Add each course, pick the grade and the course level, and set the credit (1 for a full-year course, 0.5 for a semester course is typical). The two GPAs update as you type.
What the calculator does
Each grade is turned into points using a scale. The default is the plus/minus scale most colleges publish: A is 4.0, A- is 3.7, B+ is 3.3, B is 3.0, and so on down to D at 1.0 and F at 0. If your school ignores pluses and minuses, switch to the plain A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1 scale.
For the weighted GPA, a course marked honors gets 0.5 added to its points and a course marked AP or IB gets 1.0 added. Those are the defaults because they are a common pattern, and you can change both numbers. A grade of F never earns a bonus. You can also set a lowest grade that still counts for the bonus, because some schools skip it for a D.
Then every course is multiplied by its credit, added up, and divided by the total credits. Nothing is rounded until the final display, which shows two decimals.
A worked example
Say a student has five full-year courses on the plus/minus scale:
- English, regular, A: 4.0
- Biology, honors, A-: 3.7 plus 0.5, so 4.2
- US History, AP, B+: 3.3 plus 1.0, so 4.3
- Calculus, AP, B: 3.0 plus 1.0, so 4.0
- Spanish, regular, C: 2.0
Unweighted points are 4.0 + 3.7 + 3.3 + 3.0 + 2.0 = 16.0, and 16.0 divided by 5 is a 3.20 GPA. Weighted points are 4.0 + 4.2 + 4.3 + 4.0 + 2.0 = 18.5, and 18.5 divided by 5 is 3.70. Same transcript, half a point apart.
Credits matter when courses differ in size. A half-credit elective counts half as much as a full-year class, so a 0.5-credit A in PE lifts your GPA less than a 1-credit A in math.
Why schools do this differently
There is no national rule for high school GPA, and the College Board says so in plain terms: its own conversion chart is one commonly used system, your school may calculate differently, and you should ask your school.
The published policies we read show how wide the spread is.
- North Carolina's state scale gives honors courses 0.5 extra and AP, IB and college courses 1.0 extra, so an AP A is worth 5.0 (read on an Onslow County Schools page that reproduces the state policy).
- Forest Hills in Ohio publishes a full table in which an honors A- is 4.2 and an AP A- is 4.7, and a D+ or lower gets no bonus.
- Montgomery County, Maryland gives honors and advanced-level courses the same boost: A is 5, B is 4, C is 3, and a D stays at 1.
- Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Delaware adds 1.0 for honors and 1.5 for AP, but the AP bonus needs the AP exam to be taken.
- Seneca Valley Intermediate High School in Pennsylvania adds a small amount to the GPA itself, such as 0.08 for a full-year AP course, with yearly caps.
- Broward County, Florida keeps an unweighted GPA for graduation and athletic eligibility, a weighted one for class rank, and an academic-core version in which local honors courses get nothing extra.
If your transcript shows a weighted GPA, the number depends on which of these your district chose. Your counselor or the school's grading policy page tells you which.
How colleges recalculate your GPA
Many colleges ignore the GPA on your transcript and compute their own from the course grades. The College Board lists the usual changes: dropping non-core classes, keeping core subjects only, and removing or replacing your school's weights.
The published methods really do differ. Georgia counts AP and IB as one letter grade higher but gives honors nothing, and its worked example (57 points over 15 grades) comes to 3.80. The University of California uses only whole letters and its own honors points. Michigan states that it uses no weights at all and treats A+, A and A- all as 4.0. Our guide on weighted versus unweighted GPA runs one transcript through these methods.
As a rough rule, the unweighted figure from this tool is nearer to a no-weights college and the weighted figure is nearer to what your own school prints. Neither is guaranteed to match any single college, so check the admissions pages of the ones you care about.
Common mistakes
- Using the wrong scale. If your school treats B+ and B the same, the plus/minus scale will give you a slightly different number than your transcript.
- Boosting an F or a D at a school that does not. Check the bonus rule in your policy.
- Counting every course equally when your school uses credits.
- Mixing semester grades and year grades. Enter either two semester courses at 0.5 credit or one full-year course at 1, not both.
- Treating the result as official. Your transcript GPA is the one your school records. This tool is for planning.
Policies change, so look at your current school handbook before you rely on any weighting figure you find online, including these.
The values behind the calculator
Defaults: the plus/minus scale with A+ at 4.0, honors +0.5 and AP/IB +1.0, and a boost for any grade above F. Every value can be changed in the settings above. These are the published policies the defaults were checked against.
| Letter | Plus/minus A+ = 4.0 | Plus/minus A+ = 4.3 | Thirds | Plain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A+ | 4 | 4.3 | 4 | - |
| A | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| A- | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.67 | - |
| B+ | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.33 | - |
| B | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| B- | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.67 | - |
| C+ | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.33 | - |
| C | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| C- | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.67 | - |
| D+ | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.33 | - |
| D | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| D- | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.67 | - |
| F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| School or district | Honors | AP / IB | Lowest grade that gets the boost |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina public high schools (via Onslow County Schools, citing SBE policy GRAD-009) | +0.5 | +1 | none; a D earns the boost (D=1.5/2), F earns none |
| Forest Hills SD, Ohio | +0.5 | +1 | C- (D+ and below get no boost) |
| Alexandria City HS, Virginia | +0.5 | +1 | C (C- and below get no boost) |
| Broward County, Florida (district GPA) | +0.5 | +1 | C (D gives 1.0 whatever the course) |
| Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland | +1 | +1 | C (D stays 1, E stays 0) |
| Cab Calloway School of the Arts (Red Clay SD), Delaware | +1 | +1.5 | C; the AP boost also needs the AP exam to be taken |
Seneca Valley (PA) adds a small amount to the whole GPA instead (0.04 per honors year, 0.08 per AP year, with caps), and Texas proposed equal AP, IB, OnRamps and dual-credit weights in March 2026 (adoption not confirmed). Neither fits a per-course boost, so they are not in this table.