How to Calculate Your Weighted Grade, SGPA and CGPA

To calculate a weighted grade, multiply each score by its weight, add the results and divide by the total of the weights. If assignments (85%) count for 30%, a quiz (90%) for 20% and the final exam (78%) for 50%, your grade is (85 × 30 + 90 × 20 + 78 × 50) ÷ 100 = 8,250 ÷ 100 = 82.5%. The free grade calculator does this when you type one "score,weight" pair per line.

Indian universities use the same idea with credits instead of percentage weights: your SGPA and CGPA are averages of grade points weighted by course credits. This guide works through both, using the University Grants Commission's own examples, and explains the small workaround the site's GPA calculator needs for credits.

The weighted grade formula

Weighted grade = Σ(score × weight) ÷ Σ(weights). In steps, for the example above:

8,250 ÷ 100 = 82.5%. In the grade calculator, enter 85,30, 90,20 and 78,50 on three separate lines. It shows a weighted grade of 82.5%, letter grade B and total weight 100%.

A simple average of the three scores would be (85 + 90 + 78) ÷ 3 = 84.33%, almost two points higher, because it treats the 20% quiz as if it mattered as much as the 50% final. The weights also tell you where effort pays: here one mark on the final is worth two and a half marks on the quiz.

When some marks are still to come

The weights don't need to add up to 100. The calculator divides by whatever total weight you enter, so it gives your average on the work done so far. Suppose you have 72% on a test worth 10%, 85% on a project worth 15% and 68% on a mid-term worth 25%:

(72 × 10 + 85 × 15 + 68 × 25) ÷ 50 = (720 + 1,275 + 1,700) ÷ 50 = 3,695 ÷ 50 = 73.9%.

The calculator shows 73.9% with a total weight of 50%. That is your current grade going into the remaining 50% of the course. To find what you need on the rest, enter 73.9 as the current grade and 50 as the final's weight in the final grade calculator: for a 75% overall target, it shows 76.1%. The guide on what you need on your final exam explains that formula.

Three input rules

• Enter percentages, not fractions. The calculator reads "17/20" as 17, not 85%. Convert first: 17 ÷ 20 × 100 = 85.
• Separate the score and weight with a comma or a tab. "85 30" with a space gives an error. A % sign is fine: "85%,30%" works.
• Put one pair on each line.

The letter grade it shows uses a common American scale (A from 90%, B from 80%, C from 70%, D from 60%, F below 60%). It is not your board's or university's scale, so ignore it if your institution grades differently.

SGPA: a credit-weighted average

Under the UGC's guidelines for the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS), each course earns a letter grade on a 10-point scale, and your SGPA (Semester Grade Point Average) is the average of your grade points weighted by each course's credits:

SGPA = Σ(Ci × Gi) ÷ ΣCi, where Ci is the number of credits of a course and Gi the grade point you scored in it.

The UGC scale is O (Outstanding) = 10, A+ = 9, A = 8, B+ = 7, B = 6, C = 5, P (Pass) = 4, and F (Fail) and Ab (Absent) = 0. Universities decide the marks needed for each grade and to pass; the UGC recommends that, under absolute grading, the cut-off for B should not be below 50% and for B+ not below 55%. In these guidelines, one credit is one hour of lecture or tutorial, or two hours of practical or field work, a week.

This is the UGC's own illustration:

SGPA = 139 ÷ 20 = 6.95. The guidelines say SGPA and CGPA are rounded off to two decimal places.

You can do this in the grade calculator by entering "grade point,credits" on each line: 8,3, 7,4, 6,3, 10,3, 5,3, 6,4. It shows 6.95. Ignore the % sign, the letter grade (it says F, because 6.95 is below 60 on its percentage scale) and the "total weight", which here is your total credits, 20.

CGPA: weight each semester by its credits

CGPA uses the same method across semesters: CGPA = Σ(Ci × Si) ÷ ΣCi, where Si is the SGPA of a semester and Ci the total credits in that semester. The UGC's example covers six semesters:

CGPA = 969.4 ÷ 144 = 6.73. Entering 6.9,20, 7.8,22 and so on in the grade calculator gives the same 6.73. A plain average of the six SGPAs would be 6.77. The gap is small here because every semester has a similar number of credits; it grows when semesters differ a lot, for example a final semester with only a short project.

The GPA calculator is unweighted: the workaround

The site's GPA calculator takes a list of grade points and returns their simple average. It has no credits field, so a 1-credit seminar counts as much as a 4-credit core course. Take a semester with these results:

Typing 6, 7, 9, 10, 10 gives 8.4. The credit-weighted SGPA is (6 × 4 + 7 × 4 + 9 × 3 + 10 × 2 + 10 × 1) ÷ 14 = 109 ÷ 14 = 7.79, more than half a point lower, because the two lowest grades are in the heaviest courses. Two ways to get the right answer:

• Repeat each grade point once per credit in the GPA calculator: 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7, 7, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10. It shows 7.79, and its "Courses" count (14) is really your total credits. This only works for whole-number credits.
• Use the grade calculator with "grade point,credits" lines (6,4, then 7,4 and so on). This also handles half credits such as 1.5.

Common mistakes

• Averaging SGPAs without credits. Use the credit-weighted CGPA formula, or check how your university's grade card calculates it.
• Counting non-credit courses. Under the UGC guidelines, courses marked only "Satisfactory" or "Unsatisfactory" are left out of SGPA and CGPA.
• Assuming how an F is treated. An F carries 0 grade points and the student must reappear in the exam. How its credits count before and after you clear the course is set by your university's rules, so check them.
• Converting CGPA with the wrong formula. The site's CGPA to percentage converter uses CBSE's × 9.5 rule; many universities use a different one. See CGPA to percentage for CBSE and universities.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate a weighted grade if the weights don't add up to 100?

Divide by the total of the weights you have, not by 100. Scores worth 10%, 15% and 25% are divided by 50, which gives your average on that half of the course.

How do I calculate SGPA from marks?

First convert each course's marks into a letter grade and grade point using your university's table. Then multiply each grade point by the course's credits, add the results and divide by the total credits.

Is CGPA the average of all SGPAs?

Not exactly. Under the UGC method, each SGPA is weighted by that semester's credits. A plain average gives the same answer only when every semester has the same number of credits.

What is the difference between a weighted grade and a GPA?

A weighted grade is usually a percentage built from components with different weights. A GPA, SGPA or CGPA is an average of grade points weighted by credits. The arithmetic is the same: multiply, add, then divide by the total weight.

Can I calculate SGPA if a course has 1.5 credits?

Yes. Use the grade calculator with a line such as 8,1.5. The repeat-the-grade trick in the GPA calculator only works with whole credits.

Sources: University Grants Commission, "UGC Guidelines on Adoption of Choice Based Credit System" (sections 3, 6.1, 7 and 8).