How To Calculate Your GPA

Hi, I know most students would like to know exactly how their GPA is being calculated, so am just going to try and make it as simple as I can. Also try to read my advice at the end of the post because it might just help boost your GPA.

The formula for GPA is TCP divided by TNU i.e GPA = TCP/TNU

TNU

TNU stands for total number of units; TNU is a summation of credit units of all the courses a students registers.

For instance, if a student register two courses MTH 111 and PHY 111 each having credit units of 3 and 4 respectively, his/her TNU will be 7.

TCP

It will be easier for you to understand TCP if you first know what CP is. CP stands for Credit Points. The Credit point a student earns for a course depends on his/her grade.

The formula for CP is Credit Unit multiplied by Grade Value i.e CP = CU x GV

Grade Value is actually something I made up to make this explanation easier, but that doesn’t mean your calculation will be wrong.

Every Grade has its own numerical value, and these values are as follows;

A = 5

B = 4

C = 3

D = 2

E = 1

F = 0

Of course E is not available for everybody, depending on the year you were admitted.

So back to calculating CP, if a student earns an A in a 3 credit unit course (let’s say MTH 111); his CP (for MTH 111) will be given by CP = CU x GV è CP = 3 x 5 è CP = 15.  Meaning if another student gets a B for that same course his CP will be 12.

TCP for real this time…

OK, now that am sure you know what CP is, I will be easier to explain TCP.

TCP is just a summation of all your CP’s or Credit Points.

For instance, If a student has the below CP’s for MTH 111, PHY 111 and CSC 111 his TCP will be 32.

Course                   Credit Unit                      Grade                              CP

MTH 111                          3                              B                                  12

PHY 111                           4                              A                                    20

CSC 111                            3                               F                                     0

GPA

Like I said at the beginning of this blog post, GPA = TCP/TNU.

Ok so let’s take the case of the student above; his/her TCP was 32 while his/her TNU was 10. So definitely his/her GPA will be given by GPA = TCP / TNU è GPA = 32 / 10 è GPA = 3.20

Assuming the student got the maximum TCP (50) his/her GPA would be 5.00

CGPA

CGPA is a summation of all TCP’s for each semester, divided by the summation of all TNU’s for each semester. i.e CGPA = E TCP/ E TNU.

My Advice

1.    I know calculating GPA or CGPA can sometimes be confusing, but as students we just have to confirm our results.  

2.    Give more attention to higher unit courses, they have more control over your overall GPA, but am not saying you should neglect the courses with lower units.

Failing a 4 unit course will do more damage to your GPA than a 1 unit course, and in the same vain getting an A in a 4 unit course will do more good than a 1 unit course.

It’s even a good idea to calculate how much each course contributes to your overall GPA, so you can get your priorities right, and avoid some of the mistakes I made.

3.    The maximum credit units you can register for a semester is 24, you will not be able to register all carry over courses, if our total credit units for all courses exceeds 24.

For instance, if a student fails CHM 111 (a 3 credit unit course) and MTH 111 (also a 3 credit unit course) during 100L first semester, normally he/she would be able to carry over the courses and re-sit for the exam during 200L first semester.

But he/she will not be allowed to carry over all the courses, if the total credit units for that 200L first semester will exceed 24. Meaning he/she will have to carry over one to 300L first semester.

I just hope the explanation is clear, this is another reason why you should take your higher units courses, because it will help you avoid a lot of silly mistakes and maybe even extension (which is not anybody’s prayer).

That’s all, thanks for reading my over 800 words blog post, and just in case you like the GPA Calculator site and you want to learn web design and development from someone with hands on experience (PS: Am talking about Myself).