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MSU grades in numbers, not letters: your grade is 4.0, 3.5, 3.0, 2.5, 2.0, 1.5, 1.0 or 0.0, and that number is your grade point, multiplied by the course’s credits. A 0.0 counts in your GPA, and an Incomplete (I) or Extension (ET) in a numerically graded course turns into a 0.0 if it isn’t finished in time. CR/NC, P/N, W, V, S/NS, an open I or ET, and every grade from another school stay out. Repeat a course and the last grade completely replaces the earlier one in your GPA.
MSU’s grades are numbers, and each is its own grade points: 4.0, 3.5, 3.0 and so on down to 1.0, then 0.0.
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 MSU’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.
MSU’s rules checked in its Academic Programs Catalog (Office of the Registrar), as published October 2026. Sources are at the bottom of the page.
Grade points at MSU
MSU 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.
MSU’s grades are numbers: 4.0, 3.5, 3.0, 2.5, 2.0, 1.5, 1.0 and 0.0. Each grade is its own grade points.
What W, pass/fail, incomplete, retakes and transfer credit do at MSU
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 MSU counts each code
Code
What it means
In the MSU GPA
4.0 to 1.0
Passing numerical grades, in steps of 0.5
Each counts its own number in your GPA: a 3.5 in a 4-credit course is 14 grade points. A 1.0 is the lowest grade that earns credit for an undergraduate. MSU doesn’t publish a word or a letter for each number. Rule
0.0
Failing work: no credit earned
Counts in your GPA with all its credits. You also get a 0.0 if an I or ET in a numerically graded course isn’t finished in time, or if you drop a course after the middle of the semester while failing it. If you leave during a semester without withdrawing, you get the grades you earned; withdrawing from a whole term no longer gives 0.0 grades. Rule
CR or NC
Credit or No Credit, an option you choose: CR for work at the 2.0 level or above, NC below 2.0
Neither counts in your GPA, though the Registrar keeps your instructor’s numerical grade in your records. You can take up to 20 credits CR-NC, and you must tell your college by the midpoint of the class; you can’t change it after that. Courses used for Tier I or Tier II writing, the university math requirement or Integrative Studies can’t be taken CR-NC, and a numerical grade can’t be converted to CR or NC afterward. Rule
P or N
Pass or No Grade, only in courses approved for P-N grading
Neither is a numerical grade, so neither counts in your GPA. P earns credit for work your instructor judged satisfactory; N earns none. N is also the grade for an unfinished I or ET, or a late drop while failing, in a P-N course. Rule
I
Incomplete: you finished at least 6/7 of the term with satisfactory work, but illness or another compelling reason kept you from finishing
Doesn’t count in your GPA or your academic standing while it’s an I. The work is due by the middle of your next semester in attendance (summer doesn’t count), if that’s within a year. If you don’t finish, it becomes a 0.0, NC or N. If you don’t enroll at MSU within a year, it becomes U and you can finish only by re-enrolling. Rule
ET
Extension, in approved courses whose work runs past one semester
Doesn’t count in your GPA or your academic standing while it’s an ET. If no final grade is reported by the end of the sequence or the approved time, it becomes a 0.0, NC or N. Rule
W
Withdrew, a no-grade symbol
Doesn’t count in your GPA. Courses dropped by the Last Day to Drop with No Grade Reported (the middle of the course) don’t appear on your transcript. After that, you can drop a single course only for an enrollment error or catastrophic circumstances such as a serious illness, and you get a W only if you’re passing. Withdrawing from the whole term after that date, through the Class Ends date, gives W grades. Rule
U
Unfinished: an I not completed within a year without enrolling again, or an expired DF
Not a numerical grade, so it isn’t in your GPA. You can complete the course only by enrolling in it again. Rule
V
Visitor: you attended without credit
Not counted in credits attempted or in your GPA. You can later take the course for credit with your advisor’s approval. Rule
S or NS
Satisfactory or Not Satisfactory, offered only for Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021 and (for undergraduates) Summer 2021
Neither is a numerical grade, so neither counts in your GPA. For undergraduates, S meant work at the 1.0 level or higher. Rule
DF
Deferred, given only to graduate students
Not an undergraduate grade. If the work isn’t finished in time, it becomes U. Rule
Repeated course
You took the same course again
You can repeat any course whatever your earlier grade, though the College of Natural Science’s GPA page says a course with a grade under 2.0 may be repeated; the catalog sets no grade limit. Each course can be repeated twice (three enrollments in all), and you can repeat at most 20 credits. The last grade and credits completely replace the earlier grade in your cumulative GPA, while every attempt stays on your permanent record; the College of Natural Science adds that the earlier grade leaves your GPA as soon as you enroll in the repeat. You must repeat on the same grading system, and a course you took CR or P can’t be repeated for credit. Retaking an MSU course at another school and transferring it removes the MSU attempt from your GPA, and the transfer grade doesn’t count either. Federal aid pays for repeating a failed course more than once, but for only one more try after you pass. The College of Law is different: both grades count. Rule
Transfer credit
Grades from another college
Transfer grades never enter your MSU GPA: only MSU coursework counts, including MSU and MSU co-sponsored education abroad programs. Each course needs a grade of at least 2.0 to transfer. Up to 60 credits can come from two-year schools, with no limit from four-year schools, and no more than 10 of your final 30 credits can be transfer credits without approval. Transfer students need at least 50 MSU credits for graduation honors. For financial aid progress, transfer credits do count in your attempted and completed credits. Rule
MSU truncates instead of rounding. The catalog says your GPA is truncated to three decimal places, and the Graduation Honors page says GPAs are calculated and truncated at two decimal places, so a 3.879 doesn’t become a 3.88.
MSU GPA lines
These are MSU’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 MSU
GPA line
What it means
Also required
Below 2.00 cumulative
Academic probation
Probation is MSU’s academic warning: if you were in good standing and your cumulative GPA falls below 2.00 at the end of a semester, you’re on probation for one semester. I and ET grades aren’t counted. You may have to see an advisor or face a registration hold. A 2.00 cumulative at the end of the semester returns you to good standing. Full rule
After probation: below 2.00 cumulative, with a semester GPA of 2.00 or more (1.5 with fewer than 30 MSU credits)
Final probation
This follows a semester on probation and lasts one semester. If your cumulative GPA isn’t at least 2.00 at its end, you’re recessed; with 30 or fewer MSU credits and substantial progress, your associate dean may grant one more semester of extended final probation. Full rule
After probation: below 2.00 cumulative and below 2.00 semester GPA (1.5 with fewer than 30 MSU credits)
Academic recess
You also face recess after final probation without a 2.00 cumulative, or after a semester of all 0.0 or I grades with at least 6 credits of 0.0. You must stay out at least one calendar year; if readmitted, you return on probation, final probation or warning. A second recess is dismissal. Full rule
2.00 cumulative
Minimum GPA for a bachelor’s degree
Your GPA covers every MSU undergraduate course with a numerical grade. Full rule
3.50 term GPA
Dean’s List
In at least 12 credits graded on the numerical system; the Registrar describes it as honoring full-time undergraduates. Full rule
3.98 / 3.88 cumulative (Spring 2026 through Fall 2027 graduates)
With High Honor / With Honor
About the top 6% graduate With High Honor and the next 14% With Honor. The lines are reset after each spring semester for the next calendar year, use your entire MSU record, and are truncated at two decimals. Falling below the line in your final semester costs you the honor. Transfer students need at least 50 MSU credits. Full rule
Below 2.00 cumulative
Financial aid warning
Aid requires the GPA you need to graduate, and you must also complete 67% of your assessed credits. Still below 2.00 cumulative after your next semester, you’re denied aid until you’re back at the standard. 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 MSU a retake replaces the old grade, and a retake at another school erases it. Say your first semester brings a 0.0 and a 3.0 in two 3-credit courses and a 2.0 and a 2.5 in two 4-credit courses: (0 × 3 + 3 × 3 + 2 × 4 + 2.5 × 4) ÷ 14 = 27 ÷ 14 = 1.928…, so you’re on probation. You repeat the failed course at MSU and earn a 3.0, which completely replaces the 0.0: (3 × 3 + 3 × 3 + 2 × 4 + 2.5 × 4) ÷ 14 = 36 ÷ 14 = 2.571…, which MSU truncates to 2.57. If both grades counted, as they do in MSU’s College of Law, you’d have only 36 ÷ 17 = 2.117…, truncated to 2.11. If you instead retook the course at a community college and earned a grade of at least 2.0, the credit would transfer without the grade and the 0.0 would leave your MSU GPA: 27 ÷ 11 = 2.454…, truncated to 2.45.
The calculator gives an estimate from the grades you enter. Your official GPA is the one on your MSU 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.
