Target GPA calculator

What to enter

• Your current cumulative GPA, from your transcript.
• The credits behind it. Count only credits that carry grade points, so leave out pass, withdrawn and similar grades.
• The cumulative GPA you want to reach.
• The credits still to come. That can be everything left before graduation, or just this term's credits if you want a goal for one semester.

The answer is the average you need across those remaining credits. If it is higher than the top grade on your scale, the calculator shows the highest GPA you can still reach and how many credits of top grades the target would take.

The formula

A cumulative GPA is all your quality points divided by all your credits, the way Notre Dame's registrar describes it. Work that backward and the GPA you need on the remaining credits is:

needed GPA = (target GPA x (credits so far + credits remaining) minus current GPA x credits so far) divided by credits remaining

The ceiling comes from the same sum with a perfect record from here on:

best possible = (current GPA x credits so far + top grade x credits remaining) divided by (credits so far + credits remaining)

A worked example

You have a 2.80 from 60 credits, 60 credits are left, and you want to graduate with a 3.20.

Your 60 credits hold 2.80 x 60 = 168 quality points. A 3.20 over 120 credits needs 3.20 x 120 = 384. The remaining 60 credits have to supply 384 minus 168 = 216 points, and 216 / 60 = 3.60. You need a 3.60 average from here, which means mostly A's with some A- and B+ grades.

Now aim for a 3.50 instead. That needs 3.50 x 120 = 420 points, so 252 from the last 60 credits, a 4.20 average. On a 4.0 scale that cannot happen. Straight A's take you to (168 + 240) / 120 = 3.40, the highest you can finish with. Reaching 3.50 at 4.0 a credit would take 84 more credits.

Two more cases show the other answers:

• A 3.20 from 60 credits with 30 left needs a 4.10 for a 3.50. Out of reach: the best is 3.47, and 36 credits of straight A's would be needed.
• A 3.80 from 90 credits with 15 left is already above a 3.20 target. Even zeros on all 15 credits leave 3.26, so any grades keep you there. Holding a 3.50 is a different story: that still needs a 1.70 average.

When the answer is out of reach

The more credits are behind you, the slower your GPA moves. A target above the best possible figure is not a reason to give up, but it is a reason to pick a goal you can hit, such as the best possible figure itself or a step on the way. If you plan to earn top grades, the credits needed to reach a target T from a GPA G are credits so far x (T minus G) / (top grade minus T), which is the figure the calculator rounds up to a whole credit.

A target equal to the top grade is a special case. Only a perfect record averages exactly 4.0, so with any lower grade already on the transcript no number of credits gets you there.

Need to raise it? See how to raise your GPA for what one semester can and can't do, and how retakes are counted.

Things the calculator can't see

• Grade replacement. Some colleges swap a retaken grade out of the GPA, which changes the credits so far as well as the GPA.
• Credits that don't count. Transfer credit often does not enter the GPA: Elon, for example, counts only hours attempted at Elon.
• Rounding on the transcript. The calculator keeps exact values and only rounds to two places for display. Enter your GPA with all the decimals your transcript shows.

The values behind the calculator

The only value the calculator takes from a grade scale is its top: the most grade points one credit can earn. That is 4.0 on the plus/minus, thirds and plain scales, and 4.3 where an A+ is worth 4.3, as at Cornell's ILR school. It decides when a target is out of reach and how high your GPA can climb.