CSU GPA calculator

The CSU GPA counts every “a-g” course grade from 10th through 12th grade: A is 4 points, B 3, C 2, D 1 and F 0, with no plus or minus. Each semester of an approved honors, AP, IB or college course with a C or better adds one point, up to 8 in all and no more than 2 from 10th grade. California residents are eligible from 2.50; nonresidents may be from 3.00, with the campus’s other factors.

Looking for Colorado State University? Its grade points and rules are on the Colorado State GPA calculator.

Your a-g grades

Example: 22 semester grades, 10 of them honors or AP. Type yours over them, or

Semester grades of each letter
Honors semesters with a C or better

Honors means a course marked Honors, AP or IB on your high school’s approved a-g course list, or an a-g college course. A year-long course is two semesters. A+ and A− count as A, B+ and B− as B; Credit and No Credit grades stay out.

A college course’s semester grade counts twice: the CSU’s example is a B in a community college biology class, counted as two B’s.

Example CSU GPA, 22 grades

3.81

(76 grade points + 8 honors points) ÷ 22 = 3.8181, cut to two decimals

At or above the 2.50 the CSU names for California residents and graduates of California high schools.

  • Without honors points3.45
  • Honors points used8 of 10

The CSU counts no more than 2 honors points from 10th grade and 8 in all.

Impacted campuses and majors may ask for a higher GPA.

The CSU’s instructions checked . An estimate from the grades you count; the CSU and its campuses work out the GPA they use for admission.

How the CSU calculates your GPA

  1. Take every “a-g” (college-preparatory) course grade earned after 9th grade, in 10th, 11th and 12th grade. Your high school’s a-g course list says which classes count.
  2. Turn each grade into points: A 4, B 3, C 2, D 1, F 0. Pluses and minuses don’t count, and Credit and No Credit grades stay out.
  3. Add one point for each semester of an approved honors, AP or IB course, or an a-g college course, with a C or better: up to 8 points in all, and no more than 2 from 10th grade. A D or F earns no extra point.
  4. Add up all the points and divide by the number of grades.

The 2.50 and 3.00 lines

California residents and graduates of California high schools are eligible with a 2.50 or higher; between 2.00 and 2.49 they may be considered with supplemental factors. Nonresidents may be eligible with a 3.00 or higher, along with the campus’s supplemental factors, and may be considered between 2.47 and 2.99.

Impacted campuses and majors may set a higher GPA and add their own criteria, so check the campus you are applying to.

Not the same as the UC GPA

The UC GPA stops at the summer after 11th grade and allows up to 4 honors points from 10th grade; the CSU GPA counts 12th grade too and allows only 2 from 10th grade. The same grades can give two different GPAs: work out the other one on the UC GPA calculator.

A worked example

Twenty-two semester grades from 10th to 12th grade: 12 A’s, 8 B’s and 2 C’s make 76 grade points. Ten of them are honors or AP semesters with a C or better, 3 in 10th grade and 7 later, but only 2 honors points can come from 10th grade and 8 in all: (76 + 8) ÷ 22 = 3.8181, shown as 3.81. Without the honors points it would be 76 ÷ 22 = 3.45.

The CSU’s pages don’t say how it rounds, so the calculator cuts to two decimals rather than rounding up: a 2.497 shows as 2.49, never as the 2.50 line.

Other GPAs

Your school’s own weighted or unweighted GPA, with every class: the high school GPA calculator. College grades: the college GPA calculator.

Sources: The California State University, GPA Calculator; The California State University, Freshman: Admission Requirements.