PTCAS GPA calculator
PTCAS counts every letter or number grade from every college you attended, every attempt of a retaken course and a WF as an F, with an A+ worth the same 4.0 as an A. Beside the overall GPA it reports a Science GPA (anatomy and physiology, biology, chemistry, physics), a Science and Math GPA and a GPA for each subject category. Pass/fail, AP and other credits without a grade stay out, and kinesiology or exercise physiology counts as movement science, outside the Science GPA.
Example PTCAS GPA, overall
97.9 quality points ÷ 29 credits
- Science GPA3.20, 20 credits
- Science and math GPA3.21, 23 credits
- Withdrawn, left out3 credits
3 credits of movement science or other sciences: in your overall GPA, not in PTCAS’s Science GPA.
By subject category
- Anatomy and physiology3.70, 4 credits
- Biology4.00, 4 credits
- Chemistry2.65, 8 credits
- Physics3.00, 4 credits
- Math3.30, 3 credits
- Psychology4.00, 3 credits
- Movement science4.00, 3 credits
PTCAS rules checked . PTCAS verifies your coursework against your transcripts and works out the GPAs physical therapy programs see; you can view them once your application is verified.
How PTCAS converts your grades
PTCAS turns each grade into its own numeric value, multiplies it by the course’s attempted credits to get quality points, and divides the quality points by the credits attempted. The half grades some colleges give (AB, BC, CD) have values of their own.
| Grade on your transcript | PTCAS value |
|---|---|
| A+ | 4.0 |
| A | 4.0 |
| A− | 3.7 |
| AB | 3.5 |
| B+ | 3.3 |
| B | 3.0 |
| B− | 2.7 |
| BC | 2.5 |
| C+ | 2.3 |
| C | 2.0 |
| C− | 1.7 |
| CD | 1.5 |
| D+ | 1.3 |
| D | 1.0 |
| D− | 0.7 |
| E | 0.0 |
| F | 0.0 |
| WF (withdrew failing) | 0.0 |
A US number grade becomes the letter with that value (3.7 an A−, 2.5 a BC), and a US percentage a whole letter: 90 to 100 an A, 80 to 89 a B, 70 to 79 a C, 60 to 69 a D, 59 and below an F. A Canadian percentage reads one letter higher (90 to 100 an A+, 80 to 89 an A, down to 49 and below an F), and Canadian credit units become semester hours by PTCAS’s table: at the University of Toronto, 0.50 units are 3.00 semester hours.
What PTCAS counts that your college may not
- Every attempt of a retaken course: PTCAS ignores grade replacement, forgiveness and academic renewal, and counts each grade your transcript shows.
- Plus and minus grades, and the half grades AB, BC and CD; an A+ still counts as 4.0.
- A WF, or any withdrawal with a penalty, as an F; an E, where your college gives one, is an F too.
- College courses you took in high school, counted in your freshman year.
What stays out
- Credits without a grade: pass/fail courses, “pass” or “satisfactory” credits, AP exam credit and other test credit, which you list with “CR” as the grade.
- A plain W, which has no PTCAS grade value. You still list it on your application, as you list every course.
PTCAS also works out a GPA for each academic year, a cumulative undergraduate GPA (post-baccalaureate courses included) and an overall GPA with graduate courses added, and it converts quarter hours to semester hours at 0.667.
Which category a course goes in
You choose each course’s subject from PTCAS’s list, and the subject decides its category. Anatomy, physiology, biology, chemistry (biochemistry included) and physics make the Science GPA. Statistics, calculus and computer science are math, so they count in the Science and Math GPA but not the Science GPA. Kinesiology, biomechanics, exercise physiology and exercise science are movement science, and nutrition, health science and environmental science are other sciences: both count only in the overall GPA. Psychology has a category of its own.
Not sure? Choose the category of the department that teaches the course: PTCAS corrects the subject during verification if it needs to. Every course counts in the overall GPA, whatever its subject.
A worked example
Anatomy & Physiology I with an A− and Biology I with an A, General Chemistry I with a C and again with a B+, and Physics I with a B (4 credits each), then a B+ in Statistics, an A in General Psychology and an A in Exercise Physiology (3 credits each), and a W in Spanish. Both chemistry attempts count: the Science GPA is 64 ÷ 20 = 3.20, the Science and Math GPA, with Statistics in it, 73.9 ÷ 23 = 3.21, and the overall GPA 97.9 ÷ 29 = 3.38. Exercise Physiology raises the overall GPA but stays out of the Science GPA, and the W adds no credits.
Other GPAs
Your college’s own GPA, with its own retake rules: the college GPA calculator. Physician assistant programs: the CASPA GPA calculator, which counts BCP courses on their own. Medical school: the AMCAS GPA calculator. Dental school: the ADEA AADSAS GPA calculator, which counts math as science. How retakes and forgiveness work: the GPA guide.
Sources: PTCAS’s applicant help center (Liaison), Calculating Your PTCAS GPAs, PTCAS Grade Values Chart, PTCAS Course Subjects, Transcript Entry and Finding Your PTCAS GPA Calculations.