Overview

Not happy with your Grade Point Average (GPA)? Or, maybe you need to improve your Grade Point Balance to avoid being academically disqualified?

Of course, the best way to fix these is to get better grades, but sometimes it's hard to know what effect the better grades are going to have without doing the math. This calculator helps you to do the math.

Getting started

Before you start, you'll need information about your current GPA. You can view your GPA and Grade Point Balance in BroncoDirect, from your "unofficial transcript". This link opens BroncoDirect in a separate window, so you can still refer to these instructions.

From Learner Services, select View My Transcript. From the resulting drop-down, choose the only option, Cal Poly Pomona Unofficial, and select Go.

Near the bottom of your unofficial transcript you will see something like this:

											
                            UNITS     UNITS   GRADE          GP
                            UNITS     EARNED  POINTS GPA     BALANCE
                

CAL POLY POMONA             194.0     194.0   633.2  3.26   245.2

OVERALL                     194.0     194.0   633.2  3.26   245.2	
										

You want any two of these values: GPA Units, Grade Points, and GPA (Grade Point Average). Enter these values in the fields below (the third value and your Grade Point Balance will be calculated automatically):

Next, choose one of these scenarios, and follow the directions there (you can calculate all three, if you wish):

• Replacement courses – Perhaps you want to repeat a course and replace the old grade with a new one. What effect will that have on your GPA and Grade Point Balance?
• Replacement courses (Quarter to Semester) – For those who want to replace a quarter system class with an equivalent semester class. Perhaps you want to repeat a course and replace the old grade with a new one. What effect will that have on your GPA and Grade Point Balance?
• Coursework planned or in progress – If you ace all your classes this quarter, what will it do for your GPA and Grade Point Balance?
• Reaching your target GPA – How many additional units of good grades will it take to bring your GPA up to your goal?

Replacement courses

You can try to improve your GPA and Grade Point Balance by repeating up to 16 units of courses in which you received a grade no higher than a "C". Once you have filed the Grade Forgiveness Form with the Registrar's Office, the replaced courses are no longer used for calculating your GPA, Grade Point Balance, or your number of units (although the courses still appear on your transcript). This calculator helps you decide whether it is worth requesting a GPA adjustment based on repetition of course, and to use up some of the 16-unit limit.

For each course that you want to replace, select the number of units that it is worth, the grade previously received, and the new grade that is expected or that you already earned. If the course has already been repeated, then check the Already Earned? checkbox. (This is necessary because the grade is already included in your GPA and Grade Point Balance that is displayed in BroncoDirect.) Click the calculate button. Your new GPA and Grade Point Balance will be calculated and placed in their respective boxes.

Replacement courses (Quarter to Semester)

You can try to improve your GPA and Grade Point Balance by repeating up to 16 units of courses in which you received a grade no higher than a "C". Once you have filed the Grade Forgiveness Form with the Registrar's Office, the replaced courses are no longer used for calculating your GPA, Grade Point Balance, or your number of units (although the courses still appear on your transcript). This calculator helps you decide whether it is worth requesting a GPA adjustment based on repetition of course, and to use up some of the 16-unit limit.

For each course that you want to replace, select the number of units that it is worth, the grade previously received, and the new grade that is expected or that you already earned. If the course has already been repeated but not officially forgiven, then check the Already Earned? checkbox. (This is necessary because the grade is already included in your GPA and Grade Point Balance that is displayed in BroncoDirect.) Click the calculate button. Your new semester GPA and Grade Point Balance will be calculated and placed in their respective boxes.

Coursework Planned or In Progress

Enter at least two of the three fields in the Future Work section. The third field will be calculated automatically. Generally, you will want to enter the number of units you plan to take, and then guess what the GPA of those units will be. Click the calculate button. Your new overall GPA and Grade Point Balance will be calculated and placed in their respective boxes.

Reaching Your Target GPA

Enter your goal GPA or letter grade into the Target GPA box. Grade point averages must be between 0.0 and 4.0. Click the calculate button. For each grade in the results table, the units displayed are what you would need to reach your target GPA. If you were expecting a mixture of grades, pick the grade that is the average, so that if you expected half "A" and half "B", pick "A-".