Grading System in US Colleges / Universities

If you come from a country that use a percentage system, or any other system other than the GPA system, this section will help you to have a better understanding on how the GPA system works.

What does a credit / non-credit class means?

If you take a credit class, by the end of the class you will receive a grade based on your performance in the class (A, B, C, D, F, I, W). This grade will appear on your academic transcript and counted towards your GPA.

On the other hand, if you take a non-credit class, after you are done with the class, on your transcript it will appear "credit" if you passed the class and "no credit" if you didn't pass the class. Therefore, it cannot be included to calculate your GPA

What does my grade mean?

Your grades represent points that will be used to calculate your GPA. The typical point that you get on each grade is described in the table below (the point may varies depending on your college / university policy)

Grade	Point	Description
A / A-	4.0 / 3.7
B+ / B / B-	3.3 / 3.0 / 2.7
C+ / C / C-	2.3 / 2.0 / 1.7
D+ / D / D-	1.3 / 1.0 / 0.7
F	0.0	Failure
I	0.0	Incomplete
AUD	0.0	Audit
Credit	0.0	Credit (for non-credit class)
No Credit	0.0	No Credit (for non-credit class)
W	0.0	Withdrawn

What is 'audit a class' means?

Audit a class means that you only attend the class because you want to know more about the class. You are not required participate in the class nor appear for exams. However, you will not get any grades if you only audit a class.

How to calculate my GPA ?

The table below illustrate a GPA calculation.

Course	Grades	Credits	Points	Credit x Point
Calculus I	B	4	3.0	12.00
Intermediate English	A-	3	3.7	11.10
Accounting 101	B+	3	3.3	9.90
Principle of Macroeconomics	C+	2	2.3	4.60
Total (Credit x Point)				37.60
GPA = Total (Credit x Point) / Total Credit				3.13