Work out what you need on the final, and what your GPA actually is
Three calculations that every student does badly on the back of an envelope at midnight: what mark the final needs, what your weighted grade currently is, and what your GPA comes to across a semester. Pure arithmetic, done properly, with the working shown.
You need 73% on the final to finish on 70% overall. The best still available to you is 80.8%.
The working: your 68% is carried on the 60% already assessed, so 68 × 60 ÷ 100 = 40.8 points are banked out of 100. The final has to supply 70 − 40.8 = 29.2 of them, and it is worth 40, so 29.2 ÷ 0.4 = 73%.
From your current grade, the target, and the exam weight
Any number of components, each with its own weight
4.0 (US and most), 5.0 (Nigeria and others), and 4.0 with pluses
The formula is shown, so you can check it by hand
How to use it
- Choose which of the three you are doing at the top.
- For the final: put in the grade you are carrying, the weight the final carries, and the grade you want overall.
- For a weighted grade: add a line per assessment with its score and its weight. The weights do not have to add to a hundred, and the tool tells you what they do add to.
- For GPA: add a line per course with its credits and its grade letter, and pick the scale your institution uses.
Questions
What does "what do I need on the final" actually calculate?
It rearranges one equation. If your work so far is worth (100 minus w) percent of the module and the final is worth w percent, then the mark you need is (target minus current times (100 minus w) over 100) divided by w over 100. The page prints that arithmetic with your numbers in it, so you can check it.
It says I need more than 100. Is that a mistake?
No, it means the target is out of reach with the marks already banked, and it is better to know now. The tool also shows the best grade still available to you if you scored full marks on the final.
Which GPA scale should I pick?
Most US institutions use 4.0, where an A is 4 points. Many Nigerian universities use 5.0, where an A is 5 points and the result is usually called a CGPA. Pick what your own institution prints on your transcript, because converting between the two is not a clean multiplication and any tool that claims otherwise is guessing.
Do my weights have to add up to 100?
They do not. If they add to something else the tool normalises against the total it was given and tells you the total, which is usually how you catch a component you forgot to enter.