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Harvard College averages letter grades on a 4-point scale: A 4.00, A− 3.67, B+ 3.33, B 3.00, B− 2.67, C+ 2.33, C 2.00, C− 1.67, D+ 1.33, D 1.00, D− 0.67 and E 0, with no A+. Every failing grade counts as zero, including an E, a Fail (FL) in a pass/fail course, UNS, ABS, NCR and EXL, while PA, SAT, CR, WD and passing grades from cross-registration or study elsewhere stay out. Retake a failed course and both grades are averaged in; retake one you passed and the second grade earns zero credit and never enters your GPA.
Harvard’s points: A 4.00, A− 3.67, B+ 3.33, B 3.00 and so on.
The plus/minus cutoffs Wikipedia lists for US colleges: A+ from 97%, A 93, A- 90, B+ 87, B 83, B- 80 and so on down to D- at 60. It is not universal, so use your syllabus's cutoffs when they differ.Source: Wikipedia, “Academic grading in the United States”.
Your class cutoffs
Letter
Lowest %
Remove
Each letter starts at its lowest percentage and runs up to the next letter.
Rounding and decimal places
Follow your syllabus. A displayed percentage can round up while the unrounded score stays below a cutoff.
Only changes how results are shown. Extra places appear when rounding would push a score over a letter cutoff.
A letter typed as a score counts as the lowest percentage for that letter on this scale. Use the original percentage when you have it.
Only scales that publish GPA points can convert a percentage. Check that your school uses these same points.
Example courses. Change them to yours, or
CourseGradeCredit hours
Include your earlier GPA
Quality points are the more exact input when the displayed GPA has already been rounded. Do not include these same credits again in the course rows.
Raise my GPA: what would it take to reach a target?
These are future credits beyond the courses and earlier record entered above.
Pass/fail or a retake: what would change?
Whether a pass/fail course leaves the GPA and whether a retake replaces the old grade are your school’s rules; the table below shows Harvard’s.
One grade higher: which course moves your GPA most?
Each line raises one course by one grade on the grade points above and leaves the others as entered, so a course that carries more credit moves the GPA more. A course you haven’t finished can be marked “Planned” in its ⋯ menu: the GPA so far then leaves it out, and the projection counts it at the grade you chose. A grade already on your transcript changes only under your school’s retake or grade-change rules.
Compare with a GPA line (dean's list, scholarship, good standing)Course groups and equal weights
Set a course's group or term, or mark it planned, in its ⋯ menu. Groups are just your labels: they don’t apply AMCAS or other application-service GPA rules.
Import courses from a transcript or spreadsheet
Copy the courses from your unofficial transcript, degree audit or a spreadsheet and paste them here, one course per line with its grade and credits. Term headings such as “Fall 2025” keep the courses in their terms. Your grades stay in this browser.
Line
Course
Read as
This replaces the courses above. You can put them back afterwards.
Save my courses or compare versions
Nothing is sent to us. Untick the box to forget them.
To compare plans, save the courses as they are now as a version, change them, and save again. Versions stay in this browser until you delete them.
Open a file you saved with “Save the versions to a file”, in this browser or another. It is read in your browser and sent nowhere.
Harvard’s rules checked in its Harvard College Student Handbook 2026–2027. Sources are at the bottom of the page.
Grade points at Harvard
Harvard multiplies each course’s grade points by its credit hours, adds them up and divides by the hours that count. Enter your courses above with these points already set.
What W, pass/fail, incomplete, retakes and transfer credit do at Harvard
A course left out of the GPA adds no points and no hours. In the calculator, choose its code or “Not counted”; a code that counts as zero lowers the GPA like a failing grade.
How Harvard counts each code
Code
What it means
In the Harvard GPA
A
The top grade (4.00); there’s no A+
Counts 4.00. Starting in 2027–2028, an instructor may give an A to at most 20 percent plus 4 of the undergraduates in a course; the A− (3.67) has no such limit. The 2026–2027 rules don’t limit A’s. Rule
E
Failing letter grade: work unworthy of course credit
Counts 0 and stays in your GPA even if you repeat the course and pass. You get no credit. Any failing grade makes the term unsatisfactory, and an E together with another grade below C− in the same term misses the minimum requirements, which ordinarily means a requirement to withdraw for two terms. Rule
D+, D, D-
Passing but unsatisfactory: some minimal command of the material
Count 1.33, 1.00 and 0.67 and earn credit, but they don’t count toward the 84 letter-graded credits at C− or higher that you need, and a single one makes your term record unsatisfactory, which ordinarily means academic probation. Rule
PA / FL
Pass (A to D− work) or Fail (an E) in a course you took pass/fail
A PA earns credit and stays out of your GPA; an FL counts as zero. Any undergraduate may take a course pass/fail with the instructor’s permission, with no limit on the number as long as you meet the letter-grade requirements (128 credits with at least 84 at C− or higher, 48 of them by the end of sophomore year, and ordinarily at least three letter-graded courses a term as a first-year or sophomore). You can switch to or from pass/fail until the eleventh Monday of the term; see the academic calendar for the date. Independent Study is always graded PA/FL. Rule
SAT / UNS
Satisfactory (A to C− work) or Unsatisfactory (below C−) in courses graded only this way
A SAT earns credit and stays out of your GPA; a UNS is a failing grade and counts as zero. First-Year Seminars are always SAT/UNS, as are certain junior and senior tutorials, and you can’t ask for a letter grade in these courses. A SAT counts toward the 84 letter-graded credits only for one 8-credit senior tutorial, or for a First-Year Seminar that fills a concentration requirement. Rule
ABS
Absent from a regularly scheduled midyear or final exam
A failing grade that counts as zero; an unexcused ABS is the same as an E. It changes only if you’re granted a makeup and take it. Rule
CR / NCR
Credit (A to D− work) or No Credit (an E), used only in certain Harvard Summer School courses
CR stays out of your GPA; NCR is a failing grade and counts as zero. An unfinished Summer School course becomes NCR unless the Summer School’s Administrative Board grants an extension, and an Incomplete from a cross-registered course becomes No Credit unless the College’s Administrative Board votes an extension. Rule
EXL (EXLD)
Excluded: removed from the course by the Administrative Board or Honor Council
Counts as zero and equals failing the course, with no credit; it alone makes the term unsatisfactory. The handbook writes EXL in the GPA rule and EXLD in the list of failing grades; the Registrar’s key uses EXLD. Rule
WD
Withdrawn with permission, without credit
WD isn’t a grade and carries no credit; the GPA rule counts only letter grades and failing grades, so it stays out of your GPA. You may drop a course, which removes it from your transcript, until the fifth Monday of the term, and petition to withdraw until the eleventh Monday; see the academic calendar for the dates. After that, only the Administrative Board can make an exception. If you miss the final exam without having dropped or withdrawn, you get an ABS instead. Rule
EXT
Extension of time to finish course work
A temporary notation, not a grade: your instructor gives a final grade when the extension ends, or right away if the Administrative Board doesn’t grant more time. Rule
INC
Incomplete, for graduate students only
Harvard College never gives undergraduates an Incomplete. An Incomplete from a course you cross-register into becomes No Credit, a failing grade, unless the Administrative Board votes an extension. Rule
Midyear grade
The fall grade in a year-long (8-credit) course
Doesn’t factor into your GPA: when you finish the spring term, the spring grade replaces it on the transcript and is the one counted. A failing or unsatisfactory midyear grade still counts toward your term’s academic standing. Rule
Repeated course
You took the same course again
If you failed a course, you may normally repeat it for grade and credit, but the first failing grade stays on your record permanently and both grades are averaged into your GPA. If you passed a course, you may still repeat it, but the second time shows zero credit and doesn’t count toward your degree requirements, honors or GPA, so your first grade stands. The same rule applies to two differently numbered courses that overlap significantly. Courses marked “r” (such as 91r) can be repeated for credit without a petition. You also can’t get degree credit for a Summer School course that’s essentially the same as one you already took for credit. Rule
Transfer credit
Grades from another college
Grades earned outside Harvard’s FAS stay out of your GPA unless they’re failing. Courses taken by cross-registration (other Harvard schools or MIT) or out of residence don’t count in your GPA or toward the 84 letter-graded credits, though a failing grade in a cross-registered course counts in both your GPA and your honors calculation. Cross-registration credit counts toward the 128 credits without limit, and ROTC courses at MIT (up to 8 credits) never enter your GPA. Credit earned abroad is transfer credit: at most 16 credits a term, 8 a summer and 32 in all. Harvard Summer School courses taken for credit are different: they count as work in residence and their grades enter your GPA. Transfer students who enter as sophomores (32 credits granted) must pass 96 credits at Harvard with C− or higher in at least 60 (72 for honors); junior transfers (64 credits) must pass 64 with at least 40 at C− or higher (48 for honors), with the exact number set at matriculation. The faculty handbook adds that cross-registered courses approved for concentration credit before July 1, 2024, still count. Rule
Harvard GPA lines
These are Harvard’s published undergraduate lines, each with the other conditions its catalog sets. Your college or program may set its own, higher lines.
Published GPA lines at Harvard
GPA line
What it means
Also required
No GPA minimum: every grade C− or higher
Satisfactory record (good standing)
Harvard College judges each term by grades, not by GPA: you need satisfactory grades (C− or higher, PA or SAT) in all your courses and at least one letter grade in an FAS course taken for degree credit. In your first term as a first-year, your record is satisfactory if every grade passes, at most one is below C−, and at least one is a satisfactory letter grade. Full rule
Any grade below C− in a term
Academic probation
A D-range grade or any failing grade makes your term record unsatisfactory, and the Registrar places you on probation automatically; with especially compelling circumstances, the Administrative Board may instead take no action and warn you. Probation lifts after your next term if every grade is satisfactory and you pass at least three courses; Summer School and study-abroad work can’t lift it, and you can’t graduate while on probation. It becomes part of your official record but doesn’t appear permanently on your transcript. Full rule
Two unsatisfactory terms in a row
Requirement to withdraw
Ordinarily for two terms, or longer if the Administrative Board says so; serious neglect of work followed by an unsatisfactory term can also lead to it. If you’re readmitted, you come back on probation. A second requirement to withdraw ordinarily means you won’t be readmitted. Full rule
A failing grade plus any other grade below C− in one term
Requirement to withdraw (minimum requirements not met)
Each term you may have at most one failing grade, and it can’t come with another unsatisfactory grade; you also need at least two satisfactory grades, one of them a letter grade in an FAS course taken for degree credit. Missing this ordinarily means withdrawing for two terms, even if your previous term was satisfactory. Full rule
No GPA minimum to graduate
Degree requirements
You need 128 credits, with letter grades of C− or higher in at least 84 of them, and ordinarily eight terms in residence; you can’t receive the degree while on probation. Full rule
3.987 (May 2026 cutoff)
Summa cum laude in a field
Your concentration must name you for highest honors, and summa goes to the top 5 percent of the graduating class drawn from that group. Every Latin honor also needs departmental honors (except cum laude for the overall record) and C− or higher letter grades in at least 96 letter-graded credits, prorated if you pass fewer than 128 credits at Harvard. The cutoffs aren’t fixed: each May’s cutoff applies at later degree meetings until the next May. Full rule
3.925 (May 2026 cutoff)
Magna cum laude in a field
Your concentration must name you for high or highest honors; summa and magna together are capped at 20 percent of May degree candidates. If your concentration awarded highest honors but you missed summa, the degree is magna cum laude with highest honors in a field. Full rule
3.741 (May 2026 cutoff)
Cum laude in a field
Your concentration must name you for honors, high honors or highest honors; summa, magna and cum laude in a field together make up 50 percent of May degree candidates. Full rule
3.925 (May 2026 cutoff), at most the top 10%
Cum laude for the overall record
Without concentration honors, you can earn cum laude on GPA alone if your GPA is at or above the lowest GPA that earned magna cum laude that May; if more than 10 percent of May candidates qualify, only the top 10 percent by GPA receive it. The honors GPA includes failed courses and Summer School courses, and cross-registered courses only as appropriate. Only Latin honors appear on your diploma. Full rule
Top 5% / next 5% by annual GPA
John Harvard Scholars / Harvard College Scholars
Honorary titles for rising sophomores, juniors and seniors, based on the previous year’s GPA; you must complete the full year in good academic and disciplinary standing. For 2024–2025 the John Harvard cutoff was 4.000 in every class, and no Harvard College Scholars were named. Full rule
None since fall 2003
Dean’s List
Harvard College hasn’t had a Dean’s List since fall 2003. Full rule
No GPA minimum
Financial aid satisfactory academic progress
Reviewed at the end of each semester using the same minimum requirements (at most one failing grade, not alongside another unsatisfactory grade), plus a pace standard and a limit of 192 attempted credit hours (12 semesters). The aid page counts pace in year-long-course units (four a year), which matches the handbook’s average of 32 credits a year. It also accepts, as the required letter grade, one earned in a cross-registered course counted toward concentration or UTEP requirements, which the handbook’s minimum requirements don’t mention. Full rule
To see how far you are from one of them, enter it under “Compare with a GPA line” in the calculator, or as your target in the target GPA planner.
A worked example
At Harvard a retake doesn’t erase an E. Say that in your first year you earn an E, an A−, a B+ and a B in four 4-credit courses, plus a SAT in a First-Year Seminar, which stays out: (0 × 4 + 3.67 × 4 + 3.33 × 4 + 3.00 × 4) ÷ 16 = 40.00 ÷ 16 = 2.50. The E also makes that term unsatisfactory, so you’re on academic probation the next term. You repeat the failed course and earn an A−. Both grades count: (0 × 4 + 3.67 × 4 + 3.33 × 4 + 3.00 × 4 + 3.67 × 4) ÷ 20 = 54.68 ÷ 20 ≈ 2.73. If the A− had replaced the E, you’d have 54.68 ÷ 16 ≈ 3.42, but Harvard doesn’t do that. Had you instead repeated the B course you passed, the new grade would show zero credit and stay out of your GPA, leaving it at 2.50.
The calculator gives an estimate from the grades you enter. Your official GPA is the one on your Harvard academic record.
For any other college, the college GPA calculator starts on the common plus/minus 4.0 points and takes your school’s own. Cumulative GPA combines terms you already have, and the GPA guide answers what a GPA means.
