Ever wonder how your grades are summed up into a number (hopefully very close to 4.0!)? Here's how it's done: A Grade Point Average ( 

GPA

 ) is obtained by dividing the total number of points you earn for each class (see below) by the total number of credit hours.

But first, you'll need the breakdown of what each letter grade is worth per credit:
A = four points
B+ = three and a half points
B = three points
C+ = two and a half points
C = two points
D+ = one and a half points
D = one point
F = zero points

Ready to try an example? Here goes: You earned two B's and two C's in your classes, which were three credits each:
B B C C Credits
[(3x3) + (3x3) + (2x3) + (2x3)] / 12

That equals a 2.5 GPA (better hit the books!). To avoid the number--crunching, plug your grades into an online GPA calculator like the one found at www.back2college.com/gpa.htm.

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