High School GPA Calculator
Calculate your high school GPA — weighted or unweighted. Add your classes, select your grades and course types, and get your GPA instantly. AP and Honors courses are built right in.
High School GPA Calculator
All classes on a standard 4.0 scale, regardless of difficulty.
How High School GPA Works
High school GPA works the same way as college — it's a weighted average of your grades. But high school adds a twist: weighted vs. unweighted.
Your unweighted GPA treats every class the same. An A in AP Chemistry and an A in Study Skills both count as a 4.0. The scale tops out at 4.0, period.
Your weighted GPA gives harder classes a boost. The most common system adds 1.0 for AP classes and 0.5 for Honors classes. That means a weighted GPA can go above 4.0 — sometimes as high as 5.0.
Weighted vs. Unweighted: Which One Matters?
Both. Your school's class rank usually uses weighted GPA, which rewards students for taking harder courses. College admissions offices often look at both, but they also recalculate your GPA using their own system anyway. The short version: take the hardest classes you can handle, and don't obsess over which number is "your" GPA. Colleges see the full picture.
Common Weighting Systems
| Course Type | Unweighted Scale | Weighted Boost | A is Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular | 4.0 | None | 4.0 |
| Honors | 4.0 | +0.5 | 4.5 |
| AP / IB | 4.0 | +1.0 | 5.0 |
Some schools use a different boost (like +0.5 for AP instead of +1.0). If your school does it differently, our calculator won't match exactly. Check with your guidance counselor for your school's specific scale.
The Unweighted Grade Scale
| Letter Grade | Grade Points |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| F | 0.0 |
Do Credits Matter in High School?
Some high schools use credit hours, and some don't. If your school assigns credits per class — usually 0.5 per semester or 1.0 per year — they work the same way as college credits. If your school doesn't use credits, every class counts equally. Our calculator handles both.
College-bound? See how your GPA stacks up in our GPA Scale guide.
Already in college? Use the College GPA Calculator instead.
GPANerd calculators are for informational purposes only. Always confirm your official GPA with your school's registrar. Grading scales and policies vary by institution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unweighted GPA uses a standard 4.0 scale for every class. Weighted GPA gives a boost to harder courses — usually +1.0 for AP/IB and +0.5 for Honors. That means a weighted GPA can go above 4.0.
Only if your school uses a weighted scale. On an unweighted scale, 4.0 is the max. On a weighted scale, students taking AP or IB courses can have GPAs as high as 5.0.
Both, but it's complicated. Many colleges recalculate your GPA using their own system anyway. What they really care about is the rigor of your course load combined with your grades. A 3.6 with five AP classes looks better than a 4.0 with no AP classes.
On an unweighted scale, they don't — an A in AP is still a 4.0. On a weighted scale, AP courses typically add 1.0 to the grade value. So an A in AP is worth 5.0, a B is worth 4.0, and so on.
There's no universal cutoff, but here's a rough guide: above 3.5 makes you competitive at most schools. Above 3.8 opens doors to selective schools. Above 3.0 keeps most state schools within reach. Below 2.5, your options narrow — but community colleges and transfer pathways are real options.
Yes, they're part of your cumulative GPA. But many college admissions officers care most about your junior year grades and your upward trend. A rough freshman year followed by strong improvement actually tells a good story.
The national average is around 3.0, but it varies a lot by school and state. What matters more than comparing yourself to the average is knowing what the schools you're applying to typically expect.