How to Figure Out GPA

Today, for admissions to any college or university, along with higher scores in the various entrance tests such as GMAT, GRE, MCAT, etc., there is another parameter that a student should be very careful about - his GPA, i.e., grade point average.

GPA is analyzed by the members of the admission committee to assess how well a student has performed during his school or college years. These days, many employers too take the GPA into consideration before selecting a candidate to join their organization.

That's why, a student should always ensure that his GPA is more than 3.0, and to keep a track of the same, one should know to calculate GPA. Given below are the commonly used methods to calculate it.

There are different ways used by various education establishments to calculate GPA. Your institution may follow a 4.0 scale, and take into consideration the number of hours spent in attending classes in order to calculate your GPA.

Firstly, you have to find out the points which are assigned to each and every grade by your school or college. Usually, the following point system is used.

A grade ~ 4.0 points
A- grade ~ 3.7 points
B+ grade ~ 3.3 points
B grade ~ 3.0 points
B- grade ~ 2.7 points
C+ grade ~ 2.3 points
C grade ~ 2.0 points

Now, let's suppose that you have to calculate the GPA of three subjects, i.e., Math, English and Science.

In these subjects your grades are:

Math ~ B
Science ~ A-
English ~ A

Number of hours you spent in attending the classes:

Math ~ 5 hours
Science ~ 4 hours
English ~ 3 hours

For calculating GPA for high school, find out your total grade points in each of the subjects.

Total grade points in Maths = number of hours × points against B = 5 × 3 = 15
Total grade points in Science = number of hours × points against A- = 4 × 3.7 = 14.8
Total grade points in English = number of hours × points against A = 3 × 4 = 12

Your total GPA would be total grade points in all subjects ÷ total number of hours = 15 + 14.8 + 12 ÷ 5 + 4 + 3 = 41.8 ÷ 12 = 3.48

Thus, in this example, your GPA is 3.48

If your institution does not take into consideration the number of hours you attended classes, then calculation of the GPA becomes even more easy. Here are the simple tips for calculating GPA for high school, when only grade points are considered. We will take the same example mentioned above.

Math ~ B
Science ~ A-
English ~ A

Now, grade points for each of the subjects would be:

Math ~ 3
Science ~ 3.7
English ~ 4

GPA = total grade points ÷ number of subjects = 3 + 3.7 + 4 ÷ 3 = 10.7 ÷ 3 = 3.56

Some educational institutions use a 5.0 scale. In such a case, the following grade points may be assigned to each of the grades, although it varies from institution to institution.

A+ grade ~ 5.00
A grade ~ 4.00
A- grade ~ 3.67
B+ grade ~ 3.33
B grade ~ 3.00
B- grade ~ 2.67
C+ grade ~ 2.33
C grade ~ 2.00
C- grade ~ 1.67
D+ grade ~ 1.33
D grade ~ 1.00
D- grade ~ 0.67
U grade ~ 0.00

Certain educational institutions may simply assign 4 points for A, 3 points for B, 2 points for C, and 1 point for D.

Sometimes, institutions give extra credits if a student has opted for an honors course. So, you need to keep a check on this too while calculating your final GPA. In the end, it is advised that simply a high GPA is not enough.

You need to opt for some good courses too, and of course, score higher in the standardized tests to get admission to reputed colleges and universities.