How to Compute GPA

You're never too young to calculate your GPA.

Your GPA, or grade point average, is very important. It may make a difference in being able to get into the college or graduate school of your choice. Employers could even ask for a transcript that shows your GPA. It is a measure of how well you did in courses, overall, and some may see it as a measure of your effort or knowledge. However, like many things in life, actually figuring it out on paper might show us a different GPA than thought. It is important that, at the end of each semester, you calculate your GPA and know exactly what it is. This will help you to target your goals for the next semester.

Instructions

1. Create a list with four columns. In the first column, list the courses you took. In the second column, list the grade you made for each course. In the third column, place the grade point for the grade you made. If the grade was an "A" you would place a 4 because A's are worth 4 points, and so forth. A "B" is 3 points, a "C" is 2 points, a "D" is 1 point and an "F" is zero points. Finally, in the fourth column, list the credit hours for each course. For example, if you took a three-credit hour English course and made an A in it, you would have a row that has "English A 4 3."

2. Multiply the grade point for each course by the credit hours for each course. Place those totals in a fifth column. In other words, you are multiplying the number in the third column by the number in the fourth column. In the example, you have English A 4 (A's are 4 points) and 3 (the credit hours). Multiply 4 x 3 to get 12. You have 12 grade points for that course. Do that same multiplication for each course on your list.

3. Add up all of the grade points for each course -- the numbers in the fth column. Also add up the numbers in the third column. Now you have the total number of credit hours you have taken and you have the total number of grade points earned in all of the courses you have taken. If you had English A 4 3, 12 on one row and Math B 3 3 9 in the second row, then you would add the third columns with the 3 and 3 to get 6 credit hours total, and you would add the fifth columns to get 21 grade points total.

4. Divide the total credit hours into the total grade points earned. In the example, the total credit hours for both courses was 6 and the total grade points was 21. The 12 divided by 6 is 3 and 1/2 or 3.5. You would have a 3.5 GPA for those two courses.

References

• Williams Office of the Registrar: GPA