What’s That Part 1- GPA

The Grade Point Average (GPA) is the average result of all the grades achieved throughout the degree you have taken. GPA can be either numerical or alphabetic. The numerical scale can be on a 4 point, 4.5, 7 or 10-point grade levels. Colleges have GPA requirements required for student admissions. Maintaining high GPA can make you eligible for scholarships. The conversion of numerical GPA into alphabetical grades can be tricky. A cumulative grade point average is an average of all of a student's total earned points divided by the possible amount of points/course subject. Almost every university follow the grade point system, be it letters or numbers. Most schools translate those grade points into percentages for reference. The different types of grading systems are: - The point scale - The percentile system - Letter grade methods Th grade point system emerged in Europe in late 1700’s to issue standardized marking scheme for all students. Before the grading system, students were assessed based on various factors that did not end up as a single report. It was at the same time; the concept of examinations came to be. Standardized testing of students was unheard of at this time. These standard tests helped teachers in promoting the grading system as a level of issuing marks. There are a couple of factors that can influence your GPA because it depends on both the types of classes you are taking (honours or college level ones vs. regular classes) and the number of credits you are given upon completion of each course. Like said above, the grade point can be alphabetic or numeric. Numerical GPA can be out of the 4.0, 4.5, 7.0 or 10.0. In alphabetical grading system, letters are used to represent the percentage of the student.

How to calculate GPA: The letter grades on your individual subjects are assigned a standard value. In 4.0 scale, these are translated to: A = 4.00                C = 2.00 A- = 3.67               C- = 1.67 B+ = 3.33              D+ = 1.33 B = 3.00                D = 1.00 B- = 2.67               D- = 0.67 C+ = 2.33              F = 0.00 Usually C is considered pass. In some universities, D will let you take improvement exams to better your grade or put you in probation. F is Fail. In the 4.0 scale, most universities require a GPA of 3.6 or above for scholarships.

To calculate G.P.A. for a term: -Multiply the point value of the letter grade by the number of credit hours for the said subject. The result is the grade points earned for that subject. For example, you received B- in Math (credit hours for math is 3), C in Biology (credit hours= 3) and A in English (credit hours=2). Find the individual subjects’ grade point by Math: 2.67 (B- grade) x 3= 8.01 Biology: 2.00x 3= 6.00 English: 4.00 x 2= 8.00 -Total the credit hours for the term; total the individual grade points for the term. Sum of individual grade points= 8.01+ 6.00+ 8.00= 22.1 Sum of credit hours= 3+3+2=8 -Divide the sum of individual grade points by the sum of the credit hours. The result is the G.P.A. for the term. GPA= Sum of individual grade points = 22.1 =2.76               Sum of credit hours                           8 Therefore 2.76 is the GPA for the term.  

To calculate cumulative G.P.A.: -Total the credit hours from all terms; total the individual grade points from all terms. -Divide the sum of all individual grade points for all terms by the total credit hours for all terms. The result is the cumulative G.P.A.

CGPA= Sum of all the individual grade points in all terms Sum of credit hours from all terms   Certain higher education institutions have percentage requirements.

Converting your GPA to percentage is simple. You need to divide your GPA by the number of courses and multiply the result with 100. For example, if you score a GPA of 3.6 out of 4.0, then you would be calculating your percentage as: 3.6/4.0x100.

Universities have a minimum grade points requirement. According to the course you want to take and the university.