Weighted GPA Calculator - Calculate GPA with Credits Free

About Weighted GPA Calculator

Plan your academic success with our free weighted GPA calculator designed for high school students, college students, parents, and academic counselors. Whether you're calculating cumulative GPA for college applications, planning course loads to reach target GPAs, understanding how AP and Honors classes boost your GPA, or tracking semester-by-semester academic progress, our tool accurately calculates weighted GPAs accounting for course difficulty (Regular, Honors, AP, IB), credit hours per course, different grading scales (4.0, 5.0, 6.0), and letter grade to GPA conversions. See exactly how advanced courses impact your GPA, compare weighted versus unweighted calculations, and understand what grades you need in upcoming courses to achieve your target GPA for college admissions.

Key Features

Course Difficulty Weighting

Automatic GPA boost for AP (+1.0), Honors (+0.5), and IB (+1.0) courses

Credit Hour Support

Account for different credit weights from 0.5 to 6.0 credits per course

Multiple Grading Scales

Support for 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0 weighted GPA scales used by different schools

Letter Grade Conversion

Convert letter grades (A, B+, C-, etc.) to GPA points automatically

Semester & Cumulative

Calculate single semester GPA or cumulative GPA across multiple terms

Weighted vs Unweighted

See both weighted and unweighted GPA to understand the impact of advanced courses

Target GPA Planning

Calculate what grades you need in future courses to reach target cumulative GPA

Add Unlimited Courses

Enter as many courses as needed for complete semester or career calculations

GPA Breakdown

Visual breakdown showing how each course contributes to final GPA

College Ready Format

Results formatted for common application and college admission forms

How to Use the Weighted GPA Calculator

Add Your Courses

Enter each course name, letter grade (A-F), credit hours, and difficulty level (Regular/Honors/AP/IB)

Select Weighting Scale

Choose your school's GPA scale (typically 4.0 for unweighted, 5.0 or 6.0 for weighted)

View GPA Results

See instant calculation of weighted GPA, unweighted GPA, and total credit hours

Plan Future Courses

Use target GPA feature to see what grades you need in upcoming courses

Frequently Asked Questions

What is weighted GPA and how does it differ from unweighted?

Unweighted GPA uses a standard 4.0 scale where A=4.0, B=3.0, C=2.0, D=1.0, F=0.0, regardless of course difficulty. Weighted GPA gives extra points for advanced courses: typically +1.0 for AP/IB courses and +0.5 for Honors courses. On a weighted scale, an A in AP Chemistry counts as 5.0 instead of 4.0. Weighted GPAs can exceed 4.0 (commonly reaching 4.5-5.0 or higher) and better reflect the rigor of your course load. Most competitive colleges consider weighted GPA because it rewards students taking challenging courses.

How do colleges calculate GPA?

Calculation methods vary by college. Some use your school's weighted GPA as reported, others recalculate using only core academic courses (English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Foreign Language), and some use unweighted GPA. Many selective colleges use their own weighting system. For example, UC schools calculate their own GPA using A-G courses with specific weights for honors courses taken 10th-11th grade. Always check specific college websites for their GPA calculation methodology, but our calculator provides the standard weighted calculation most commonly used.

What grades count for cumulative GPA?

Cumulative GPA includes all graded courses from 9th grade (or start of high school) through your current semester. Colleges typically focus on core academic courses and may exclude electives like PE, art, or study hall. Some colleges only look at 10th-11th grade (sophomore and junior years), while others include all four years. Repeated courses are usually counted only once (with the higher grade). Our calculator lets you include all courses or filter to just academic cores.

Can I calculate GPA with plus/minus grades?

Yes! Our calculator supports letter grades with plus/minus modifiers (A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, etc.). Common conversions: A+ = 4.0 (or 4.3 at some schools), A = 4.0, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, B = 3.0, B- = 2.7, C+ = 2.3, C = 2.0, and so on. Note that some schools don't use A+ or don't award higher than 4.0 for A+. Our calculator uses the most common scale, but you can manually adjust grade points if your school uses a different system.

What's a good weighted GPA for college?

It depends on college selectivity. For most colleges, a 3.0+ weighted GPA is acceptable. Competitive state universities typically want 3.5-4.0. Highly selective colleges (top 50) prefer 4.0-4.5+. Ivy League and top-tier schools see many applicants with 4.5-5.0+ weighted GPAs. However, GPA is just one factor - colleges also consider course rigor, test scores, essays, and extracurriculars. A 4.0 with easy courses may be viewed less favorably than a 3.7 with many AP/IB courses.

How much does one bad grade affect my GPA?

Impact depends on total credits. One C in a 3-credit course among forty 3-credit courses (120 total credits) has minimal effect - roughly 0.05 GPA points. But one C in your first semester with only five courses significantly impacts GPA. The more credits you've completed, the less one grade affects cumulative GPA. This is why maintaining a strong GPA early in high school is crucial - it's much harder to raise GPA later when you have many credits.

Is this calculator free?

Yes! Our weighted GPA calculator is completely free with unlimited courses, unlimited calculations, and no registration required. All calculations happen instantly in your browser.

Can I save my GPA calculations?

While we don't store data on servers for privacy, you can bookmark the page with your courses entered (if your browser supports it) or take a screenshot of your results. For ongoing tracking, we recommend using a spreadsheet alongside our calculator to maintain semester-by-semester records for your entire high school or college career.

Common Use Cases

College Applications: Calculate accurate weighted GPA for Common App, UC applications, and college admission forms
Scholarship Applications: Verify GPA requirements for merit scholarships and academic awards with precise calculations
Course Planning: Decide whether to take AP/Honors courses by seeing potential GPA impact before registration
Academic Progress Tracking: Monitor semester-by-semester GPA trends to ensure you're on track for academic goals
Transfer Applications: Calculate college GPA for transfer applications between institutions with different scales
Graduate School Prep: Track undergraduate GPA for graduate school applications requiring minimum GPAs
Academic Probation Planning: Calculate what grades are needed to get off academic probation or meet minimum GPA requirements
Honor Roll Qualification: Verify if current GPA meets honor roll, dean's list, or cum laude requirements

Why Use Our Weighted GPA Calculator?

Manual GPA calculations are tedious and error-prone, especially when dealing with different course weights, varying credit hours, letter grade conversions, and cumulative calculations across multiple semesters. Our free weighted GPA calculator eliminates calculation errors by instantly computing accurate weighted and unweighted GPAs while handling all the complexity of AP/Honors weighting, credit hour balancing, and GPA scale conversions. Whether you're a high school student preparing college applications, a college student tracking academic standing, a parent helping with course selection, or a counselor advising students, you need accurate GPA information fast. Stop manually calculating grade points, averaging incorrectly, or wondering if you've met GPA requirements - just enter your courses and get instant, reliable results showing exactly where you stand academically and what you need to achieve your goals.

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GPA Calculator (Weighted)