ExamTally → High School GPA Calculator
High School GPA Calculator
Pool your courses across every semester — ExamTally returns your cumulative GPA, both unweighted (4.0) and weighted with Honors/AP bonuses.
Cumulative GPA pools every course across all terms: convert each grade to points, multiply by credits, sum, and divide by total credits. Four 1-credit courses — A, B (Honors), A (AP), B — give a 3.50 unweighted and 3.88 weighted GPA. Enter your own courses below.
Key takeaways
- Cumulative GPA pools every course across all terms.
- GPA = Σ(points × credits) ÷ Σcredits, summed over every semester.
- Unweighted caps at 4.0; weighted adds Honors +0.5, AP/IB +1.0.
- Use your transcript's credit values (often 1 per year, 0.5 per semester).
- Both figures are estimates — colleges often recalculate.
How cumulative GPA is calculated
A cumulative high school GPA is just one big credit-weighted average over every course you have taken, regardless of term. Each course grade becomes points (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0); for the weighted figure, a bonus is added for Honors (+0.5) or AP/IB (+1.0). Multiply points by credits, add up all the quality points across every semester, and divide by the grand total of credits.
Pooling all terms — rather than averaging each semester's GPA — is what keeps it accurate: a heavier 6-credit semester counts more than a light one. The calculator divides by total credits and waits for a positive total, so there is no dividing by zero.
Worked example: four courses
Suppose freshman year you took four 1-credit courses: A (regular), B (Honors), A (AP), and B (regular). Unweighted points are 4 + 3 + 4 + 3 = 14 over 4 credits → 14 ÷ 4 = 3.50. With the bonuses applied (B Honors → 3.5, A AP → 5.0), weighted points are 4 + 3.5 + 5 + 3 = 15.5 over 4 credits → 15.5 ÷ 4 = 3.88. Add sophomore-year courses and both figures update across all terms.
Grade points & course bonuses
| Course type | A | B | C | D | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular (+0) | 4.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| Honors (+0.5) | 4.5 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 |
| AP / IB (+1.0) | 5.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
This is a common scheme. Schools differ on bonuses, which courses count, and rounding — always confirm yours.
For a single term's plain GPA, use the GPA calculator; to focus only on Honors/AP weighting, see the weighted GPA calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate cumulative high school GPA?
Add every course from every semester. Convert each grade to points (A=4 … F=0), multiply by credit hours for the quality points, add them all up across all terms, and divide by the total credits taken. That single average is your cumulative GPA.
What is the difference between unweighted and weighted GPA?
Unweighted GPA uses the plain 4.0 scale for every course. Weighted GPA adds bonus points for harder courses — typically +0.5 for Honors and +1.0 for AP/IB — so it can exceed 4.0. This calculator shows both side by side.
Do I enter each semester separately?
You can label each course with its term (for example "Fall 9th" or "Spring 10th"), but cumulative GPA simply pools every course together. Add a row per course and the running total spans all the terms you enter.
How do credit hours work in high school?
Many high schools count a year-long course as 1 credit and a semester course as 0.5. Use whatever credit values your transcript shows. If your school weights every class equally, enter 1 for each and the GPA becomes a simple average.
Which GPA do colleges look at?
It varies. Many colleges recalculate GPA on their own scale, often unweighted and limited to core academic courses. Reporting both your unweighted and weighted GPA — as this tool shows — covers the common requests. Always check each college’s policy.
How precise is the result?
GPAs are shown to two decimal places, the transcript convention. Your school may truncate instead of round, exclude certain courses, or use a different bonus scheme, so treat these figures as estimates and confirm against your official record.
Cumulative GPA is mathematical: the sum of every course's grade points times its credits, divided by total credits, pooled across all terms. Base points use the standard 4.0 scale; the weighted figure adds the common +0.5 Honors / +1.0 AP bonus, which schools may define differently.
Last reviewed 2026-06-28