Semester GPA Calculator
How to Use This Semester GPA Calculator
Enter each course with its letter grade and credit hours in the This Semester tab for an instant semester GPA. The Cumulative Update tab lets you enter your previous cumulative GPA and credits, then adds this semester's courses to show your updated overall GPA.
The Advanced tier below adds a multi-semester tracker where you can log multiple semesters and see how each one raises or lowers your cumulative GPA over time, complete with a trend chart. For full transcript analysis with category breakdowns and a Dean's List planner, scroll to the Professional tier.
Semester GPA Formula
Cumulative GPA = (Previous GPA ร Previous Credits + Semester Points) รท (Previous Credits + Semester Credits)
Example: 3.20 GPA ร 45 cr + 48 new points = 192 total points รท 60 total cr = 3.20 new cumulative GPA
Your semester GPA uses only the courses from that one semester. Your cumulative GPA is the weighted average of all semesters โ each semester's grade points are pooled together divided by all credits ever attempted.
How Semester GPA Affects Cumulative GPA
Scenario: Current cumulative GPA: 3.20 over 45 credits
This semester: English (A-, 3 cr) + Statistics (B+, 3 cr) + Psychology (A, 3 cr) + Biology Lab (B+, 4 cr)
Semester GPA: (11.1 + 9.9 + 12.0 + 13.2) รท 13 = 3.55
New cumulative: (3.20 ร 45 + 46.2) รท 58 = 190.2 รท 58 = 3.28
A 3.55 semester raised the cumulative GPA by +0.08
How Many Credits Does It Take to Raise Your GPA?
The more credits you have accumulated, the harder it is to move your cumulative GPA. With 30 credits completed, a 4.0 semester of 15 credits raises a 2.5 GPA by about 0.67 points. With 90 credits, the same perfect semester only raises a 2.5 GPA by about 0.37 points.
| Course | Semester | Category | Grade | Credits | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.1 | ||||||
| 9.9 | ||||||
| 12.0 | ||||||
| 13.2 | ||||||
| 12.0 | ||||||
| 9.9 | ||||||
| 12.0 | ||||||
| 11.1 |
Semester GPA vs. Cumulative GPA
Your semester GPA measures one period of performance โ it resets each term and can be high even if your cumulative GPA is low. Your cumulative GPA is the permanent running average. A semester GPA above your cumulative will raise it; below will lower it. The Advanced tier's trend chart shows this relationship visually over multiple semesters.