For those who want to know what is GPA, please note that it is the most convenient way to measure your academic excellence and performance. In other words, the GPA process involves the evaluation of the academic performance of students (whose GPA stands for “Grade Points Average”) in order to rank students according to their academic achievements. In this article, we will discuss everything to know about GPA scores for pursuing higher studies, possibly abroad.
What Is GPA And How To Calculate It With Simple Steps!
How does GPA work? What is the significance?
General weighted grade point average, which is defined as CGPA (Cumulative Grade Points Average), can also be expressed as “GPA”.
GPA is an important score:
GPA is cited as an effective way to assign a numerical value to students’ achievements. Thanks to the GPA, each grade earned by the students in their courses is calculated on a single scale. This allows the student to express the grades he/she receives in a semester, a year, or even during his/her academic education with just a number. Most colleges and universities heavily consider the results of their grade point averages when making admissions decisions.
GPA is also an indicator of students’ abilities:
It also stands out as it helps to distinguish successful students for university admission, scholarship, or job.
But please note that a student’s GPA score may not be used in every country’s education system. Countries and schools using GPA can also evaluate on different GPA scales. The GPA system is often calculated and requested in high school, university, and post-graduate education.
It helps with your higher education selection:
Just getting an education in a good school is often not enough. It’s also important to show that you graduated with a good GPA.
Institutions providing graduate and vocational education also care about averages, therefore we can say that having a good GPA is a great advantage to keep your GPA score high in order to take firm steps in the further education process and to rise in your field of choice.
The final decision to accept students into the institution is mostly made according to factors such as personal characteristics and essay writing. A student’s high-grade point averages and test scores are also indispensable factors in getting early admission to the university.
How is GPA Calculated?
Now that we have clarified the significance of GPA, we can now move on to the calculation of GPA scores.
The letter grade system:
The letter grade system is used by many academic institutions to evaluate students around the world. There are different grading systems related to the letter grade model. Generally, the GPA scaling is between 0.0-4.0. The letter grade is expressed as A, B, C, D, or F. Although it is rare, there are also those who use the letter grade “E”.
GPA calculation, which you can also come across as Gano calculation, can be done easily. For the calculation process, you must first know which letter grade system you are using.
According to the letter grade system, “A” represents ideal work, while “B” or “C” draws attention to standard work performance. “D” indicates that the student has deficiencies, while “F” indicates that the course has failed.
Although it varies according to countries and universities, 3 different letter grade systems come to the fore in general. You can examine the success grade equivalents of AA/BA/BB – A+/A-/A – A1/A2/A3 letter grade systems to help you calculate your GPA rate correctly.
The pluses and minuses of the letters:
The pluses and minuses next to the letter grades are also referred to as “US grades”. This is important in order to take into account the intermediate values in the notes. For example, while 90-100 is A, 90-92 is A-, or 97-100 is A+, which can change the balance on average. It should also be noted that not every institution recognizes the + and – letter grading system.
The University GPA calculation process is generally done according to the final grades. In this way, you can easily have information about the general performance of the students. While it is meaningless to say that students have earned grades such as A, B, and C, it is more accurate to express their average as 2.0 – 3.0 – 4.0 at the end of the semester or year. Likewise, from the point of view of the courses taken during the semester, it would be much more appropriate to use letter grades instead of numbers. It’s like saying “I got an A in chemistry” instead of saying “I got a 4.0 in math”.
If you want, your university grade point average is given to you by the school as a transcript. You can get your transcript from student affairs, e-government systems, or university web pages.
Want to calculate the GPA yourself? Here’s how!
First, gather the answers to these questions:
- How many credits are the courses taken during the semester?
- How many courses did you take during the semester?
- You must know the letter grade equivalent of the courses taken during the semester.
Let’s say you get an A from a 4-credit course, B from a 3-credit course, C from a 2-credit course, and B from a 4-credit course in one semester. Based on these data, we can calculate your cumulative grade point average in a semester using the equation below.
DIY Formula:
(Course taken*letter grade) + (Course taken*Letter grade) + (Course taken*Letter grade) + (Course taken*Letter grade) / Total number of credits taken during the semester = GPA of that semester
(4*4) + (3*3) + (2*2) + (4*3) / 13 = 41 / 12 = 3.15
You can make all your university education periods according to this equation. Only the credits you receive and the credits you complete may differ. So you may not pass every course you take. And you can only count your credits on the courses you pass. On the contrary, you divide your total score at the end of the semester by the number of credits you have taken. You will see in your transcript that for each course you fail, the number of credits for that course will be multiplied by “0” and it will lower your average for that semester. Likewise, it will increase rapidly as you get successful grades.
Things can get a little more complicated when courses have different credit counts. For example, if you get an A from a 4-credit course, you get 16 credits in total, and if you get an A from a 2-credit course, you get 8 credits. In short, when you get the same letter grade, the credit numbers of the courses in general change the balance of your average.
Another hack to calculate your GPA by yourself:
Even though students have information about what GPA is and how it is calculated, students also have the opportunity to automatically calculate their university grade point average.
METU GPA is one of the most preferred websites on these pages. It was made by a small group of students studying at METU. And it has been developed to make it easier to calculate grade point averages. The website provides the opportunity to calculate both your semester average (GPA) and your overall weighted average (GCPA). In addition, all letter grade systems used by universities are available on the page. You can click on METU GPA to calculate your average immediately. In addition to the university grade point average calculation, you can also calculate the course grade on the page.
UK GPA system or UK grading system (brief points):
- The UK university and UK graduate grading system are expressed differently than usual.
- To graduate from a university in the UK, it is sufficient to complete 180 credits since undergraduate programs are 3 years.
- In order to graduate, you must complete the courses of your department with a minimum average of 2.0. This means that you get at least C from each of the courses, which corresponds to an average of 240 credits.
- In order to study at the UK’s best universities, your average is generally expected to be 3.0 or higher.
- Being able to take part in prestigious universities in England will be of great benefit to you.