What is a good unweighted GPA?

A 3.5 or higher is generally considered strong and may qualify for Dean's List. A 3.0 meets most academic good-standing requirements.

Does every school use the same 4.0 scale?

While the 4.0 maximum is nearly universal in the US, some schools award A+ a value of 4.3, and others collapse +/- distinctions. Always check your school's official grading policy.

What is the difference between 4.0 and 5.0 GPA scales?

The 4.0 unweighted scale treats all classes equally (max A = 4.0). The 5.0 weighted scale awards extra points for honors/AP courses (max A = 5.0). Colleges typically recalculate GPA on their own scale.

Unweighted GPA Calculator

Course NameGradeCredits

Unweighted GPA (4.0 Scale)

3.37

B+ — Good Standing

Total Credits

Quality Points

47.2

Courses

Grade

B+

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How to Use the Unweighted GPA Calculator

Enter each course you have taken along with the letter grade you earned and the number of credit hours. The calculator instantly converts your grades to quality points using the standard 4.0 scale and divides the total quality points by your total credit hours to produce your cumulative unweighted GPA.

Course Name — type the class title (optional, for your reference).
Grade — select the letter grade from A+ down to F.
Credits — enter the number of credit hours (typically 1–4 per course).
Click Add Course to include more classes, or the × button to remove one.
Switch to Compare Scales to see how the same grades appear on a 4.0 vs 5.0 weighted scale.

The Unweighted GPA Formula

An unweighted GPA treats every class equally regardless of difficulty. The formula is straightforward weighted average of quality points:

GPA = Σ(Grade Points × Credit Hours) ÷ Σ(Credit Hours)

Grade Points: A+/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 | F = 0.0

Worked Example

A student takes five courses in one semester:

English Comp (3 cr) B+ (3.3) → 3.3 × 3 = 9.9 pts
Calculus I (4 cr) B+ (3.3) → 3.3 × 4 = 13.2 pts
Biology (3 cr) A- (3.7) → 3.7 × 3 = 11.1 pts
US History (3 cr) B (3.0) → 3.0 × 3 = 9.0 pts
Phys Ed (1 cr) A (4.0) → 4.0 × 1 = 4.0 pts

Total quality points: 47.2 | Total credits: 14
GPA = 47.2 ÷ 14 = 3.37

4.0 vs 5.0 Scale: What Is the Difference?

Most colleges and universities use the standard 4.0 unweighted scale, where an A earns 4.0 points regardless of whether the course is remedial or advanced. The 5.0 weighted scale — common in many high schools — awards extra points for honors, AP, IB, or dual-enrollment courses: an A in an AP class earns 5.0 points rather than 4.0. Colleges typically recalculate submitted GPAs onto their own scale, so a high school 5.0 GPA does not transfer directly to a college record.

Frequently Asked Questions

A 3.5 or higher (roughly a B+/A- average) is generally considered strong and may qualify you for Dean's List honors. A 3.0 (B average) meets most academic good-standing requirements. Many selective colleges expect entering students to have a high school GPA of 3.7 or above on the unweighted scale.

Not exactly. While the 4.0 maximum is nearly universal in the United States, some schools award A+ grades a value of 4.3, and others collapse the +/– distinctions so that any A equals 4.0 and any B equals 3.0. Always check your school's official grading policy for the precise conversion table.

Pass/fail courses typically do not factor into your GPA calculation — the credit hours are earned but no quality points are assigned. Incomplete grades (I) are also excluded until a final grade is assigned. Simply omit those courses from this calculator until a letter grade is on record.

If the new course has the exact same grade as your current GPA average, the overall GPA stays the same — you are adding quality points and credits in the same ratio that already exists. Adding a course graded above your current GPA will pull the average up; below will pull it down.

Yes. The unweighted 4.0 scale is used at both levels. For high school, enter the number of Carnegie units or credit hours per class. For college, enter semester credit hours. The formula is identical — only the course names and credit values change.