How to Calculate Your Grade Point Average
Every student at some point in time must know or calculate her grade-point average. The college or graduate school you apply to will want to know your GPA. Or you may want to calculate your cumulative GPA while attending college so you'll know how you're doing academically. You can figure it out using basic math skills and a record of your grades.
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Instructions
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Make a list of your classes and the grades you achieved in each class for the semester or semesters you're interested in.
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Determine a point value for each grade. For example, each A is generally worth 4 points; B's, 3 points; C's, 2 points; and D's, 1 point. If you have an F, it is not worth any points, so you will need to put 0. Some schools add a fraction for "plus" grades and deduct a fraction for "minus" grades.
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Multiply the points earned per class by how many credits the class is worth. For example, suppose you had one A, two B's and a C, and each class was worth 3 credit hours. Multiply the grade points by the units per class. So you would calculate (4*3) + (3*3) + (3*3) + (2*3), or 12 + 9 + 9 + 6, or 36 grade points.
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Write down the total number of credit hours you attempted in that semester. Even if you got an F in the class, you must still count those hours. In the example, you took 12 credit hours (four classes worth 3 credits each).
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Divide the total in grade points by the total credits hours. The result represents your grade point average. In the example, 36 grade points divided by 12 credits equals a grade point average of 3.0.
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Check your results by using an online GPA calculator (see Resources). Simply enter your course names, credits and grades or grade points. Then click "Calculate."
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References
Resources
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