Weighted GPA

Weighted GPA Calculator

Give Honors and AP/IB classes the extra credit they earn. Enter your grades and this tool shows your weighted and unweighted GPA together.

Enter your classes

Weighted GPA
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Unweighted GPA
0.00
Total credits
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What is a weighted GPA?

A weighted GPA measures your grades while also accounting for how hard your classes were. A standard, unweighted GPA puts every course on the same 4.0 scale, so an A in an easy elective counts exactly the same as an A in a demanding Advanced Placement course. A weighted GPA fixes that by adding bonus points for higher-difficulty classes, rewarding students who challenge themselves.

The bonus is applied to the grade points before they are averaged. The most widely used scale adds +0.5 for Honors classes and +1.0 for AP or IB classes. Because of that bonus, a weighted GPA can rise above 4.0 — an A in an AP class is worth 5.0 rather than 4.0.

The weighted grade scale

Letter gradeRegularHonors (+0.5)AP / IB (+1.0)
A4.04.55.0
B3.03.54.0
C2.02.53.0
D1.01.52.0
F0.00.00.0

How to calculate a weighted GPA

The calculation has four steps. First, convert each letter grade to points on the 4.0 scale. Second, add the difficulty bonus for that class — nothing for a Regular class, +0.5 for Honors, +1.0 for AP or IB. Third, multiply each class's weighted points by its credit hours. Finally, add up all of those values and divide by your total credits.

Take a student with three classes: an A in AP Biology (5.0) worth 4 credits, an A in Honors English (4.5) worth 3 credits, and a B in a Regular history class (3.0) worth 3 credits. The weighted grade points are 20.0, 13.5 and 9.0, which total 42.5. With 10 total credits, the weighted GPA is 42.5 ÷ 10 = 4.25. The same grades unweighted would be an A, A and B — a GPA of about 3.70. The calculator above shows both numbers so you can see exactly what your harder classes are worth.

Why weighted GPA matters for college

Many high schools rank students and award honors using weighted GPA, so taking Honors and AP classes can lift your standing even if the coursework is harder. That said, admissions offices read GPA in context: some recalculate every applicant's GPA on their own scale, and most care just as much about the strength of your schedule as the number itself. Use weighted GPA to understand your own progress and class rank, but remember that a challenging transcript with strong grades is what colleges are really looking for.

If your school only uses a plain 4.0 scale, the high school GPA calculator is a better fit, and the cumulative GPA calculator will roll several semesters into one overall number. To translate a GPA into a percentage for an application, use the GPA to percentage converter.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you calculate a weighted GPA?
Convert each grade to points on the 4.0 scale, then add a bonus for harder classes: +0.5 for Honors and +1.0 for AP or IB. Multiply each class's weighted points by its credits, add them up, and divide by your total credits.
Can a weighted GPA be higher than 4.0?
Yes. Because Honors and AP/IB classes add bonus points, an A in an AP class is worth 5.0. A student in mostly Honors and AP classes can finish with a weighted GPA above 4.0, sometimes as high as 5.0.
How much does an AP class raise my GPA?
On the most common scale an AP or IB class adds 1.0 to the grade points for that class, so an A becomes 5.0 instead of 4.0. Honors classes usually add 0.5. Scales vary by school, so check your school's policy.
Does an F get bonus points?
No. A failing grade is worth 0 points whether the class is Regular, Honors or AP, so no bonus is added to an F in this calculator.