College Counseling
Guidebook
Calculating your GPA
A Grade Point Average (GPA) is based on the number of grade points earned
divided by the number of
grades. Each grade
earned is worth a
certain number of points
on a 0.0 to a 4.0 scale.
You may be asked to
calculate a grade point
average for a
scholarship application.
AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT
GPA CALCULATION: (The following information is for most private colleges
and universities and
does not pertain to the
UCs or CSUs. Information
on the UC/CSU gpa
calculation is available
on their websites.) Your
St. Margaret’s
transcript shows a
weighted grade point
average for classes
taken at St. Margaret’s,
which means that extra
points are added for
honors and AP classes.
Most college guidebooks
will provide the
unweighted grade
point average for the
colleges.
You should be aware that
most colleges
and universities will
recalculate your grade
point to an unweighted
average.
Here are the guidelines
that most
colleges will follow in
calculating your grade
point average:
-
Include only what
they consider to
be academic courses.
(They will not use
grades from arts,
physical education,
or religion
courses.)
-
They will use a
straight 4.0 scale,
without
considering plus or
minus grades.
-
There will be no
additional weight
given for honors or
AP courses.
It would be to your
advantage to calculate
your unweighted grade
point average.
Here are two ways to
calculate your
unweighted grade point
average. One uses +/-
grades. The other does
not.
Using +/- grades:
|
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- |
= |
.7 |
|
F |
= |
0 |
EXAMPLE:
Sophomore Year Grades In Class:
|
First Semester |
Second Semester |
|
English II |
A |
English II |
B+ |
|
Geometry |
B+ |
Geometry |
A |
|
APMEH |
C+ |
AP MEH |
B |
|
Biology |
B |
Biology |
B- |
|
French III |
B |
French III |
B+ |
|
Grade |
# Earned |
Point for Grade |
Points Earned |
|
A |
2 |
4.0 |
8.0 |
|
A- |
0 |
3.7 |
0.0 |
|
B+ |
3 |
3.3 |
9.9 |
|
B |
3 |
3.0 |
9.0 |
|
B- |
1 |
2.7 |
2.7 |
|
C+ |
1 |
2.3 |
2.3 |
|
C |
0 |
2.0 |
0.0 |
|
C- |
0 |
1.7 |
0.0 |
|
D+ |
0 |
1.3 |
0.0 |
|
D |
0 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
|
D- |
0 |
0.7 |
0.0 |
|
F |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
|
|
|
Total |
31.9 |
|
|
|
GPA (Total/10) |
3.19 |
*Note: Some colleges will give you an extra point for Honors and Advanced
Placement courses. This
is referred to as
“weighting” the grade
point average. In that
case, add +1.0 for each
Honors and AP course in
the Total before
dividing the number of
courses.
Most colleges will
calculate your GPA
without using +/-. In
other words, A-/A or A+
each equal 4.0;
similarly, B-/B or B+
each equal 3.0:
Column
A: Column B:
___ ( number of) A
grades X 4 = ___
(Example: 6 “A’s” X 4 =
24)
___ ( number of) B
grades X 3 = ___
___ ( number of) C
grades X 2 = ___
___ ( number of) D
grades X 1 = ___
___ ( number of) F
grades X 0 = ___
Total of Column A =
_____ Total of Column B =
_____
Total of Column B
divided by Total of
Column A = Unweighted
GPA
If you’ve retaken a
class, replace the
original grade with the
new grade. (The old
grade does not factor
into your gpa.)
|
