A grade point average is the weighted average of your course grades, with credit hours as the weights. US schools usually use a 4.0 scale where A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, D = 1.0. Major scholarship programs, internships, and graduate-school applications all key off this single number — so it pays to know yours precisely. The College Board covers the unweighted-versus-weighted distinction in more detail.
GPA = Σ(grade × credits) ÷ Σ(credits). Each course’s grade points are multiplied by its credit hours, all those products are summed, and the result is divided by the total credit hours.
Four courses: 3.7 × 3, 3.3 × 4, 4.0 × 3, 3.5 × 3 = 11.1 + 13.2 + 12.0 + 10.5 = 46.8, divided by 13 credits = 3.60 GPA.
John Spade is a math educator and personal-finance writer with over 12 years of experience teaching applied arithmetic. He focuses on making percentage math, interest, and everyday numeracy approachable for non-mathematicians.
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