HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR Grade Point Average (GPA)
As an Undergraduate Student it is important to know how to calculate your GPA, which will be reported to Potential Employers and Graduate schools you apply to. The information below will help you calculate your GPA thus far. You can also use it to calculate your anticipated GPA for the current semester.
To calculate GPA, use the following steps:
1. List each course you took or plan on taking and how many credits it is worth.
2. For each course, list the earned or expected grade.
3. Multiply the number of credits by the grade to get the “Grade Points” for each course.
4. Add the Grade Points for each course together to get Total Grade Points.
5. Divide the Total Grade Points by the total number of Credit Hours attempted. Credit hours = the total number of credits you earned and attempted. (Note that you do not earn credits for courses with a grade of 0.0 at MSU)
EXAMPLE – You are interested in knowing your GPA and these are the grades you have thus far in your classes.
57 Grade Points ÷ 15 Credits = 3.8 GPA
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HOW TO CALCULATE GRADES FOR EACH CLASS:
First and foremost, you should look at your syllabus for EACH class. The ways to calculate your grades depend on the method of your professor. But most (if not all) professors will include how they figure out points/percentages that determine grades for each student on the syllabus. Also check D2L for running totals that might be provided by your professor.
SAMPLE SYLLABUS
Your syllabus will include something like this “grade determination” chart. (NOTE: You should keep track of your grades and then you can plug them in to get an approximation for how you are doing.)
HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR grade in a class
To estimate your grade in a class:
1. List the assignments and allotted percentages that each is worth.
2. For each assignment, list the earned or expected grade. It may be helpful to ask your professor about your participation grade to make sure that you are on track.
3. Multiply the amount that this assignment is worth by the grade to get the points for each assignment.
4. Add the Grade Points for each assignment together to get your Total Grade Points.
5. Divide the Total Grade Points by 100. This should give you an idea of your expected grade.
To calculate your grade on the assignments completed:
Follow instructions 1-3 listing only your earned grades.
4. Add the Grade Points for each assignment together to get your Grade Points.
5. Divide the Grade Points by the number of assignments completed.
365 points ÷ 100 = 3.65 Grade
70 points (for the quizzes) ÷ 20 (quiz percent) = 3.5 Grade (for the quizzes)
MSU grades are reported in increments of 0.5 (e.g. 3.0; 3.5; 4.0). Instructors may choose to give you an intermediate grade on an assignment. For example, you could earn a 3.3 on your midterm and 2.9 for participation. In addition, if you earn a 3.25 grade or similar intermediate grade in the class, your instructor may choose to round up or down to the nearest reportable grade for your final course grade.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & SAMPLES
Grade calculation sample links:
“Weighted Average Grade Calculator” http://apps.mercer.edu/registrarcalc/weightedaverage.html
“Grade Calculators” https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~immer/gradecalc
Sample calculation of Lab:
Your current percentage is a/b: __________(a)/__________(b) = ______________%
Based on the table below, your current grade is a ______________
Are you satisfied with this grade?
Percentage Grade point
≥ 90 4.0
85 – 90 3.5
80 – 85 3.0
75 – 80 2.5
70 – 75 2.0
65 – 70 1.5
60 – 65 1.0
<60 0