Letter Grade to GPA: The Complete A-F Conversion Guide (2026)

Quick answer: On the standard US 4.0 scale: 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, D− = 0.7, F = 0.0. To get a multi-course GPA, multiply each letter's points by its credit hours, sum the products, and divide by total credits. A+ counts as 4.0 (not higher) on this scale — there is no bonus.

Half the email we get is some version of "my report card says A−, A−, B+ — what is my GPA?" The math takes 30 seconds with the right table, but every school uses a slightly different version of the table. This guide covers the four most common US conversion systems and tells you which one applies to your situation.

If you just want to compute, the letter grade to GPA converter does the arithmetic for you. The rest of this post explains which scale to pick.

The standard unweighted 4.0 scale

This is the default at most US high schools and undergraduate colleges. It is the version college admissions officers will recalculate to if your school uses something exotic.

Letter	Percentage	GPA Points
A+	97-100%	4.0
A	93-96%	4.0
A−	90-92%	3.7
B+	87-89%	3.3
B	83-86%	3.0
B−	80-82%	2.7
C+	77-79%	2.3
C	73-76%	2.0
C−	70-72%	1.7
D+	67-69%	1.3
D	65-66%	1.0
D−	60-64%	0.7
F	below 60%	0.0

Key things to notice:

1. A+ and A both equal 4.0. There is no extra credit for A+. If you have an A+ on your transcript, do not enter it as 4.3 unless your school explicitly uses the 4.3 scale (more on that below).
2. D− is still passing. 0.7 GPA points. It is the lowest passing grade.
3. F = 0.0. It does not become -0.5 or some negative number. Fails just contribute nothing to the numerator while still adding credits to the denominator.

The formula

For multi-course GPA:

GPA = Σ (letter_points × credit_hours)
      ----------------------------------
            Σ credit_hours

Worked example. Spring semester, four classes:

Course	Letter	Credits	Points × Credits
English	A	3	4.0 × 3 = 12.0
Calculus	B+	4	3.3 × 4 = 13.2
Chemistry	A−	4	3.7 × 4 = 14.8
History	B	3	3.0 × 3 = 9.0
Total		14	49.0

GPA = 49.0 ÷ 14 = 3.50 — a "B+/A− average."

The letter grade to GPA converter does this live. Add the rows, pick the letters, watch the number change.

The 4.3 scale — when A+ is worth more

Some institutions count A+ as 4.3 instead of 4.0:

• Columbia University (General Studies) — uses 4.3 for A+
• MIT graduate programs
• Some Canadian universities (McGill, Toronto, UBC)
• LSAC (law school admissions) uses a 4.33 scale

If your school uses this, the conversion changes only at the top:

Letter	4.0 scale	4.3 scale
A+	4.0	4.3
A	4.0	4.0
A−	3.7	3.7
...	(same)	(same)

The practical effect: if you have several A+ grades, your GPA on the 4.3 scale will be slightly higher (typically 0.05-0.15 higher) than on the 4.0 scale. For law school applicants specifically, use the LSAC GPA calculator — it handles the 4.33 scale plus the no-grade-replacement rule.

The weighted GPA scale — for AP and honors

US high schools that offer AP, IB, or honors classes usually compute two GPAs:

1. Unweighted — uses the standard table above, every A is 4.0
2. Weighted — adds a bonus for advanced courses, A in AP becomes 5.0

The most common weighted system:

• Regular A = 4.0
• Honors A = 4.5 (+0.5 bonus)
• AP / IB A = 5.0 (+1.0 bonus)

Other districts use +0.25 / +0.75, or +0.5 / +1.0 with no honors bonus. There is no single national standard. Check your school district's policy page (usually under "grading" or "transcript").

If you have AP or honors classes, use the weighted GPA calculator — it lets you pick from five common bonus scales, including your district's if it appears in the list.

When your school uses percentage grades

Schools outside the US (especially Pakistan, India, UK, Germany) usually record percentages directly, not letters. You have two options:

1. Convert percentage → letter → GPA points. Use the percentage-range column in the table above. Example: 89% = B+ = 3.3.
2. Use a direct percentage-to-GPA calculator. The percentage to GPA calculator skips the letter step.

Either path gives the same result. Pick whichever is closer to how your transcript actually displays grades.

When grade boundaries differ at your school

The percentage-to-letter mapping in the table above is the standard, but it is not universal:

• Some schools use the 7-point scale — 93+ A, 85+ B, 77+ C, 70+ D. This is rarer than it used to be but you will see it at some private schools and older districts.
• Some weight only positive grades. A school might offer A through F but skip pluses and minuses entirely. In that case, treat each letter as its base value (A = 4.0, B = 3.0, etc.).
• Some allow A+ as a separate transcript notation but compute it as 4.0. This is the most confusing one — your transcript shows "A+" but your GPA reflects A = 4.0. Verify by checking your school's GPA calculation page.

When in doubt, ask the registrar. A 5-minute email to your school's registrar will resolve every "is A+ 4.0 or 4.3 here" question definitively.

How letter-to-GPA shows up in college applications

College admissions offices do three things with your GPA:

1. They look at the GPA your school sends. This might be weighted, unweighted, or both — your school decides what to put on the transcript.
2. They often recalculate to their own scale. UC schools strip out PE and recompute on the 4.0 unweighted standard. Common Application uses a weighted/unweighted distinction. Selective privates often recompute everything.
3. They compare you to your school's average. Your guidance counselor sends a "school profile" with the school's GPA distribution. A 3.7 at a school where the average is 2.8 looks different than 3.7 at a school where the average is 3.5.

What this means for you: the GPA your school reports is not necessarily the GPA admissions sees. Calculate both the unweighted and weighted version using our calculators so you know what each lens shows.

Common mistakes

Ten years of student questions later, here are the patterns:

• Adding +0.5 for honors when computing unweighted. Unweighted means no bonus. Honors A = 4.0, period, in the unweighted version.
• Counting A+ as 4.3 on transcript GPAs that explicitly say 4.0 scale. Re-read the transcript. If it says "4.0 scale," A+ is 4.0.
• Forgetting to multiply by credits. A simple average (sum the points, divide by number of courses) is not the same as credit-weighted GPA. Credit-weighted is what colleges use.
• Mixing percentage and letter conversion on the same calculator. If your school records 89% and you also enter B+ for the same class, you are double-counting. Pick one path per course.
• Skipping F grades because "the F won't count." F adds 0 points but still adds credits to the denominator. It will absolutely drag your GPA down. The cumulative GPA calculator shows the effect on overall.

What to do with your GPA once you have it

Knowing your number is step 1. Step 2 is comparing it to where you want to go:

• Looking at colleges? The GPA scale guide shows what each range means in terms of admissions chances at different selectivity tiers.
• Planning next semester? The GPA goal calculator works backwards — tells you what you need to score next term to hit a target cumulative GPA.
• Checking scholarship requirements? Most scholarships state a minimum GPA (3.0, 3.5, 3.7). The cumulative GPA calculator updates as you add semesters so you can track whether you are above or below the threshold.

TL;DR

Letter to GPA is a fixed lookup on a known scale. The default is unweighted 4.0: A = 4.0, A− = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, down to F = 0.0. A+ counts as 4.0 unless your school explicitly says otherwise. Multiply each letter's points by credit hours, sum, divide by total credits.

If you want the math done for you, the letter grade to GPA converter is set up exactly for this. If you have AP or honors classes, use the weighted GPA calculator instead.