GPA from Letter Grades

Excel Formulas › Education & Grading

All versionsSUMPRODUCT

GPA is a credit-weighted average of grade points — each course’s points (A=4, B=3…) times its credit hours, summed and divided by total credits. SUMPRODUCT handles the weighting.

Quick formula: GPA from grade points and credits:
=SUMPRODUCT(grade_points, credits) / SUM(credits)
Each course's grade points times its credits, summed, divided by total credits.

Functions used (tap for the full reference guide):

SUMPRODUCTVLOOKUP

The example

A(3cr), B(4cr), A(3cr).

AB
1CoursePoints · Cr
2Math4.0 · 3
3GPA→ 3.70

The formula

The formula:

=SUMPRODUCT(points, credits) / SUM(credits) // credit-weighted average

How it works

How it works:

  1. Convert each letter to grade points (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0) — a VLOOKUP table is ideal.
  2. Multiply each course’s points by its credit hours and sum — that’s SUMPRODUCT.
  3. Divide by total credits for the credit-weighted GPA.
  4. A 3-credit A and a 1-credit C don’t average to a C+ — weighting by credits is what makes it a GPA.

Plus/minus and weighted scales: many schools use A−=3.7, B+=3.3, etc., and honors/AP courses on a 5.0 scale. Drive the points from a lookup table of letter→points so a different scale is one edit. Cumulative GPA just extends the ranges across all terms.

Try it: interactive demo

Live demo

Grade points and credits (comma-separated).

GPA:

Variations

Letter to points

VLOOKUP table:

=VLOOKUP(letter, points_table, 2, FALSE)

Unweighted GPA

Equal credits:

=AVERAGE(grade_points)

Cumulative GPA

All terms:

=SUMPRODUCT(all_points, all_credits) / SUM(all_credits)

Pitfalls & errors

Weight by credits. A plain AVERAGE ignores credit hours and gives the wrong GPA.

Map the scale. Use a lookup table for letter→points so plus/minus is easy.

Zero credits. No credits gives #DIV/0! — ensure credit hours are entered.

Practice workbook

📊
Download the free GPA from Letter Grades practice workbook
A GPA sheet with the letter-to-points, unweighted, and cumulative variants, plus 4 challenges with answers. No sign-up required.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate GPA in Excel?
Use =SUMPRODUCT(grade_points, credits) / SUM(credits). Convert letters to points (A=4…) with a VLOOKUP table first.
Why not just average the grade points?
GPA is credit-weighted: a 4-credit course counts more than a 1-credit one. AVERAGE ignores that.
How do I handle plus/minus grades?
Use a letter→points lookup table (A-=3.7, B+=3.3, etc.) so the scale is a single editable reference.

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Related formulas: Weighted grade · Letter grade from score · Weighted average

Function references: SUMPRODUCTVLOOKUP