Letter Grade to GPA Chart
The standard 4.0-scale conversion from letter grades to GPA points, with the percentage range for each grade.
| Letter grade | GPA points | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| A | 4.0 | 93–100% |
| A- | 3.7 | 90–92% |
| B+ | 3.3 | 87–89% |
| B | 3.0 | 83–86% |
| B- | 2.7 | 80–82% |
| C+ | 2.3 | 77–79% |
| C | 2.0 | 73–76% |
| C- | 1.7 | 70–72% |
| D+ | 1.3 | 67–69% |
| D | 1.0 | 63–66% |
| D- | 0.7 | 60–62% |
| F | 0.0 | 0–59% |
Turning letter grades into a GPA
To get your GPA, convert each grade to its points using the chart above, multiply by the course's credit hours, sum them, and divide by total credits:
GPA = Σ(grade points × credits) ÷ Σ(credits)
An A in a 4-credit course and a C in a 1-credit course is (4.0 × 4 + 2.0 × 1) ÷ 5 = 3.60, not the 3.0 you would get by averaging the two letters. Credits are the whole reason a single bad grade in a lab hurts less than the same grade in a lecture course.
.3/.7 or .33/.67 — your school picks one
The chart above uses the .3/.7 convention, where an A− is 3.7 and a B+ is 3.3. A large number of institutions instead use thirds, where an A− is 3.67 and a B+ is 3.33. The difference per course is three hundredths of a point, which sounds negligible.
Across a full transcript it is not. Twenty courses at A− are 74.0 quality points under one convention and 73.4 under the other — enough to sit on the wrong side of a 3.7 honours cutoff. If you are anywhere near a threshold, use your own school's values rather than a generic chart. We publish the verified scale for every university we cover.
The A+ question
An A+ is the least standardised grade in American higher education. Three policies are all common:
- Capped at 4.0 — the most widespread. The A+ appears on your transcript as recognition but is worth exactly what an A is worth.
- Worth 4.3 or 4.33 — a minority of schools, which allows a GPA above 4.0 on an otherwise unweighted scale.
- Not awarded at all — the top grade is a plain A.
Because of the middle case, a GPA above 4.0 on a college transcript is not automatically an error or a weighted high-school figure. It may simply be a school that counts the A+.
Grades that carry no points
Not every entry on a transcript feeds the calculation. A P or S (pass/satisfactory) usually carries credit but no grade points and is excluded, while an F counts as 0.0 and keeps its credits in the denominator. W (withdrawn) and I (incomplete) normally sit outside the calculation until resolved, and an AU (audit) never counts.
The asymmetry between P and F is the one to watch: electing pass/fail protects your GPA from a mediocre grade but not from a failing one at many institutions.
Related tools
The GPA calculator does the weighting for you, and per-school scales are on the university pages. To go from percentages instead of letters, use the percentage to GPA calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What GPA is each letter grade?
On the standard 4.0 scale: 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.
Does A+ count higher than A?
At most schools an A+ is capped at 4.0 (the same as an A). A few award 4.3 for an A+ — check your school's policy.
How do I turn letter grades into a GPA?
Convert each grade to its points, multiply by the course's credits, add them up, and divide by total credits. The GPA calculator does this automatically.
Is an A− 3.7 or 3.67?
Both, depending on your school. The .3/.7 convention gives 3.7 and the thirds convention gives 3.67. Per course the gap is trivial, but across twenty A− courses it is 74.0 quality points versus 73.4 — enough to land on the wrong side of a 3.7 honours cutoff. Use your own institution's values near a threshold.
Can a college GPA be above 4.0 without weighting?
Yes, at schools that award 4.3 or 4.33 for an A+. Most cap the A+ at 4.0 and some do not award it at all, so a figure above 4.0 on a college transcript is not automatically an error or a high-school weighted GPA.
Which grades don't count toward GPA?
A P or S (pass/satisfactory) normally carries credit but no grade points, and W, I and AU sit outside the calculation. An F is the exception that catches people: it counts as 0.0 and keeps its credits in the denominator, so pass/fail protects you from a mediocre grade but often not from a failing one.
Why does one bad grade hurt more in some courses than others?
Credits. A C in a 1-credit lab and a C in a 4-credit lecture carry the same grade points per credit but very different totals. An A in a 4-credit course alongside a C in a 1-credit one averages to 3.60, not the 3.0 you would get by averaging the letters.