A good GPA is one that clears the bar for your next goal. At the schools below, a 2.0 can earn a bachelor’s degree and a 3.5 can make the dean’s list. The 12 colleges in our table report first-year averages from 3.33 to 4.17.
No one number fits every school, because the US has no national grading standard. A 2005 U.S. Department of Education overview says classroom teachers typically decide grades.
A good GPA depends on your goal
Each bar below is one named school’s rule, so check your own.
| Goal | What a real school asks for |
|---|---|
| Earn a bachelor’s degree | 2.0 cumulative GPA at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) |
| Make the dean’s list for a term | 3.5 term GPA at the University of Alabama and VCU |
| Graduate cum laude | 3.30 at VCU, 3.40 at Arizona State, 3.5 at Alabama |
| Get into a college | No single number. See the table below |
The first three rows use your college GPA. The last one uses your high school GPA.
GPAs colleges report for first-year students
Many colleges publish a yearly form called the Common Data Set, or CDS. Its section C12 gives the average high school GPA of degree-seeking, first-time, first-year students who submitted one.
We read C12 on each college’s own site, in its 2025-26 form. Every row covers students who enrolled in fall 2025. These are the students who came, not everyone who was admitted.
| College | Average high school GPA | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Tech | 4.17 | 2025-26 | Georgia Tech CDS |
| University of Georgia | 4.17 | 2025-26 | University of Georgia CDS |
| University of Michigan, Ann Arbor | 3.9 | 2025-26 | Michigan CDS |
| Boston University | 3.86 | 2025-26 | Boston University CDS |
| University of Alabama | 3.85 | 2025-26 | Alabama CDS |
| Towson University | 3.81 | 2025-26 | Towson CDS |
| DePaul University | 3.77 | 2025-26 | DePaul CDS |
| Penn State, University Park | 3.67 | 2025-26 | Penn State CDS |
| Oberlin College | 3.60 | 2025-26 | Oberlin CDS |
| University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 3.54 | 2025-26 | Nebraska CDS |
| Arizona State University, Campus Immersion | 3.52 | 2025-26 | Arizona State CDS |
| University of Houston-Downtown | 3.33 | 2025-26 | Houston-Downtown CDS |
The table is sorted by the number and is not a ranking of colleges. We read each page on November 3, 2026.
These numbers are self-reported by each college, and none of them is a cutoff. We do not turn them into a chance of getting in, because one average cannot tell you that.
An average also hides a spread. Alabama’s average is 3.85, yet its form shows 12% of students who submitted a GPA had one under 3.25. The University of Georgia says it sets no rigid GPA requirement.
Read the table with four limits in mind:
- Rows may not compare. The forms do not say how each college built its average.
- Not everyone is counted. The share who submitted a GPA ran from 86% at Oberlin to 100% at four of these colleges.
- Not every college fills it in. Rice’s 2025-26 form shows N/A.
- The number can move. Penn State’s 2024-25 form showed 3.84 for University Park, and the 2025-26 form shows 3.67.
Why the same GPA can mean different things
Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia report averages above 4.0. Those numbers cannot sit on a scale that stops at 4.0. Here are four reasons two GPAs may not compare.
Weighted or unweighted. A weighted GPA adds points for harder classes. UCLA’s fall 2025 profile shows both for admitted first-year students: a median of 4.00 unweighted and 4.61 weighted.
Made-up example: four A grades and a B in five classes give (4 × 4.0 + 3.0) ÷ 5 = 3.80. Add one point to two of those A grades for AP classes, and the same report card gives 21 ÷ 5 = 4.20.
Colleges may recalculate. The University of Georgia rebuilds each first-year applicant’s GPA from core academic classes. It adds the equivalent of one letter grade for AP or IB grades that are not already weighted, and it adds no weight for honors or dual enrollment. The GPA on your transcript may not be the GPA a college reviews.
College scales differ. An A- is 3.7 at Missouri and 3.67 at Illinois. An A+ is 4.0 at Missouri, 4.3 at Cornell and 4.33 at Iowa. Arizona State gives 4.33 for an A+ but caps the cumulative GPA at 4.00.
Made-up example: two A grades, two A- grades and a B+ in 3-credit courses give 3.74 on Missouri’s scale and 3.73 on Illinois’s.
Rounding can decide a cutoff. A made-up 3.4966 shows as 3.50 if your school rounds, as Dartmouth does. It shows as 3.49 if your school cuts off, as Illinois does.
Honors cutoffs: cum laude, magna, summa and dean’s list
Latin honors are awards at graduation. From lowest to highest, they are cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude. Some schools set fixed GPA lines.
| School | Cum laude | Magna cum laude | Summa cum laude |
|---|---|---|---|
| VCU | 3.30 to 3.59 | 3.60 to 3.89 | 3.90 or better |
| Arizona State | 3.40 to 3.59 | 3.60 to 3.79 | 3.80 to 4.00 |
| Alabama | 3.5 to under 3.7 | 3.7 to under 3.9 | 3.9 or higher |
A 3.60 is magna cum laude at VCU and Arizona State, but cum laude at Alabama. A 3.85 is summa cum laude at Arizona State and magna cum laude at VCU and Alabama.
Alabama uses only your UA GPA and needs at least 45 UA semester hours. VCU needs at least 45 credits at VCU, and its honors GPA includes accepted transfer grades, though your VCU GPA must clear the line as well. Arizona State counts only ASU resident coursework.
Other schools use percent of class, not a fixed GPA. Towson gives Latin honors by college to the top 10% of a graduating class: the top 2% earn summa, the next 3% magna and the next 5% cum laude. Its GPA cutoffs for 2026-27 come from the previous year’s graduates, so the line changes by college. Cum laude starts at 3.688 in Business and Economics and at 3.981 in Education.
The dean’s list is a one-term award, so it looks at your term GPA, not your cumulative GPA. Alabama asks for at least a 3.5 on at least 12 credit hours, and a 4.0 puts you on its president’s list. VCU asks for at least a 3.5 on at least 12 credits, with no grade below C.
Find your own GPA
The GPA Calculator gives your term and cumulative GPA from your credits and letter grades. Pick the GPA scale that matches your school, then compare your number with your goal.
Know what the tool does not do:
- It adds no weight for AP, IB or honors classes. For a weighted high school GPA, use the Weighted GPA Calculator.
- It is built for college credits. If every class on your report card counts the same, enter 1 credit per class.
- Quarter credits, transfer credits and incomplete grades are not handled yet.
- P, NP and W do not count in GPA there, and your school may treat them differently.
If your school reports percents, the Grading Scale shows how percents line up with letters and 4.0 grade points. If you are short of your goal, How to Raise Your GPA shows how far one term can move your number.
Sources
The Common Data Set links are in the table and notes above. The other sources are:
- Education in the United States: A Brief Overview, U.S. Department of Education
- Undergraduate degree requirements, VCU
- Graduation information, VCU
- Honors, University of Alabama
- University Undergraduate Graduation Requirements, Arizona State University
- Grades and grading policies, Arizona State University
- Graduation with Honors, Towson University
- Latin Honors, Towson University
- First-Year Criteria, University of Georgia
- First-Year Profile, Fall 2025, UCLA
- Grading System, University of Missouri
- Explanation of Grades, University of Illinois
- Calculate Your GPA, University of Illinois
- Academic Grades and Notations, Cornell ILR School
- Grading, University of Iowa General Catalog
- GPA calculation and rounding, Dartmouth
Tools for this guide
- GPA Calculator: Calculate your term and cumulative college GPA.
- Weighted GPA Calculator: Get your weighted and unweighted high school GPA.
- Grading Scale: See how percents turn into letter grades, and set your own scale.
More guides
- How to Raise Your GPA
- Does an 89.5 Round Up to a 90? How Grade Rounding Works
- How Colleges Recalculate Your High School GPA
- The German Grading System Explained, from 1.0 to 6.0
- How GPA Works in Canada: University of Toronto Examples
- What Do I Need on My Final to Pass?
- How UC GPA Is Calculated, Step by Step
This guide is general information. Your school's rules come first. Found a mistake? Tell us.