How to calculate GPA for a semester

If you are here to learn how to calculate the first or second-semester GPA, you are in the right place. Serious students often find themselves with the issue of how to calculate their semester GPA and most schools do not make provision for semester GPA calculators.

In this article, I am going to show you how to manually calculate your semester GPA and also a semester GPA Calculator. You don’t need to go into the registrar office and wait for hours and waste your time anymore. With a semester GPA Calculator at hand, you will get the results in seconds and have the advantage of reference anytime.

It often happens that before the examinations you can always estimate the grade you need so that you can reach their required GPA for future purposes. Sometimes due to errors in the office work or problems as small as printing mistakes can put you in a fix. Now, you knowing how to calculate your semester GPA manually or using the semester GPA Calculator provided on this page gives you a chance to cross-check your results and find out errors if there have been any.

GPA grading system

There is no standard grading scale all over the world. While some universities make use of  5.00 grading scale, others make use of 4.00. For grades, some schools make use of ABCDEF while other schools make use of A+, A-, B+, B-, B, C+, C, C-, D+, D, E (This type of grading is called precision grading scale).  At the end of each semester, faculty assign letter grades based upon your performance in courses.

Why is GPA important

Your GPA, or Grade Point Average, is a number that indicates how well or how high you scored in your courses on average. It’s meant you score (usually on a GPA scale between 1.0 and 4.0 or 5.0) during your studies and shows whether your grades have been high or low overall in your classes.

This number is then used to assess whether you meet the standards and expectations set by the degree programme or university. Moreover, the major GPA can be added to your resume to demonstrate your success within the major.

GPA vs overall CGPA

To understand the differences between GPA and overall CGPA, you must first know that they both refer to the average grades of a student. The difference is that the GPA covers shorter periods, like a term or a semester.
CGPA refers to the average grades obtained by a student throughout his entire academic experience. This means it includes grades from all terms and semesters.

How to calculate GPA for a semester

The first step you need to take to learn how to calculate your semester GPA is to know your school’s grade and grade point format. Remember I said that there are no standard grading scale all over the world even though the calculation is the same. To know your school grading scale, visit your course advisor, or school registrar. Some universities also publish the grading scale on their website.

The 4.00 scale below is the most common GPA conversion scale used by universities in the United States. Some universities use 1.67 in place of 1.7 and 1.33 in place 1.3, but this difference does not significantly affect the resulting GPA. For a few schools, anything below 65 is 0. A+ is sometimes converted to 4.3 (or 4.33) points, but many universities do not have an A+.

PercentageGradeGrade Points
93-100A4
90-92A-3.7
87-89B+3.3
83-86B3
80-82B-2.7
77-79C+2.3
73-76C2
70-72C1.7
67-69D+1.3
63-66D1
60-62D-0.7
0-59E/F0

 

Your semester GPA is determined by dividing the total grade points by the total number of course credits/unit/hours you enrolled for that semester.
Lets me show you a quick example using School B

  • Hours/Credits/Unit = C/U
  • Grade = GD
  • Grade Point = GP
  • Honor Point = HP
H/C/UGDGPHP
3B+3.39.9
2A48
2B-2.75.4
3C+2.36.9
1030.2

 

Your 1st semester GPA is 3.02
How?

  1. Multiply each Grade Point value by the number of Courses Hours/Credit/Unit taken to determine the Honor Points.
  2. Add together all the Honor points. (30.2)
  3. Add together all the semester Hours/Credit/Unit that received one of the above grades to determine total units or net hours. (10)
  4. Divide the Honor points by the net hours to calculate the GPA.
    Honor Points 30.2 ÷ Net Hours 10 = 3.02 GPA
    GPAs are rounded to the nearest 100th of a decimal point.
    Semester GPA is based on semester net hours. Cumulative GPA is based on total net hours.

2nd semester

H/C/UGDGPHP
3B+3.39.9
3A412
4B-2.710.8
3C+2.36.9
1339.6

Your 2nd semester GPA is 3.046
100 CGPA = 3.02 + 3.046= 6.066
6.066/2 = (100 CGPA is 3.03)

How do I keep a high GPA?

Maintaining a high semester GPA isn’t always easy; and if you start with a low GPA at the beginning of your study degree study, it will be much harder to raise your GPA later on. But, on the other hand, if you continue to exceed in your courses, and you happen to slip in your 3rd year with a less-than-average grade, your GPA will not be severely damaged.

So, I will often recommend – especially for freshers – to take the 1st-year examination more serious so that you have a better chance of starting with a higher GPA and avoid carryover course. Your GPA will change and vary throughout the years; but having in mind what your GPA is every semester will give you a good indication of how well you are doing in your courses overall (and, perhaps, whether you need to improve).

Now I know hope you know to calculate your semester GPA. Please don’t forget to rate this post and share with your friends.

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