How AMCAS calculates your GPA
- Every course with a letter grade counts, from every college you attended. College-level courses taken before your high school graduation date get the High School status. Each grade becomes an AMCAS grade and weight from the table below.
- Credits are counted in semester hours. AMCAS converts quarter hours and other units with the conversion your school provides; for an estimate, the AAMC’s Grade Conversion Guide lists 4 quarter hours as 2.7 semester hours, and the calculator uses that table.
- Weight × semester hours gives the quality points of a course. Quality points ÷ hours is the GPA, worked out for each academic status (high school, freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, post-bacc, graduate) and for the undergraduate total, which includes post-bacc work.
- Each course is BCPM (biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics) or AO (all other), so every line has a BCPM GPA, an AO GPA and a total GPA. Graduate courses get their own GPA and stay out of the undergraduate one.
AMCAS counts every plus and minus, every attempt of a repeated course and every failed course, even where your school does not. The calculator averages letter grades only, so leave pass/fail courses out.
AMCAS grade conversion
| Grade on transcript | AMCAS weight |
|---|---|
| A+ or A | 4.0 |
| A− | 3.7 |
| B+ | 3.3 |
| B | 3.0 |
| B− | 2.7 |
| C+ | 2.3 |
| C | 2.0 |
| C− | 1.7 |
| D+ | 1.3 |
| D | 1.0 |
| D− | 0.7 |
| F | 0.0 |
Source: AAMC, AMCAS Grade Conversion Guide, fetched October 3, 2026; the A+ and plus/minus weights match the 2027 Applicant Guide. Schools with half-step grades (AB, BC) or other systems convert by their own row of that guide; your official AMCAS GPA comes from your transcripts.
Which courses count as BCPM
AMCAS classifies each course by its primary content. The BCPM subjects in the 2027 AMCAS Applicant Guide:
- Biology: anatomy, biology, biophysics, biotechnology, botany, cell biology, ecology, genetics, histology, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, physiology, zoology and more.
- Chemistry: biochemistry, chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, thermodynamics, toxicology.
- Physics: astronomy, physics.
- Mathematics: algebra, applied mathematics, biostatistics, calculus, geometry, mathematics, statistics.
Everything else is AO, including psychology, computer science, engineering, kinesiology and nutrition. Pick “Other (AO)” for those rows.
A worked example: a pre-med with a post-bacc course
Freshman year: General Chemistry I, 4 credits, B; Biology I, 4 credits, A; English Composition, 3 credits, A−; Calculus I, 4 credits, A+. Sophomore year: Organic Chemistry I, 4 credits, C, retaken for an A−; Psychology, 3 credits, A; Statistics, 3 credits, B+. After graduating, a post-bacc Biochemistry course, 3 credits, A.
BCPM: 12.0 + 16.0 + 16.0 + 8.0 + 14.8 + 9.9 + 12.0 = 88.7 quality points on 26 hours, so 3.41. AO: 11.1 + 12.0 = 23.1 on 6 hours, 3.85. Total: 111.8 on 32 hours, 3.49. The A+ in Calculus counts 4.0, the same as an A.
By year the BCPM GPA reads 3.67 as a freshman, 2.97 as a sophomore and 4.00 in the post-bacc line. The retaken C weighs heavily: without the first attempt the BCPM GPA would be 3.67, but AMCAS keeps both attempts, even where the school has replaced the grade.
AMCAS GPA questions
What is the BCPM GPA?
BCPM stands for biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics. AMCAS computes a separate GPA from only those courses, next to the AO (all other) GPA and the total, for each academic year and cumulatively. Medical schools see all three on your Verified GPA report.
Does AMCAS count retaken classes?
Yes. AMCAS counts the grades of every attempt of a repeated course, even if your school replaced the first grade or removed it under an academic forgiveness policy. Enter each attempt as its own row with the original grade.
Is an A+ worth more than 4.0 in the AMCAS GPA?
No. AMCAS converts an A+ to an A, worth 4.0. Pluses and minuses below that always count, A− 3.7, B+ 3.3 and so on, even if your school ignores them or uses half steps of 0.5.
Do post-bacc and graduate courses count in the AMCAS GPA?
Undergraduate courses taken after your degree, post-bacc work, count in the cumulative undergraduate GPA and show as their own line. Graduate courses get a separate graduate GPA and stay out of the undergraduate one. Set each row’s status and the calculator splits them the same way.
Is statistics or psychology a BCPM course?
Statistics and biostatistics count as mathematics, so they are BCPM; biochemistry counts as chemistry. Psychology, computer science, engineering, kinesiology and nutrition are AO. For a course that mixes subjects, AMCAS points you to the course description on your school’s website or your prehealth advisor.
Sources for the AMCAS GPA rules
- AAMC, AMCAS Grade Conversion Guide (grade weights, quarter-to-semester table, quality points, BCPM and AO steps, sample Verified GPA report; fetched October 3, 2026)
- 2027 AMCAS Applicant Guide, Grades Factored Into AMCAS GPA Calculations (A+ and A both 4.0, plus and minus, repeated courses, failed courses; fetched October 3, 2026)
- 2027 AMCAS Applicant Guide, AMCAS GPA Reports to Medical Schools (academic statuses, BCPM and AO, post-bacc in the undergraduate total; fetched October 3, 2026)
- 2027 AMCAS Applicant Guide, Credit Hours (AMCAS converts units with your school’s conversion; fetched October 3, 2026)
- 2027 AMCAS Applicant Guide, Course Classification Guide (BCPM subjects; fetched October 3, 2026)
- 2027 AMCAS Applicant Guide, Coursework (enter all attempts of repeated courses; fetched October 3, 2026)
Your official AMCAS GPAs appear on your application once AMCAS has verified your coursework. Need your college’s own semester or cumulative GPA? Use the college GPA calculator. Applying to law school instead? The LSAC GPA calculator follows LSAC’s rules.