GPA Converter

If you’ve ever wondered how your letter grade becomes a decimal for your GPA, then these GPA converter charts are for you! It can be confusing to figure out so I’ve made these tables for easy viewing. GPAs impact your future in multiple ways, from employment to scholarships. But most importantly, at least for right now, your GPA determines where you can successfully gain admission to specific colleges. Some schools have a minimum GPA; others talk about only looking at your grades from an unweighted perspective.

If you’re not familiar with the differences between a weighted and unweighted GPA, you’re not alone! But by the end of this post, you’ll know exactly what it means and you’ll be able to calculate both on your own.

Why Do We Convert Grades to a 4.0 Scale?

Your GPA is a statistical way to measure your academic achievements. Admissions committees, professors, and even potential employers will view your GPA as an indicator of your work ethic, productivity, and study habits. Your GPA also determines your class rank.

Universities use your GPA as a factor in determining whether or not you will be admitted to their campus. Essentially, the 4.0 scale gives a numeric value to your academic progress and makes it easier to see how well you perform in certain academic areas.

This is why a GPA converter is so important. A GPA converter helps you see what your letter grades mean in terms of your future.

Unweighted GPA Conversion Chart

An unweighted GPA means that your GPA is measured on a scale from 0 to 4.0 regardless of how difficult your classes are. This means an A in an AP or IB course and an A in a low-level course both translate to 4.0s. You can use this GPA converter to figure out your unweighted GPA below.

How Do We Calculate an Unweighted GPA?

In order to better understand your GPA, it helps to know the process behind calculating a GPA. Each letter grade is worth a certain amount of points, as you can see above. To calculate your unweighted GPA, follow these steps:

       
• Multiply the numeric value of your grade by the number that course was worth
       
• Do this for all of your classes and add the numbers together
       
• Divide that number by how many classes you took
       
• The number you have at the end is your GPA

For example, let’s say you took the following schedule:

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Following step one, we need to multiply your grades by the credits each class was worth. So, you have 4 points for European History, 4 points for Human Anatomy, 3.3 points for Pre-Calculus, 4 points for English, 1.7 points for Spanish III, 3 points for U.S. Government, and 2.7 points for Intro to Computer Science. When we add them together, we get 22.7.

Now, we take that number and divide it by the number of classes you took. In this case, that number is 7.

22.7 / 7 = 3.24

Your unweighted GPA in this scenario would be a 3.24.

Weighted GPA Conversion Chart

Unlike an unweighted GPA, a weighted GPA takes the difficulty of your Honors, AP, and IB courses into account by giving them extra value. You can see the differences by looking at this GPA converter below.

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How Do We Calculate a Weighted GPA?

This process is actually the same as calculating your unweighted GPA, but with different numbers assigned to it. So we follow these steps:

       
• Multiply the numeric value of your grade by the number that course was worth
       
• Do this for all of your classes and add the numbers together
       
• Divide that number by how many classes you took
       
• The number you have at the end is your GPA

Just to keep things easier, let’s use the same class schedule as before:

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Now in this version, you have 5 points for A.P. European History, 5 points for A.P. Human Anatomy, 3.3 points for Pre-Calculus, 5 points for A.P. English, 1.7 points for Spanish III, 4 points for A.P. U.S. Government, and 2.7 points for Intro to Computer Science. When we add these together, we get 26.7.

We take these points and divide them by 7, the number of classes you’re taking in this scenario.

26.7 / 7 =  3.8

Your weighted GPA is a 3.8.

Your GPA is important, because it allows universities, professors, and potential employers to measure your academic progress and track record. It is helpful to know the differences between unweighted and weighted GPAs, especially when you’re determining how your high school’s policy will affect your college applications. Knowing how to calculate your GPA will help you determine which classes are negatively impacting your GPA and what grades you need to earn in order to raise your GPA. This is one number that will change your future.

Do you have any questions about weighted and unweighted GPAs? Do you need some help figuring out your GPA? Let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!