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How GPA works: weighted vs unweighted, with examples

Calculate your GPA on the 4.0 scale, see how weighted GPAs work and how one college, the University of California, calculates it.

BeginnerUpdated 5 Nov 2026

High School Admissions tests

Curriculum fit: US high school and college admissions. There is no single national GPA standard: schools and colleges set their own methods. The worked UC example follows the University of California's published rules for California residents; check the current rules before relying on them.

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What is it?

A grade point average (GPA) summarises your grades as a single number. Most US high schools convert letter grades to points on a 0 to 4 scale, where an A is worth 4, a B is worth 3, a C is worth 2 and a D is worth 1, then average them.

There is no national standard. Schools differ in how they treat plus and minus grades, honors and AP courses, and credits. Colleges also have their own methods and often recalculate your GPA, so always check the rules of the schools you are applying to.

Key formulas and ideas

Equal-credit GPA = total grade points ÷ number of courses.
Credit-weighted GPA = sum of (grade points × credits) ÷ sum of credits.
Weighted GPA: some schools add extra points for honors, AP or similar courses, so it can go above 4.0. Unweighted GPA ignores course difficulty.
Example of one college's method: the University of California counts A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, ignores pluses and minuses, adds one point per semester of qualifying honors courses (with limits) and does not round the result.

Worked examples

Example 1: Basic GPA

Question: A student earns an A, a B and an A in three courses of equal credit. Find the GPA.

Convert to points: 4, 3 and 4.
Add: 4 + 3 + 4 = 11.
Divide by 3: 11 ÷ 3 ≈ 3.67.

Answer: 3.67

Example 2: Credit-weighted GPA

Question: A is earned in a 5-credit course, B in a 3-credit course and C in a 2-credit course. Find the GPA.

Grade points × credits: 4 × 5 = 20, 3 × 3 = 9, 2 × 2 = 4.
Total points: 20 + 9 + 4 = 33. Total credits: 5 + 3 + 2 = 10.
33 ÷ 10 = 3.3.

Answer: 3.3

Example 3: A UC-style calculation

Question: Over 10th and 11th grade a California resident earns six As, three Bs and one C (10 letter grades in qualifying courses), and three of the As or Bs were in qualifying honors courses. Find the GPA using the UC method.

Base points: 6 × 4 + 3 × 3 + 1 × 2 = 24 + 9 + 2 = 35.
Honors points: 3 (one per qualifying semester).
Total: 35 + 3 = 38, and 38 ÷ 10 = 3.8.

Answer: 3.8 (check current UC rules, which also set caps on honors points)

Common mistakes

Assuming every school or college calculates GPA the same way.
Forgetting to divide by credits when courses have different credit values.
Mixing up weighted and unweighted GPA.
Counting plus and minus grades when a college's method ignores them.

Practice questions

1. On the common 4.0 scale, a B is worth…

2. Grades A, A, B and C in four equal-credit courses give a GPA of…

3. A weighted GPA often adds points for…

4. Under the University of California's published method, plus and minus grades…

5. Why should you check each college's GPA rules?

Frequently asked questions

Is my school's GPA the same as another school's?

Not necessarily. Scales, weighting and rounding vary, which is why colleges look at your transcript in context.

Do colleges use the GPA on my transcript?

Many recalculate it using their own method, and some consider only certain courses or years. Check the admissions page of each college you are applying to.