Colleges often strip the weighting
Because every school weights differently, many admissions offices recalculate an unweighted GPA from your transcript. Keep an eye on the unweighted figure, not just the weighted one.
Weighted GPA calculator
Mark each class Regular, Honors, AP, IB or dual enrollment. Bonus points are added for you.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate a weighted GPA?
Convert each grade to points as usual (A = 4.0), add the bonus for the class level — commonly 0.5 for Honors and 1.0 for AP or IB — multiply by the class’s credits, and divide the total by all credits. An A in AP counts as 5.0; a B in Honors counts as 3.5.
Is a 4.1 weighted GPA good?
A weighted GPA above 4.0 is only possible with Honors, AP or IB classes, so a 4.1 means strong grades in a demanding schedule. How it compares depends on your school: check the unweighted figure too, because many colleges recalculate.
What is a 3.7 weighted GPA equivalent to unweighted?
It depends on how many weighted classes are in it. With no Honors or AP classes the two are the same, 3.7. With one AP class out of six (+1.0), the unweighted GPA is about 0.17 lower, around 3.53.
What is the highest weighted GPA?
With the common +1.0 bonus, straight As in all AP or IB classes give a 5.0. Schools that weight differently have different maximums, and A+ grades on a 4.3 scale can push it higher.
How weighting works
A weighted GPA rewards harder classes. Each class’s grade points get a bonus by level before averaging, so an A in an AP class is worth more than an A in a regular class. The bonus applies to the grade points, not the credits.
Schools set their own bonuses. The defaults here are the common convention, +0.5 for Honors and +1.0 for AP, IB and dual enrollment. If your school uses +0.5 for AP too, change the second box and every number updates.
| Grade | Regular | Honors (+0.5) | AP / IB (+1.0) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 4.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
| A− | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.7 |
| B+ | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.3 |
| B | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| C | 2.0 | 2.5 | 3.0 |
| F | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
A worked example
The five classes above: AP Biology B+ (3.3 + 1.0 = 4.3), Honors English A− (3.7 + 0.5 = 4.2), Pre-Calculus B (3.0), AP Psychology A (4.0 + 1.0 = 5.0) and French III A− (3.7). That is 20.2 weighted points over 5 credits, a weighted GPA of 4.04. Without the bonuses it is 17.7 ÷ 5 = 3.54.
Check whether your school caps it
Some schools cap how many weighted classes count, or only weight grades of C and above. If your transcript GPA is lower than this result, that is the usual reason.
What this calculator assumes
- Bonuses default to +0.5 for Honors and +1.0 for AP, IB and dual enrollment. This is a convention; your school’s handbook has the real figures.
- An F gets no bonus. Some schools also withhold the bonus below a C — adjust the grade if yours does.
- Letter grades convert on the scale you pick before the bonus is added.