What Your GPA Means
There are a lot of different terms that are thrown around when you enter college and many of those terms come in the form of acronyms. From entrance exams like the ACT or the SAT, to degrees like a BA or BS, all those letters can get confusing. One acronym that has followed you from high school, however, is your GPA, or grade point average.
A grade point average is a way to universally measure student performance on the same scale. Usually on a scale of 0 to 4.0, with 4.0 being the highest, each grade you receive is assigned points and averaged out. (It is possible to receive higher than a 4.0 if you complete extra credit in addition to your perfect grades.) Typically, an A is worth four points, a B is worth three points, a C is worth 2 points and a D is worth one point. For instance, if you take five classes, and earn three A’s and two B’s, your total points would be 18 for that semester. Then you would divide your 18 points by the five classes you took for a grade point average of 3.6. Read the rest of this entry »