US Grading System: Letter Grades, GPA and Credit Hours

The US grading system uses letter grades (A, B, C, D and F) that are turned into grade points, usually on a 4.0 scale, and averaged by credit hours into a GPA. An A is worth 4.0, a B 3.0, a C 2.0, a D 1.0 and an F 0, and most universities add plus and minus steps of about 0.3. The details differ by university, and those differences matter when you compare offers, keep a scholarship or keep your student visa.

This guide uses the published rules of three universities (Cornell, the University of Michigan and MIT) plus US federal regulations, all checked in October 2026. It is written for students arriving from India, Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere who need to read an American transcript or plan their first semester in the United States.

US letter grades and their grade points

Each letter grade has a fixed number of grade points, and the university publishes the table. Cornell University's table is a typical plus/minus scale:

A+ 4.3, A 4.0, A− 3.7
B+ 3.3, B 3.0, B− 2.7
C+ 2.3, C 2.0, C− 1.7
D+ 1.3, D 1.0, D− 0.7
F 0

An F earns no credit. Some universities use E instead of F: at the University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA), the failing grade is E, worth 0.0. Whether a D counts towards your major is set by your department, so check before you accept one.

Is an A+ worth more than an A?

It depends on the university. At Cornell, an A+ is worth 4.3, so a GPA above 4.0 is possible. At the University of Michigan (LSA), A+ and A are both worth 4.0, so 4.0 is the ceiling. When a US university says "a 4.0 GPA", check which table it uses before you compare it with another one.

Does every US university use a 4.0 scale?

No. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) calculates its GPA on a 5.0 scale: A = 5, B = 4, C = 3, D = 2 and F = 0. Its registrar's page lists no plus or minus values for the GPA and gives the 4.0-scale equivalents (A = 4 down to D = 1) for anyone who needs to convert. So a 4.2 at MIT means a mix of As and Bs, not a result above the maximum.

Photo: John Phelan, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What percentage is an A in the US?

There is no national percentage scale for US universities. The tables above list letters, not percentages, and each instructor sets the cut-offs in the course syllabus. Read the syllabus in the first week: it tells you where an A− ends and a B+ begins in that course.

For schools, some states write the scale into law. Florida's statute 1003.437 sets this scale for grades 6 to 12:

A: 90–100% (4 grade points)
B: 80–89% (3)
C: 70–79% (2)
D: 60–69% (1)
F: 0–59% (0)

This 90/80/70/60 pattern is the one most people mean by "the American grading scale", but it is a state school rule, not a university rule.

Is a 93% a 4.0 GPA?

Under Florida's school scale, yes: 93% is an A, worth 4 points. At a university with plus and minus grades, 93% is often an A or A−, and an A− is 3.7 at both Cornell and Michigan. The syllabus decides.

Is a 60% an F or a D?

On the Florida scale, 60% is the lowest D. A university course can set its own cut-offs, so in college the syllabus tells you whether 60% is a D or an F.

Can a high school GPA be above 4.0?

Yes, when the school uses a weighted scale. Florida's law lets school boards use "a weighted grading system" for class ranking. Weighted systems give extra points for harder courses, which is how a 4.5 or 5.0 can appear on a school transcript. When you compare two school GPAs, ask whether each one is weighted.

How is a GPA calculated in the US?

Multiply each course's grade points by its credit hours, add the results and divide by the total credit hours taken for a letter grade. Cornell and Michigan describe the same method. A worked example with Cornell's scale:

Calculus, 4 credits, A−: 4 × 3.7 = 14.8
Writing seminar, 3 credits, B+: 3 × 3.3 = 9.9
Physics, 4 credits, B: 4 × 3.0 = 12.0
Economics, 3 credits, A: 3 × 4.0 = 12.0
Total: 48.7 grade points ÷ 14 credits = 3.48 term GPA

Courses taken pass/fail are left out of both totals. Michigan's own example shows this: a student with 16 credits, four of them graded P, has a GPA calculated on 12 credits only (37.2 honour points ÷ 12 = 3.1). Your cumulative GPA uses the same calculation across every term.

For what counts as a strong result, and how GPAs compare with Indian CGPAs, UK classes and German grades, see What Is a Good GPA?.

What is a credit hour?

A credit hour is a measure of weekly work, defined in US federal regulation 34 CFR 600.2. One semester credit hour is roughly one hour of classroom instruction plus at least two hours of work outside class each week for about fifteen weeks. A quarter credit covers ten to twelve weeks. A typical three-credit course therefore means about nine hours a week.

Credit hours also set the length of a degree. Michigan's LSA requires at least 120 credits with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 (C) to graduate, which works out at about 15 credits a semester over four years.

How many credits do F-1 students need?

Undergraduates on an F-1 student visa must keep a "full course of study", which federal rule 8 CFR 214.2(f)(6) defines as at least 12 semester or quarter hours per term at a college or university. Only one class or three credits per term taken online or by distance learning can count towards that minimum. Dropping below 12 credits without approval from your international student office can put your status at risk, so talk to that office before you withdraw from a course.

US grading in numbers (official sources, checked October 2026)

Grade points: A 4.0, B 3.0, C 2.0, D 1.0, F 0; A+ is 4.3 at Cornell and 4.0 at Michigan LSA; MIT uses a 5.0 scale.
Credit hour: about 1 hour in class + 2 hours of work outside class per week for ~15 weeks (34 CFR 600.2).
F-1 full-time load: at least 12 semester or quarter hours per term for undergraduates; at most one class or 3 credits online counts (8 CFR 214.2(f)(6)).
Graduation at Michigan LSA: 120 credits and a 2.0 cumulative GPA.
School percentages (Florida, grades 6-12): A 90-100, B 80-89, C 70-79, D 60-69, F 0-59.

Pass/fail, incompletes and withdrawals

US transcripts carry more than letter grades. The notations you are most likely to meet:

P/F or S/U (pass/fail, satisfactory/unsatisfactory): not counted in the GPA. At Cornell, S means C− or better and U means D+ or lower; a U counts as an F for academic standing even though it does not change the GPA. Cornell limits S/U to 8 credits per semester, and the grading option cannot be changed after the 57th calendar day of instruction.
First-year pass grades: MIT's registrar notes that first-year students have no GPA until their first spring semester ends, because pass grades are left out of the calculation.
I or INC (incomplete): the instructor allows extra time to finish the work. At Cornell, an incomplete that is not resolved within two semesters becomes an F unless the instructor says otherwise.
W (withdrawal): you left the course after the add/drop period. It earns no credit and no grade points. At Cornell, a W after the eighth week needs an approved petition for health or other documented reasons.

How do you make a class pass/fail?

Choose the pass/fail (or S/U) option through your registrar before the deadline in the academic calendar, and check that the course can count towards your major on that basis. Cornell, for example, requires at least 105 letter-grade credits for a degree, so pass/fail is meant for a few electives.

What GPA do you need to stay in good standing?

At Michigan's LSA, you need at least a 2.0 term GPA and a 2.0 cumulative GPA to continue without academic action. Other universities set their own thresholds, and a scholarship can set a higher one, so read the conditions in your offer letter.

How US universities read grades from other countries

Your transcript shows the scale your school or university used. If a US application form asks you to convert it, follow that university's own instructions rather than an online calculator, because a 75% in India, a 2:1 in the UK and a 1.7 in Germany sit on very different scales. Our UK grading system guide explains the British classes and their US equivalents.

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