Home » Get to College Calculating Your GPA
Your GPA or grade point average says how well you did in your classes. Letter grades translate into numbers.
A=4
B=3
C=2
D=1
Your grades for all semesters are added together and divided by the number of course credits to get your GPA.
For example, Carla got these grades freshman year:
| Algebra | D (1) |
| Survey literature | C (2) |
| Earth/space science | B (3) |
| P.E./health | A (4) |
| World studies | C (2) |
| Music | B (3) |
| 15 |
Her GPA at the end of freshman year is 15/6 = 2.5.
After freshman year, Carla realizes that with a 2.5 GPA and her only A in P.E. she won’t be accepted at a selective college. During her sophomore year she works hard and gets better grades: 2 As, 3 Bs, and 1 C. Let’s look at Carla’s GPA for sophomore year:
| 2 As (4 points each) | = 8 |
| 3 Bs (3 points each) | = 9 |
| 1 C (2 points) | = 2 |
| 19 |
Her GPA for sophomore year is 19/6 = 3.2.
But remember, colleges look at grades from all four years. To figure Carla’s GPA at the end of sophomore year, we have to add together her points from both years and divide by her total number of credits:
| Points from freshman year | = 15 |
| Points from sophomore year | = 19 |
| 34 |
Her GPA is 34/12 = 2.8.
