How to Calculate Unweighted GPA
The unweighted GPA is the standard academic measurement used by schools in the United States. It evaluates your performance strictly based on your grades, without factoring in course difficulty.
On this scale, grades range from 0.0 (Failing) to 4.0 (A). Every course carries the same weight, regardless of whether it is an introductory class or a highly challenging Advanced Placement (AP) course. Because it provides a level playing field, many colleges rely heavily on the unweighted GPA to assess students' basic academic capability across different schools.
Unweighted vs Weighted GPA Explained
The standard mapping of grades to unweighted grade points is as follows:
- A+ / A: 4.0 points
- A-: 3.7 points
- B+: 3.3 points
- B: 3.0 points
- B-: 2.7 points
- C+: 2.3 points
- C: 2.0 points
- D: 1.0 point
- F: 0.0 points
Why do colleges use Unweighted GPA?
While weighted GPAs are great for assessing academic courage and course rigor, they vary wildly between school districts. Some schools give +1.0 weight for AP courses, others give +2.0, and some do not weight grades at all. The unweighted GPA allows college admissions officers to view your raw, normalized grades and compare you objectively with applicants from other regions.
If your school uses weighted GPAs, our unweighted GPA calculator can help you find your baseline average to see where you stand in terms of raw academic performance.
Looking for other tools? Start at the main GPA Calculator homepage, calculate high school grades with our High School GPA Calculator, or compare weighted stats on our Weighted GPA Calculator.