How To Calculate GPA

In order to keep track of how well you are doing in school, you must learn how to calculate GPA (or Grade Point Average).  This is especially important for college-bound high school students.  GPA is one of the most important factors on any college application.  Your high school GPA will tell the college admissions committee how committed you are to your education and how prepared you are for college-level course work.

A lot of emphasis is placed on what GPA is needed to get into college, however first students need to learn how to calculate GPA.  In this post I’ll give you the tools that you need to keep track of your GPA on an ongoing basis.

Basically, every letter grade that you receive in school is worth a certain amount of points.  Your GPA is calculated by taking the number of points you earned divided by the number of total points possible.  This can get a little confusing, so the best way for me to describe it is by looking at an example.

First, you’ll need to convert your letter grades into numbers.  Here’ what each letter grade is worth:

A=4; B=3; C=2; D=1=; F=0

Second, you’ll need to gather your grades; let’s use these as an example:

Math = B; Science = C; Art = A; History = A; Spanish = B

So…Math = 3; Science = 2; Art = 4; History = 4; Spanish = 3

Third, you’ll need to add all these together:

3+2+4+4+3 = 16

Fourth, you’ll need to divide this number by the total number of classes you’re currently taking:

Since you’re currently taking 5 classes, you would take 16 divided by 5 –

16/5 = 3.2

Your current GPA is 3.2

Every student must learn how to calculate GPA.  If you use the tools outlined above, you will have no problem keeping track of your GPA from now on.

Good luck!