Quick answer: The standard US GPA scale runs 0.0 to 4.0 — A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, D = 1.0, F = 0.0. Weighted scales add bonus points for AP, Honors, and IB classes, lifting the maximum to 4.5 or 5.0. Almost every US high school uses the 4.0 unweighted scale as the baseline; the weighted version varies by district.
The 4.0 GPA scale (unweighted)
The unweighted 4.0 scale is the US baseline used by nearly all high schools and colleges. It maps letter grades to grade points with +/− adjustments.
| Letter Grade | GPA Points | Percentage | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| A+ | 4.0 | 97-100% | Exceptional |
| A | 4.0 | 93-96% | Excellent |
| A− | 3.7 | 90-92% | Very Good |
| B+ | 3.3 | 87-89% | Above Average |
| B | 3.0 | 83-86% | Good |
| B− | 2.7 | 80-82% | Above Average |
| C+ | 2.3 | 77-79% | Acceptable |
| C | 2.0 | 73-76% | Average |
| C− | 1.7 | 70-72% | Below Average |
| D+ | 1.3 | 67-69% | Poor |
| D | 1.0 | 65-66% | Poor |
| F | 0.0 | Below 65% | Failing |
The weighted GPA scale (5.0 max)
Weighted scales reward course rigor by adding bonus points for harder classes. The standard weighting in US public high schools adds +0.5 to Honors classes and +1.0 to AP, IB, and dual-enrollment classes.
| Letter | Regular | Honors (+0.5) | AP / IB (+1.0) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 4.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
| B | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| C | 2.0 | 2.5 | 3.0 |
| D | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.0 |
| F | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Use the Weighted GPA Calculator to compute weighted scores under any of five common weighting policies. The default is the standard +0.5 Honors / +1.0 AP scale shown above.
GPA scale reporting — what colleges actually see
Scale reporting is the field on your transcript that tells admissions readers which scale your GPA is on. Common values include:
- 4.0 unweighted — pure 4.0-max scale, no course-rigor bonus.
- 4.5 weighted — Honors classes get +0.5, AP/IB do not get a bonus.
- 5.0 weighted — Honors +0.5, AP/IB +1.0 (most common US scheme).
- 6.0 weighted — Rare; only some districts give Honors +1.0 and AP +2.0.
- 100-point scale — Schools using 0-100 numeric grades report scale=100. Colleges then convert.
Selective colleges, especially the University of California system and most flagship state universities, recalculateevery applicant's GPA on their internal scale so they can compare fairly across schools. UF, FSU, USF, and FIU recalculate using core academic courses with a standard +0.5/+1.0 weighting policy. The UC system uses its own capped weighted scale.
Plus / minus on the GPA scale
Not every school uses +/− grades. Schools that do, follow the unweighted 0.3 increments shown above (A− = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, etc.). Some schools skip +/− for A (treating A+ and A− both as 4.0) but use them for B-D. A few schools award A+ as 4.3 — usually on the college level, rarely in high school.
Convert GPA to percentage (and back)
Quick approximation: percentage ≈ (GPA × 20) + 20. So a 3.0 GPA ≈ 80%, a 3.5 ≈ 90%, a 4.0 ≈ 95-100%. For the exact conversion (which depends on your school's grading bands), use the Percentage to GPA Calculator.
Other scales you may encounter
- UK first-class / 2:1 / 2:2 — UK universities use degree classifications rather than GPA. A First (70%+) ≈ 4.0, a 2:1 (60-69%) ≈ 3.3-3.7.
- German 1.0-5.0 (inverted) — German universities use 1.0 as best and 5.0 as failing — the opposite of US GPA.
- CGPA on 10-point scale — Indian universities often use a 10-point CGPA. Conversion: CGPA × 0.4 ≈ US GPA on 4.0.
- Canadian 4.0 / percentage — Canadian universities use 4.0 scale similar to the US, but a few (McGill, Toronto) use 4.0 with slightly different letter cutoffs.