Your semester GPA in three steps
- Add one row per course from your schedule or grade report. Rows start at 3 credit hours; change it for 4-credit sciences, 1-credit labs or anything else your catalog lists.
- Pick the letter grade. Pass/fail courses (P or NP) are left out of the average.
- The bar shows your semester GPA and the credits it covers. Open Cumulative GPA and type your GPA and credits so far to see the overall number.
Example: a first-year fall semester
Five courses, 14 credit hours: Calculus I, 4 credits, B+ (3.3); Introduction to Psychology, 3 credits, A (4.0); English Composition, 3 credits, A− (3.7); General Chemistry, 3 credits, B (3.0); and the chemistry lab, 1 credit, A (4.0).
Quality points are grade points times credits: 13.2 + 12.0 + 11.1 + 9.0 + 4.0 = 49.3. Divided by 14 credits that is 3.52. A plain average of the five grades would say 3.60, but the B+ sits on the biggest course and the A on the smallest, so credit hours pull the real GPA down.
What a credit hour is
Credit hours are the weights in the sum, so it helps to know where they come from. The U.S. Department of Education defines a semester credit hour as at least one hour of class and two hours of work outside class each week for about fifteen weeks; a quarter hour is the same over ten to twelve weeks. Each college sets its own credits within that rule, so the same kind of course can carry different credits at different schools. Use the numbers on your own transcript.
Semester GPA vs cumulative GPA
Say the fall above is followed by a spring of 18 credits at 3.80. That spring brings 3.80 × 18 = 68.4 quality points. Together: (49.3 + 68.4) ÷ 32 = 117.7 ÷ 32 = 3.68. Averaging the two semester GPAs gives 3.66, which is wrong, because the larger term counts for more. Enter 3.52 and 14 under Cumulative GPA, then your spring courses, and the calculator does the weighting for you.
Plus and minus grades follow your school’s key. Cornell’s grade-point table counts an A+ as 4.3; on a 4.0 scale it stops at 4.0. Switch the scale under Scale and weighting if your transcript shows 4.3.
Latin honors: cut-offs differ a lot
Cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude are set by each college, and the gap between schools is wide:
- Old Dominion University uses fixed bands: cum laude 3.40–3.65, magna 3.66–3.85, summa 3.86–4.00, on at least 60 credit hours taken at ODU. GPAs are not rounded up.
- UConn sets minimums of 3.0, 3.4 and 3.7 and also requires a class rank in the 75th, 85th or 95th percentile of your school or college, with at least 54 calculable credits. The real cut-offs are set each year and can be higher.
- UCLA publishes minimums per school for each year. For 2025-26 the College of Letters and Science needed 3.923, 3.968 and 3.988, after at least 90 UC units taken for a letter grade.
To see what it takes to reach your school’s line, enter your cumulative GPA, then open Target GPA with the cut-off and the credits you still have left.
College GPA questions
How many hours of work is one credit hour?
The U.S. federal definition counts one semester credit hour as at least one hour in class and two hours of work outside class each week for about 15 weeks. A 3-credit course therefore means roughly nine hours a week. Your course catalog lists the credits of each class.
What is the difference between semester GPA and cumulative GPA?
Semester GPA counts only the courses of one term. Cumulative GPA counts every graded credit you have taken at the school, so a big term weighs more than a small one. A 3.52 on 14 credits followed by a 3.80 on 18 credits is 3.68 cumulative, not 3.66.
Does a 1-credit lab count as much as a 4-credit class?
No. Each grade counts as many times as the course has credits. An A in a 1-credit lab adds 4.0 quality points; a B+ in a 4-credit calculus class adds 13.2. That is why one heavy course moves your GPA more than several light ones.
What GPA do I need for cum laude?
Your college sets it. Old Dominion University gives cum laude from 3.40, magna cum laude from 3.66 and summa cum laude from 3.86. At UCLA's College of Letters and Science the 2025-26 minimums were 3.923, 3.968 and 3.988. Your registrar's honors page has your numbers.
Is a 3.399 GPA rounded up to 3.40 for honors?
Not at every school. Old Dominion University states that GPAs are not rounded up, so a 3.399 misses its 3.40 cum laude line. If you are close to a cut-off, read your registrar's rule on rounding before you count on it.
Sources for credit hours and honors
- 34 CFR 600.2, definition of a credit hour (U.S. Department of Education regulations, via Cornell LII)
- Old Dominion University Registrar, graduation with honors
- University of Connecticut Registrar, Latin honors
- UCLA Registrar, Latin honors minimum GPA requirements
- Cornell University ILR School, academic grades and notations (grade-point table)
Grades still in percent? Convert them with the grading scale. Still in high school? The high school GPA calculator adds Honors and AP weighting.