What Is A GPA, And Why Is It Important?

GPA means ‘Grade Point Average’.

With a GPA, we mean the average grade of a student. This can be the grades over a full school year or even a complete study program.

If you want to study in the USA, it is important to convert your grades to the American school system. For this, we use the GPA.

A GPA is used by schools to determine whether or not they can accept you as a student, but also to see if you qualify for academic scholarships. The governing bodies in sports, such as the NCAA and NAIA, also use a GPA to determine your eligibility.

How To Convert Your Own GPA

In most cases, the American university will request an official evaluation by a third party like WES or Spantran. 

However, it’s helpful to be able to do your own calculation, so you know if it makes sense to apply to certain schools. 

As you can see, in the American school system, they use both letters and numbers. This is because a subject is expressed in a letter (as you see in the movies), but your average grade is expressed in a GPA.

You will always calculate your GPA into numbers, as that’s how your average grade is expressed.

For example:

Let’s say you followed 6 courses and you got 6 letter grades. How do I calculate them into a GPA? You add up all the numeric grades and divide it by the total courses (6). See below the table for the calculation:

What Grades Are Used For My GPA?

It is important to know which courses and grades are used for your GPA. For example, the governing bodies like the NCAA only calculates your GPA based on core courses.

Most schools and sports associations don't use your grades until grade 9. So keep in mind that your grades from grade 9 and up are the most important.

What If I Don't Get Grades But Word Ratings?

Some (international) schools don’t always offer numeric grades, but word ratings, such as ‘sufficient’ or ‘pass’. It depends on the school how these ‘grades’ are calculated.

In these cases, we always recommend engaging a third party to convert your own grades to an American GPA.

How Can Plus31 Sports Help Me?

We help talented players to play college sports in the USA. Converting your grades to an American GPA is an important part of this.

If you have plans to play and study in the USA, but you want to know first if your grades are good enough?

Leave your details behind so we can get in touch and discuss with you how your grades are calculated to an American GPA.

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