GPA treats every class the same: an A is worth 4.0 points whether the class is regular, Honors or AP, so the scale tops out at 4.0. A weighted GPA rewards harder classes with a boost — typically +0.5 for Honors and +1.0 for AP or IB — so an A in an AP class can be worth 5.0 and a weighted GPA can rise above 4.0. Colleges often look at both.
How can I raise my high school GPA?
Focus first on the classes worth the most credits, because they move your average the most. Turn work in on time — one zero drags a grade down faster than one low test score. Ask teachers where you stand before the term ends, use retake and extra-credit options when they exist, and take Honors or AP classes in your strongest subjects, where the boost helps instead of hurting. Because GPA is cumulative, strong grades early beat a last-minute push senior year.
What is the 4.33 scale?
The 4.33 scale is a variation of the standard 4.0 scale used by some high schools. On it, an A+ is worth 4.33 points instead of 4.0, and the other plus and minus grades shift slightly — an A− is 3.67 rather than 3.7, a B+ 3.33 rather than 3.3. It rewards students who earn A+ grades. If your school reports A+ as 4.33, choose the 4.33 option above so your result matches your transcript.
How do Honors and AP grade boosts work?
On a weighted GPA, advanced classes earn extra points: Honors typically adds +0.5 and AP or IB adds +1.0 to the points a grade would normally earn. So a B (3.0) in an Honors class counts as 3.5, and an A (4.0) in an AP class counts as 5.0. The boost applies only to weighted GPA — unweighted GPA never changes — and an F earns no boost at any level. Exact boosts vary by school, so check your handbook if yours differ.
Does freshman year GPA count?
Yes. Your cumulative GPA includes every year from freshman year onward, and freshman grades appear on the transcript colleges receive. A rough freshman year is not fatal — colleges value improvement, and a steady upward trend across sophomore and junior year can offset a slow start. Some colleges recalculate GPA from sophomore and junior years only, but most look at the full record, so freshman year is worth taking seriously.