How to Calculate GPA in University? Here's the EASIEST Method!

16 Jan 2020 3363 share it:

The most dreadful question in the academic life of a student is- “What is your GPA?” But, what’s more embarrassing is the situation when you don’t even know how to calculate GPA.

Hello, readers! Welcome to the new blog of Assignment Desk, which aims to clear all your doubts regarding Grade Point Average. 

According to a recent survey conducted by a leading discussion forum, it has been found that 2 out of every 5 college student do not know how to calculate university GPA. Well, it's not the story of London students only. In fact, there are many university students who seek help from an online GPA calculator rather than calculating it manually.

If you are also one of a kind, then this blog is your match made in heaven as it will raise the curtain from the easiest method to calculate university GPA in no time.

Easiest Way to Calculate GPA Without Using Online Calculator 

No matter how many maths class you have skipped in your college or middle school, you will not face a single problem in understanding the below-mentioned method of calculating Grade Point Average. But before we begin, let us see what actually a GPA is.

What is a GPA(Grade Point Average) & why is it important? 

Grade Point Average, abbreviated as GPA, is the average score achieved by a student. In simpler terms, it tells how good or poor you have scored in your exams. As per the assignment writing service providers, it is measured on a scale between 1.0 to 4.0. The GPA score obtained by a student proves to be a gateway to meet the standard and expectations of his dream course/university.

Let us understand it this way- A high GPA (somewhere around 4.0) will guarantee your admission in the top-most college. Moreover, if you are also planning to opt for postgraduate courses, then it becomes necessary that you maintain a high GPA. Some other important aspects of obtaining a high score are:

• Getting a million-dollar job
• Seeking scholarship for financing studies
• Makes you eligible for AP (Advanced Placement) and IB (International Baccalaureate) classes

Reading so far, you must have known that a high GPA can prove to be a milestone in your academic career. Moving on further, let us now have a glance at the process of calculating GPA.

Wondering, “How to Calculate My GPA?” Here’s Your Answer

Are you tired of banging your head on online cumulative GPA calculators or overall GPA calculator? If the answer is a big ‘YES,’ then it’s the time to bid adieu to all the stress and frustration. 

Before we talk about the calculation process, here are some prerequisites that you must know.

Credits/Units: These are the total number of credits assigned to a course opted by you. For instance, 4, 5, etc., depending on the complexity and difficulty level of the subject.

Letter Grade: It is the grading system where the performance of a student is evaluated through letters like A, B, C, etc.

Percent Grade: Corresponding to each letter, percentage grades are assigned. For example, generally, an A+ in a course means that a student has scored 97%- 100% marks. 

Point Value for Grades: Similar to percent grades, each point corresponds to a different point value, like A+ equate to 4, F to 0.0, and so on.

For a better understanding of the concepts, have a look at the pictorial representation below.

 

*fig.1

Now, comes the time to know the process of calculating Grade Point Average without using GPA calculator online.

Process of Calculating GPA:

To understand the process, let us begin with an example. Suppose, the scorecard mentioned below is yours, Now, we will imply the GPA calculation process to know your grade point average.

*fig.2 

Step 1: 

Multiply the credit/units of each course with the grade points. Here, in case of biology, the credit point is 5, and the equivalent grade is A. And as per fig.1, grade A equates to 4 point value. Multiplying 5 with 4 will obviously give you 20 (as written under the section 'grade points' in fig.3).

Step 2:

Follow the procedure explained in step 1 for each course and calculate the grade points separately.   

                     

*fig.3

Step 3:

Add all the grade points obtained in the subjects. Here, the summation equals to 33 (refer fig.3). Also, total the credit hours (16 in this case).

Step 4:

After you are done summarizing the grade points and credit hours, the time has come to imply the formula of GPA, viz.,

 

*fig-4

Step 5:

Now, place the desired values. In your case, the total points earned and total credits attempted equals to 33 and 16, respectively. 

Step 6:

After dividing both the terms, you will get your GPA, viz., 2.06.

Simple, isn't it? Doing all these calculations will take less than a minute.

You are now ready to calculate GPA without using any grade point average calculator. Now, let us answer some of the questions that might come in your mind regarding the concept of GPA.

Question 1:

What is the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?

Answer 1:

In unweighted GPA, the difficulty of a course is not considered. For example, an A+ in any course will be equivalent to 4.0. Moreover, it is calculated on a grade scale ranging from 0 to 4.0.

Whereas, in the case of weighted GPA, the complexity of a subject is taken into consideration. Also, it is more accurate than the unweighted GPA and measured on a scale from 0 to 5.0. For instance, an A+ in a less difficult subject will be equal to 4.0, and in case of a complex subject, it will be equal to 5.0. It is commonly calculated using weighted GPA calculator. 

Question 2:

What is the difference between cumulative GPA & overall GPA?

Answer 2:

Cumulative GPA and overall GPA are the average marks obtained by a student in a course. The difference lies in the fact that cumulative GPA is calculated for a shorter period of time like, for a semester or for a term, whereas the overall GPA refers to the average score obtained throughout the course. Students having inadequate knowledge of the manual methods to calculate cumulative GPA often use an online cumulative GPA calculator to find their average grades. 

Question 3:

How can a student raise GPA?

Answer 3:

The phrase- "Nothing is impossible" applies rightly in the case of GPA, provided you take a smarter route. Okay, let's simplify things for you. The academic curriculum of a course consists of numerous assignments which carry high weighatge of marks and influence the overall score. However, completing the writing task consume most of the student's time, and they are left with no time for studies. In this case, students should seek assignment writing help online. If you are searching for the most trusted and reliable website, then Assignment Desk will prove to be the perfect destination to end your writing worries.

If you are reading this line, then all your queries regarding GPA (Grade Point Average) must have been resolved. Thus, instead of struggling to use the GPA calculator 4.0 scale, use the easiest method explained in this piece of writing to calculate GPA at the snap of a finger.