Unweighted GPA Calculator

Calculate your unweighted GPA on the standard 4.0 scale \u2014 every class treated equally, no honors or AP bonuses. The figure colleges use to compare students.

Unweighted GPA Calculator

Subject

Credits

Grade

An Unweighted GPA Calculator gives you the raw 4.0 scale GPA — every class counts the same regardless of difficulty. It is the cleanest measure of how you performed academically, and it is the number most colleges use to compare students from different schools.

What is an Unweighted GPA?

An unweighted GPA uses one scale for every class: A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, D = 1.0, F = 0.0. An A in an art elective is worth the same as an A in AP Physics.

It is the simplest GPA possible and the most universal. Almost every school in the world calculates an unweighted figure even if they also publish a weighted version.

Because the scale caps at 4.0, an unweighted GPA cannot inflate. A 4.0 unweighted GPA always means straight As; a 3.5 always means roughly half As and half Bs.

Unweighted GPA Formula

The simplest GPA formula there is:

Unweighted GPA = Σ (Grade Points × Credits) ÷ Σ (Credits)

Every course uses the same 4.0 grade scale.
Difficulty level is ignored.
The maximum value is exactly 4.0.

How to Use the Unweighted GPA Calculator

Three fields per class, no level selector:

1

Add every course
Include every class on the transcript — regular, honors, and AP all enter the same way.
2

Type the course credit value
Usually 1 credit per high-school class, 3-4 credits per college class.
3

Pick the unweighted letter grade
Use the letter grade from the report card.
4

See the unweighted GPA
Your result appears on the standard 4.0 scale.

Unweighted GPA Example — Five Classes Equal

Five high-school classes, treated identically:

Course	Credits	Grade	Points
AP Chemistry	1	A (4.0)	4.0
Honors Geometry	1	B+ (3.3)	3.3
World Literature	1	A- (3.7)	3.7
Spanish I	1	B (3.0)	3.0
Music	1	A (4.0)	4.0

Total: 18.0 ÷ 5 credits = 3.60 unweighted GPA

Why the Unweighted Number Matters

Colleges use the unweighted GPA to compare students across high schools that weight differently. A 4.0 weighted GPA at one school might equal a 3.6 at another, but a 3.8 unweighted GPA means roughly the same thing everywhere.

Scholarship organizations, NCAA athletic eligibility, and many graduate programs also rely on the unweighted figure for the same reason — it is fair, simple, and consistent.

Related Calculators

Compare with these:

Weighted GPA Calculator

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GPA Calculator

Quick one-semester GPA.

Cumulative GPA Calculator

Roll multiple terms into your career GPA.

Frequently Asked Questions

When they need to compare students fairly across high schools. Weighting policies differ — one school adds +0.5 for honors, another adds +1.0, a third doesn't weight at all. The unweighted GPA strips those differences out, which is why most US college admissions offices recalculate an unweighted figure from your transcript even if your school only reports the weighted version.

No. The unweighted scale caps at 4.0 by definition — A is the highest grade and worth exactly 4.0 points. Any GPA above 4.0 is a weighted GPA, no matter what label the report uses. Some schools use a 4.3 scale that recognises A+ as 4.3, which is a small deviation; outside that, anything above 4.0 implies course-difficulty bonuses.

Convert each grade back to its base 4.0-scale value before entering it. An A in AP Biology becomes 4.0 (not 5.0). An A- in honors English becomes 3.7 (not 4.2). The unweighted calculation ignores the +0.5 or +1.0 bonuses entirely. This calculator does that automatically — you enter the letter grade and credit hours, and the math uses unweighted point values regardless of course level.

Almost always, yes. The transcript usually lists both — weighted and unweighted — and colleges look at both. But many selective universities run their own unweighted recalculation using only academic courses (no PE, no electives), so the unweighted GPA they evaluate may differ slightly from the one on your transcript. Always submit both figures and let the admissions office do the conversion.

Yes. "Unweighted" means course difficulty is not weighted — but credit hours are still used to weight the average. An A in a 4-credit class still counts more than an A in a 1-credit class. The only thing the unweighted version strips out is the honors/AP/IB difficulty bonus.