What is a 2.0 GPA?
A 2.0 GPA is a C average on the common 4.0 scale. On a plus/minus scale such as UT Austin’s, it is exactly a C (2.00). A GPA has no percentage of its own: a C course is 70 to 79% on the NCES common scale, but a 2.0 can also be two A’s and two F’s of equal credits. A 2.0 sits 1.11 below the 3.11 average of US high school graduates.
- Whole letters
- CNCES common 4.0 scale
- Plus/minus
- C2.00 points, UT Austin
- Percentage
- Noneof its own: percentages belong to single courses
College lines from the UT Austin and University of Florida catalogs, checked .
Is a 2.0 GPA good?
In high school, a 2.0 is well below the national average: US graduates in 2019 had an average GPA of 3.11, up from 3.00 in 2009.
In college, it keeps you clear of academic warning (below 2.00 at UT Austin) but under the honors lines at the University of Florida and UT Austin: the lowest, the Dean’s List in UF’s engineering college, starts at 3.20, and UT Austin’s start at 3.30.
- UT Austin academic warning (cumulative GPA): below 2.00 at the end of a grading period. A 2.0 is clear of it.
- UF Dean’s List (one semester): 3.20 in Engineering up to 3.75 in Liberal Arts and Sciences, with 12 to 15 graded credits. A 2.0 semester is 1.20 under the lowest.
- UT Austin graduation with honors (cumulative GPA): at least 3.30 on courses taken there, after 60 hours there; each college can set a higher line. A 2.0 is 1.30 under it.
- UT Austin University Honors (one fall or spring semester): at least 3.50, with 45 grade points and no incomplete grades. A 2.0 semester is 1.50 under it.
- UF President’s Honor Roll (one semester): a 4.0 with at least 15 graded credits (12 in summer). A 2.0 semester is 2.00 under it.
The college lines come from each school’s own catalog. A scholarship, program or employer sets its own minimum, so check theirs. A weighted high-school GPA, with Honors or AP points, can go above 4.0. What counts as a good GPA puts every line on one scale.
What it takes to raise a 2.0 GPA
With 30 credits finished at 2.0, reaching 2.5 takes 10 more credits of straight A’s, or 30 at a B average (3.00).
| Credits finished | To 2.5 | To 3.0 | To 3.3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 5 | 15 | 28 |
| 30 | 10 | 30 | 56 |
| 60 | 20 | 60 | 112 |
| 90 | 30 | 90 | 168 |
Each cell is credits finished × (target − 2.0) ÷ (average − target), rounded up. “Not at this average” means that average cannot reach the target, and a 4.0 cumulative GPA needs every graded course to be an A, so it is never in this table.
Plan it with your own credits
Example credits. Type yours over them, or
Example: You need a 3.50 average over your next 15 credits to reach 2.50.
For your exact courses, grades and repeats, use the GPA calculator’s target planner.
GPAs near 2.0
How a GPA becomes a letter
A GPA averages grade points: on the common scale an A counts 4, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F 0, each weighted by its credits. So a 2.0 says your grades average out to a C, not that every grade was the same. Percentages belong to single courses, which is why no GPA, not even a whole-letter one, has one percentage. The GPA scale chart lists every letter’s points.
To work out your own, enter each course’s grade and credits in the college GPA calculator, or use the high school GPA calculator for Honors and AP points.
Letters: NCES common scale and UT Austin’s grade points. National average: National Assessment Governing Board, 2019 High School Transcript Study results (NAEP High School Transcript Study, released March 16, 2022). Lines: UT Austin, Academic warning and dismissal (Catalog 2026–2027, checked September 27, 2026); University of Florida, Academic honors (Undergraduate catalog 2026–2027, checked September 27, 2026); UT Austin, Honors (Catalog 2026–2027, checked September 27, 2026).
Grading scales checked . Sources are at the bottom of the page.