Target GPA calculator
Enter where you are and where you want to be, get the GPA you need from here.
The numbers in the fields are examples. Use your own, and check your school's grade points: A− is 3.7 at some schools and 3.67 at others.
Planning backwards from the GPA you want
A normal GPA calculator multiplies each course's grade points by its credits and divides by the total. This one runs that sum in reverse. You enter the cumulative GPA and credits you have now, the cumulative GPA you want, and how many credits are still ahead, and it tells you the average grade point you must earn in those credits. If the answer is more than the top of your scale, the target cannot be reached in that many credits, and the tool shows the best result you could still get and how many credits it would take at a realistic average instead. For going the other way, from letter grades to a GPA, use the GPA calculator.
The formula and its variables
A cumulative GPA is total quality points divided by total graded credits, where the quality points of a course are its grade points times its credits (Indiana University's registrar describes it exactly that way). Write g for your current GPA, c for the credits behind it, t for the target, n for the new credits and x for the average you must earn in them. The new GPA is (g × c + x × n) ÷ (c + n). Setting that equal to t and solving gives x = (t × (c + n) − g × c) ÷ n. The most you can reach is when x is the top grade point of your scale, normally 4.0, which gives (g × c + 4 × n) ÷ (c + n); the least is with x = 0.
The second mode answers a different question: how many credits does it take at a given average? If you will earn an average of a, the credits needed are c × (t − g) ÷ (a − t). It only has an answer when a is above the target, since an average equal to the target only holds the GPA where it is and can never lift it past the target. The result is rounded up to whole credits.
Because each new credit has to move an average that already holds all your earlier credits, the more credits behind you, the slower the GPA moves. After 30 credits, a 15-credit term makes up 33% of the total; after 90 credits it makes up only 14%.
Worked examples
A student has a 3.2 GPA over 60 credits and wants a 3.4 after 30 more credits. The required average is (3.4 × 90 − 3.2 × 60) ÷ 30 = 3.80. The lowest letter on the common scale that reaches that is an A (4.0); an A− (3.7) falls just short. Even straight As would give a cumulative 3.47.
A student with a 3.0 over 60 credits who wants a 3.5 after 30 more would need 4.50, above any 4.0 scale. All A's would lift the GPA only to 3.33. The same student can use the credits mode: at a 3.8 average, 60 more credits are needed to reach 3.4 (60 × 0.4 ÷ 0.4), twice what the first student faces. At the other end, a student with a 3.9 over 90 credits whose goal is a 2.0 can fail every course in the next 30 credits and still finish at 2.92.
Limits of this method
Scales differ between schools. Indiana University's registrar lists A+ and A as 4.0, A− as 3.7 and B+ as 3.3, while Rice University's registrar uses thirds (A− 3.67, B+ 3.33), and before fall 2018 Rice counted an A+ as 4.33. The table in the result uses the Indiana-style values; if your school uses a different top grade, change the highest grade point in the form, and check your own table before relying on a letter shown here.
What counts as a graded credit also differs. Indiana leaves pass, satisfactory, withdrawal and incomplete grades out of the GPA; Rice says a passing P does not affect the GPA, but an F counts in the credits attempted even though it earns no points. Whether a repeated course replaces the old grade or averages with it is set by each school, so ask your registrar before you count on a retake to lift the average. This calculator treats every credit as graded, equally weighted and counted once, and it does not model weighted high school GPAs with extra points for honors or AP classes. It also assumes you hit the average you enter: one grade can move a short stretch of credits a long way.
How do I calculate the GPA I need to reach a target?
Multiply the target by the credits you will have in total, subtract your current quality points (GPA times credits so far), and divide by the credits you still have to take. For a 3.2 GPA over 60 credits, a 3.4 target and 30 more credits, that is (3.4 × 90 − 3.2 × 60) ÷ 30 = 3.80.
What is the highest GPA I can reach?
Assume top grades (4.0 on most scales) in every remaining credit: (current GPA × credits so far + 4 × new credits) ÷ (credits so far + new credits). For a 3.0 over 60 credits and 30 more, that is 3.33. If your target is above this number, no grades in those credits can get you there; you need more credits or a different goal.
How many credits does it take to raise my GPA?
Switch the calculator to the credits mode, enter the average you expect to earn from here, and read off the number. The credits needed are credits so far × (target − GPA) ÷ (new average − target). A student with a 3.0 over 60 credits who earns 3.8 from now on needs 60 more credits to reach 3.4. If the expected average is not above the target, no number of credits is enough.
Does the calculator work for a weighted GPA or a 5.0 scale?
The arithmetic is the same for any scale; set the highest grade point to the top of yours. It cannot know how your school weights honors or AP classes, so enter the weighted GPA you see on your transcript and the same kind of average for new credits.
Do pass/fail and withdrawn classes count?
Usually not for the GPA itself. Indiana University excludes P, S, W and I from the GPA, and Rice says a P does not affect GPA, although an F counts as attempted credits. Enter only the credits that will be graded, and check your school's policy for repeated courses.
Is a 3.0 a good GPA?
On a 4.0 scale, 3.0 is a B average. Whether that is good depends on the program, scholarship or employer you have in mind, and they set the cutoff, not this calculator. Use it to see what a stated minimum would require of you.
Sources, checked October 27, 2026: Indiana University Office of the Registrar, Grading System & GPA Calculation; Rice University Office of the Registrar, GPA Calculation. Related: the GPA calculator, grade calculator, final grade calculator, weighted average calculator and student loan calculator. How we check our calculators.