Working out your high school GPA
- Add one row per class from your report card. Each row starts at 1 credit; if your school gives semester classes half a credit, type 0.5.
- Pick the letter grade and set the level: Regular, Honors, or AP/IB. The level only changes the weighted GPA.
- Read both numbers in the bar. Add your GPA from earlier years under Cumulative GPA to see where you stand overall.
A worked example: one sophomore year
Six full-year classes, 1 credit each: AP U.S. History A, Honors English B+, Algebra II B, Chemistry A−, Spanish II A and Health A.
Unweighted, every grade keeps its plain value: 4.0 + 3.3 + 3.0 + 3.7 + 4.0 + 4.0 = 22.0, and 22.0 ÷ 6 = 3.67.
Weighted, the AP class gets one extra point (5.0) and the Honors class half a point (3.8): 5.0 + 3.8 + 3.0 + 3.7 + 4.0 + 4.0 = 23.5, and 23.5 ÷ 6 = 3.92. Same grades, a quarter of a point apart, only because of two harder classes.
How Honors, AP and IB weighting works
Weighting is set by your state or district, not by a national rule. North Carolina’s State Board of Education adds 0.5 for Honors and 1.0 for AP, IB and Cambridge courses, and gives every student both GPAs. That is the calculator’s default.
Howard County Public Schools in Maryland uses the same 0.5 and 1.0, but only for a grade of A, B or C: a D in an AP class earns no bonus. Tick “bonus only for A, B and C” under Scale and weighting if your school does this. If your school has no weighting at all, read the unweighted number.
What colleges do with your GPA
Colleges get your transcript, but some calculate their own GPA from it. The University of California is the clearest published case. It uses only A–G courses from the summer after 9th grade through the summer after 11th, ignores pluses and minuses (an A− counts as 4), and adds one point per semester of a UC-approved honors course, at most 8, and no more than 4 from 10th grade. A D or F earns no extra point. California residents need at least a 3.0, nonresidents a 3.4, and for nonresidents only AP and IB courses get the extra point.
So your school’s weighted GPA and the GPA a college works with can differ. This calculator shows the school version; for UC, enter only your 10th and 11th grade A–G classes without pluses or minuses.
Middle school and junior high grades
A middle school GPA is worked out with the same sum. High school courses taken early do not always count: Howard County puts the grade on the high school transcript but leaves it out of the GPA. Your counselor knows your district’s rule.
High school GPA questions
Can a weighted GPA be higher than 4.0?
Yes. When an A in an AP class counts as 5.0 and an A in Honors as 4.5, a schedule of hard classes pushes the weighted GPA above 4.0. The unweighted GPA cannot go above 4.0 on a 4.0 scale.
Does every AP class add a full point?
Not everywhere. North Carolina adds 1.0 for AP and IB on any passing grade. Howard County, Maryland, adds it only for an A, B or C. The University of California gives nonresidents the extra point only for AP and IB, not school honors classes.
Should I enter semester grades or final grades?
Enter what your transcript shows. If each semester gets its own grade, use one row per semester with that semester's credit. If the class has one final grade for the year, use one row with the full credit.
Which GPA do colleges use?
They see your transcript, and some recalculate. The University of California uses only A–G courses from the summer after 9th grade through the summer after 11th, drops pluses and minuses and adds at most 8 honors points.
Do high school classes taken in middle school count in my GPA?
It depends on the district. Howard County Public Schools in Maryland shows the grade on the high school transcript but does not count it in the GPA. Ask your school counselor how your district handles it.
Sources for the weighting rules
- North Carolina State Board of Education, policy GRAD-009, grading and transcript standards (PDF)
- Howard County Public School System, Policy 8020, grading and reporting: middle and high school
- University of California Admissions, GPA requirement
Grades as percentages? Turn them into letters with the grading scale first. College student? Use the GPA calculator in College mode.