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GPA Calculator — Semester & Cumulative GPA with Target Tracker

What is your GPA and what do you need?

GPA Calculator

Calculate Your GPA Instantly

Enter your semester courses and prior record. GPA updates live as you type — no Calculate button needed.

Cumulative Record (Prior)

Used in Target GPA tab

This Semester's Courses

Results are for informational purposes only.

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What This Does

Calculate your semester GPA from course grades and credit hours, update your cumulative GPA, and find out exactly what average you need in future semesters to hit your target. Weighted GPA — which factors in credit hours — is what actually appears on your transcript. A 4-credit A counts more than a 3-credit A. This calculator weights every course correctly and lets you see the full picture: semester GPA, new cumulative GPA, and your honors standing. The target GPA tool answers the question students actually need answered: given your current cumulative GPA and the credits you have remaining, what average do you need each semester to finish at 3.5, 3.7, or any other target? The math changes dramatically based on how far along you are — a junior with 90 credits needs a much higher average going forward than a freshman with 15. Use this before each semester to set realistic academic goals.

When Should You Use This?
  • Computing your semester GPA after entering grades for each course
  • Tracking whether you qualify for Dean's List, cum laude, or academic probation
  • Finding out the minimum GPA needed to maintain a scholarship or program requirement
  • Planning which courses to retake or prioritize to hit a target cumulative GPA
  • Checking how a single poor grade will affect your cumulative GPA
Example Scenario

You're a junior with a 3.22 cumulative GPA over 85 credits. This semester you earned: A in English (3 cr), B+ in Math (4 cr), A- in History (3 cr), and B in Chemistry (4 cr). Enter these grades and credits, input your prior GPA and credit count. Result: semester GPA 3.53, new cumulative GPA 3.27. To reach 3.5 by graduation, you'd need a 4.0 average over the remaining ~30 credits.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is weighted GPA calculated?

Weighted GPA multiplies each course's grade points by its credit hours to get quality points, sums all quality points, then divides by total credit hours. A 4.0 in a 4-credit course contributes 16 quality points. A 4.0 in a 3-credit course contributes only 12. This is why heavy courses have more impact on your GPA than light ones.

What GPA is needed for cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude?

Standards vary by institution, but common benchmarks are: cum laude at 3.5, magna cum laude at 3.7, and summa cum laude at 3.9. Some schools use class rank percentiles rather than fixed GPA cutoffs. Check your specific school's academic honors policy, as requirements can also differ by program or college within a university.

Does retaking a course replace the original grade in GPA?

It depends on your school's policy. Some schools use grade replacement — the new grade replaces the old one in GPA calculations, though the original may still appear on the transcript. Other schools average both grades. Some only allow replacement for grades below a certain threshold. Check your registrar's policy before relying on grade replacement to fix your GPA.

Why does one bad grade hurt my GPA less the further along I am?

GPA is a weighted average over all credits taken. A C in one 3-credit course affects your GPA by the same number of quality points regardless of your year, but that fixed impact gets diluted across more total credits each semester. A freshman with 15 credits sees a large swing from one grade; a senior with 110 credits sees a much smaller change. The more credits you have, the more stable your GPA becomes.

What is academic probation and how is it calculated?

Academic probation is typically triggered when cumulative GPA falls below 2.0 (a C average), though some programs and scholarships use higher thresholds. Schools may also apply probation for semester GPA alone, even if cumulative is acceptable. Probation periods usually require achieving a minimum GPA in the following term to return to good standing.

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