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CU Boulder uses one grading scale in every college: an A is 4.0, A− 3.7, B+ 3.3, B 3.0, B− 2.7, C+ 2.3, C 2.0, C− 1.7, D+ 1.3, D 1.0, D− 0.7 and F 0.0, with no A+. Every letter grade counts, including an F in a class you took pass/fail, and an incomplete you don’t finish within one year turns into an F. P, P+, S, U, CR, NC, W and I stay out of your GPA, and grades from schools outside the CU system never enter it. If you retake a CU Boulder course in which you earned a C− or lower, the new grade automatically replaces the old one in your GPA as long as it’s the same or better.
CU Boulder’s points: A 4.00, A− 3.70, B+ 3.30, 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 CU Boulder’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.
CU Boulder’s rules checked in its 2026–2027 University Catalog (Undergraduate). Sources are at the bottom of the page.
Grade points at CU Boulder
CU Boulder 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.
University of Colorado Boulder letter grades and grade points
What W, pass/fail, incomplete, retakes and transfer credit do at CU Boulder
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 CU Boulder counts each code
Code
What it means
In the CU Boulder GPA
F
Failing
Counts 0.0 in your GPA, and that includes an F earned in a course you took pass/fail. An incomplete that isn’t finished within one year also becomes an F and enters your GPA. Rule
P / P+
Passing under the pass/fail option
A D+, D or D− becomes a P and a C− or better becomes a P+; both count in your credit totals but stay out of your GPA. The option exists only if the department allows it, and you can’t switch after the Last Day to Change Your Grade Mode. Arts & Sciences counts at most 6 pass/fail hours toward the 120, in free electives only; Leeds allows 6 hours in non-business electives; Music allows 12 hours in non-music courses for B.M. and B.A. in Music students. Rule
S / U
Satisfactory / Unsatisfactory
Since fall 2022 used for experiential, field-based, practical or seminar-based courses. Neither is calculated in your GPA; an S counts in your credit totals and a U doesn’t. Rule
I
Incomplete
Considered only if at least two-thirds of the coursework is done with a passing grade. It stays out of your GPA while the instructor’s deadline (up to one year) runs; after a year it converts to an F (or U), even if you re-enroll in the course. An I can’t be fixed through grade replacement. Rule
W
Withdrew
Excluded from your GPA. For financial aid it counts as a non-passing grade on attempted hours. A W doesn’t count against your eligibility for grade replacement, and in Engineering it isn’t one of your three graded attempts. Rule
NC
No credit (audit)
Excluded from your GPA. A no-credit class won’t fulfill degree requirements or count toward enrollment status or financial aid, and in Engineering a course taken for no credit can’t later be repeated for credit. Rule
CR
Credit
Excluded from your GPA. A successful course challenge is recorded as CR and counts in credit totals but not in GPAs. Rule
NR
Grade not reported
Means class grades weren’t reported when final grades were processed. The financial aid office lists NR among the grades not included in the GPA; the catalog’s GPA paragraph names *** (grade not yet entered) instead. Rule
Repeated course
You took the same course again
Grade replacement is automatic at the end of each term: if your most recent prior attempt was a C− or lower and you retake the course at CU Boulder for a letter grade, the new grade replaces the old one in your cumulative GPA and credit totals as long as it’s the same or better, and the old grade stays on your transcript. If the new grade is lower, both attempts count. Pass/fail, no-credit, special-topics and repeatable-for-credit courses don’t qualify, nor do incompletes or classes at CU Denver or CU Colorado Springs; the catalog also excludes satisfactory/unsatisfactory, which the registrar’s eligibility list doesn’t mention. You can opt out by the last day of classes, and then every attempt counts. Replacement doesn’t change your standing for past terms or past honors or aid eligibility. The Leeds School of Business section says failed courses may be repeated but the F will be included in the GPA, while the campus policy covers any grade of C− or lower. Engineering allows at most three graded attempts at a required subject; Arts & Sciences sets no limit on repeats but counts the credit once. Rule
Transfer credit
Grades from another college
Courses from outside the University of Colorado system transfer only with a C− (1.70) or better, and their grades are not calculated into your cumulative CU GPA; your transcript lists the school and the hours accepted. Coursework at other CU campuses is different: it is part of your cumulative record and is included in your CU GPA. Quarter hours convert at two-thirds of a semester hour, rounded to the nearest tenth, and credit should be no more than 10 years old. Transfer hours count as attempted hours for financial aid progress. In Engineering, if you already hold AP, IB, CLEP or transfer credit for a course and take it at CU Boulder, that letter grade goes into your CU GPA. Rule
GPAs on the transcript are carried out to three decimal places and, in the catalog’s words, are not rounded up to the nearest whole number. The catalog’s own worked example writes 44 ÷ 15 as 2.93.
CU Boulder GPA lines
These are CU Boulder’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 CU Boulder
GPA line
What it means
Also required
2.000 cumulative CU GPA
Good academic standing
Standing is processed in fall and spring on all CU classes, including Continuing Education. Summer can return you to good standing, but summer grades that lower your GPA aren’t used for standing. Leeds, CMDI and Music also state a 2.00 cumulative minimum, and CMDI adds 2.00 in your CMDI major coursework. Full rule
Below 2.000 cumulative after your first semester
Academic alert
Not recorded on your official transcript. If your cumulative CU GPA is still below 2.000 at the end of the alert, you move to academic warning. Full rule
Below 2.000 cumulative as a continuing student
Academic warning
A term GPA of 2.300 or higher keeps you on warning for one additional term. Missing the warning requirements (or a college’s academic agreement) means academic suspension, which is recorded on your transcript. Full rule
Virtual 2.000 GPA
One way back from academic suspension
Your cumulative CU GPA plus all work at other institutions after your suspension must calculate to at least 2.000. You then have two terms of conditional enrollment, excluding summer, to raise your cumulative CU GPA to 2.000. Through Continuing Education instead, you need a 2.300 term GPA each fall or spring term. Full rule
2.500 summer term GPA
After academic dismissal: possible academic performance plan
Applies when your cumulative CU GPA is still below 2.000; reaching 2.000 cumulative returns you to good standing. Below 2.500 for the summer, you can’t enroll again until the following summer term. Full rule
2.00 overall and 2.00 in the major
Graduation minimum (Arts & Sciences, CMDI)
Arts & Sciences measures the major GPA over all coursework attempted for the major, and some majors may require a higher minimum GPA. Full rule
2.00 University GPA and 67% of attempted hours passed
Satisfactory academic progress for financial aid (undergraduates)
Checked at the end of every semester, summer included; the first violation brings a warning, the second the loss of aid. You also have to finish within 180 attempted hours (192 in Engineering). After grade replacement, SAP uses the grade from the most recent attempt, but repeated courses still count as attempted hours. Full rule
3.750 term GPA, 12 letter-graded CU Boulder hours
Dean’s List in Arts & Sciences and in CMDI (3.75)
P, S and U grades don’t count as letter-graded hours. If you’re pursuing a double degree, you’re eligible only in your primary college. Full rule
3.600 semester GPA, 12 letter-graded CU Boulder hours
Dean’s List in Engineering and in Leeds
Engineering counts fall and spring semesters and puts the notation on your transcript. Full rule
3.900 cumulative
Summa cum laude in Engineering; highest honors in Music; With High Distinction in Leeds
Engineering’s Latin honors are automatic from the cumulative CU GPA. Leeds also needs at least 60 credit hours earned at CU Boulder and a faculty recommendation. Full rule
3.800 cumulative
Magna cum laude in Engineering; high honors in Music
Engineering’s band is 3.800–3.899 and Music’s is 3.80–3.89. Full rule
3.700 cumulative
Cum laude in Engineering; honors in Music
Engineering’s band is 3.700–3.799 and Music’s is 3.70–3.79. Full rule
3.75 cumulative
Graduation with Distinction (Arts & Sciences, Leeds, CMDI, Education)
Arts & Sciences writes 3.750, needs 30 letter-graded hours at CU Boulder and counts all grades except P, S or U. Leeds’ With Distinction runs from 3.75 to below 3.90 with 60 hours at CU Boulder. CMDI needs 60 CU Boulder hours and uses the GPA when you apply to graduate. Education’s applies to BA students at graduation. Full rule
No GPA cutoff
Latin honors in Arts & Sciences and CMDI
Arts & Sciences Latin honors are conferred by its Honors Council, including on the quality of original work, not for high grades alone. CMDI awards them through its honors program. Full rule
3.00 cumulative
Music scholarship renewal
Below 3.00 puts a music scholarship holder on scholarship probation for one semester. 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
CU Boulder’s grade replacement can change your GPA a lot. Say you’ve taken three 3-credit courses and earned an A, a B and a D: (4.0 × 3 + 3.0 × 3 + 1.0 × 3) ÷ 9 = 24.0 ÷ 9 = 2.67. A D is below a C−, so retaking that course at CU Boulder for a letter grade qualifies for grade replacement. Earn a B and, at the end of the term, the B replaces the D in your GPA and credit totals while the D stays on your transcript: (12.0 + 9.0 + 9.0) ÷ 9 = 30.0 ÷ 9 = 3.33. If the retake comes out an F, lower than the D, nothing is replaced and both attempts count: (12.0 + 9.0 + 3.0 + 0) ÷ 12 = 24.0 ÷ 12 = 2.00.
The calculator gives an estimate from the grades you enter. Your official GPA is the one on your CU Boulder 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.
