The standard values
A = 4.0, A− = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, B = 3.0, B− = 2.7, C+ = 2.3, C = 2.0, C− = 1.7, D+ = 1.3, D = 1.0, D− = 0.7, and F = 0.0. These grade points are what get averaged (weighted by credits) into your GPA.
How plus and minus grades work
A plus adds roughly 0.3 and a minus subtracts roughly 0.3 from the base grade. Not every school uses plus/minus — some use whole-letter grades only, where a B is simply 3.0 with no B+ or B−.
Common variations
A few schools award 4.33 for an A+ (though the reported GPA is often still capped at 4.0). Others use .67/.33 increments (A− = 3.67) or half-point systems. Always confirm your school's exact scale — our university pages list many of them.
The .3 vs .33 split
The most widespread variation is also the easiest to miss. Some schools set A− at 3.7 and B+ at 3.3; others use 3.67 and 3.33. The difference looks negligible on one course and stops looking negligible across a degree.
Arizona State, Penn State, the University of Florida, and UT Austin all use the .33/.67 convention. Ohio State and UCLA use .3/.7. Across 40 courses the two conventions can separate by a few hundredths of a point — which is immaterial for most purposes and decisive if you are sitting on an honors cutoff.
What an A+ is actually worth
This is where schools diverge most sharply. Arizona State records an A+ at 4.33 for the course but caps your cumulative GPA at 4.00. UCLA and UC Berkeley both award the A+ at exactly 4.0, the same as an A. The University of Florida does not award an A+ at all.
The practical upshot at nearly every school: an A+ cannot bank surplus grade points to offset a lower grade elsewhere. If your school caps at 4.0, a 4.0 really is the ceiling no matter how many A+ grades you collect.
Schools that skip plus/minus entirely
Whole-letter schools award only A, B, C, D, and F, worth 4, 3, 2, 1, and 0. Texas A&M works this way.
This changes the stakes at every boundary. On a plus/minus scale, slipping from an 89 to an 87 costs you 0.3 or 0.33 grade points. On a whole-letter scale, dropping from 90 to 89 costs a full point — there is no A− to cushion the fall. Borderline grades matter considerably more at these schools.
Rutgers sits in between, awarding B+ and C+ but no minus grades, and setting B+ at 3.5 rather than the usual 3.3.
Grades that carry no points
Not every mark on a transcript feeds the GPA. Pass/fail grades (P, S, CR) normally carry no grade points and are excluded from the calculation. Withdrawals post as W and stay out. Incompletes sit outside until resolved.
The trade-off is symmetrical and worth remembering: because these grades carry no points, they can neither hurt your GPA nor help it. A term of straight P grades leaves your GPA exactly where it started.