GPA Scale Converter
Move your GPA between the 4.0, 4.3, 5.0 and 10-point scales in one step. The converter rescales your standing proportionally, shows every scale at once, and is honest that no cross-scale conversion is official.
On the source scale (0–4)
Source scale
Target scale
4.0 scale: Standard US unweighted scale.
On the 5.0 scale scale
4.38
3.50 on the 4.0 scale sits 88% of the way up — the same standing as 4.38 out of 5.
Your GPA on every scale at once
Every gauge marks the same standing — only the ceiling changes. The coloured bands are rough orientation zones, not official grade boundaries.
Source
3.50
4.0 scale
Target
4.38
5.0 scale
Position
88%
up the scale
Conversions are approximate — your institution's table governs
There is no single official conversion between grading systems — every country and university uses its own mapping. Treat the result here as a well-informed estimate for orientation only. For anything that counts (transfer credit, applications, official records), use the conversion your institution or the receiving body publishes.
Scales stretch — they don't shift
The single most common conversion error is treating a bigger scale as your old number plus a constant. It isn't. A scale conversion multiplies your position; it never adds a flat amount.
The myth: 4.0 → 5.0 just adds 1.0
A 3.5 on a 4.0 scale becomes 4.5on a 5.0 scale, right? Add the extra point and you're done.
3.5 + 1.0 = 4.5 ✕
This inflates low GPAs far more than high ones, and breaks completely the moment the maxima aren't exactly one apart (4.0 → 10 isn't “+6”).
The truth: multiply your position
A 3.5 sits 87.5% of the way up the 4.0 scale. Hold that position and re-express it against the new ceiling.
3.5 ÷ 4.0 × 5.0 = 0.875 × 5.0 = 4.375 ✓
4.375, not 4.5. The ratio of the maxima (×1.25) stretches every GPA proportionally — a flat A stays a flat A on both scales.
Why proportional is the only honest default
A pure linear rescale invents no hidden lookup table: it preserves exactly one thing — where you stand on your scale — and re-expresses it. That makes it transparent and reversible, but it is an approximation, not an official mapping. Real registrars use published band tables tuned to a specific country or partner institution, and those are rarely linear.
The 5.0 weighted-scale trap
The 5.0 scale is the one most likely to mislead a conversion, because a 5.0 usually isn't a stretched 4.0 at all — it's a weighted scale that rewards harder coursework with bonus points.
A 5.0 is usually weighted, not just bigger
On a weighted 5.0 transcript, an A in an advanced module can be worth 5.0 while an A in a standard module is worth 4.0 — the extra point is earned by course difficulty, not by a higher mark. Rescaling a flat 4.0 GPA to a 5.0 by proportion assumes an evenly-stretched, unweighted scale and cannot reconstruct how a real weighting policy would have scored your specific modules.
| If the 5.0 means… | Then a proportional rescale is… |
|---|---|
| An unweighted scale that simply tops out at 5.0 | Reasonable orientation — your position is preserved across the larger ceiling. |
| A weighted scale with bonus points for hard courses | Misleading — it ignores the bonus structure entirely. Ask the institution how the weighting works. |
| A national scale with its own band table | Indicative only — the receiving body will re-map it with its published table, not your proportion. |
When a form asks for a 5.0 figure, ask whether they mean a plain rescale or a reconstruction of a weighting policy — they are not the same number.
Every common GPA, on all four scales
Read across a row, not down a column — each line is one standing expressed proportionally on every scale at once.
| US 4.0 | US 4.3 | 5.0 scale | 10-point | ≈ Letter (4.0) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.00 | 4.30 | 5.00 | 10.00 | A |
| 3.70 | 3.98 | 4.63 | 9.25 | A− |
| 3.50 | 3.76 | 4.38 | 8.75 | A− |
| 3.30 | 3.55 | 4.13 | 8.25 | B+ |
| 3.00 | 3.23 | 3.75 | 7.50 | B |
| 2.70 | 2.90 | 3.38 | 6.75 | B− |
| 2.50 | 2.69 | 3.13 | 6.25 | B− |
| 2.00 | 2.15 | 2.50 | 5.00 | C |
| 1.00 | 1.08 | 1.25 | 2.50 | D |
Each row is one GPA expressed proportionally on every scale (value ÷ fromMax × toMax, computed from the US 4.0 figure). The matched letter is the nearest US 4.0 letter, for orientation only — not an official conversion.
One conversion, worked honestly
No hidden table — a single proportion that holds your standing fixed and re-expresses it against a new ceiling.
converted = value ÷ fromMax × toMax
then clamp to [0, toMax]
Your value as a fraction of its own maximum is the only part that carries meaning across systems. Multiply that fraction by the target maximum and nothing is added or assumed.
3.5 on the 4.0 scale → the 5.0 scale
3.5 ÷ 4.0 × 5.0
= 0.875 × 5.0 = 4.375
A 3.5/4.0 sits 87.5% of the way up, so it lands at 4.375 out of 5.0 — not 4.5, and definitely not 3.5 + 1.0.
Worked example
You earned a 3.5 on a US 4.0 transcript and an application form abroad asks for your GPA on a 5.0 scale. What number do you enter — honestly?
- 1Find your position on the source scale: 3.5 ÷ 4.0 = 0.875. You are 87.5% of the way to the top.
- 2Hold that position fixed and re-express it against the new maximum: 0.875 × 5.0 = 4.375.
- 3Cross-check on the 10-point scale the same way: 3.5 ÷ 4.0 × 10 = 8.75. The proportion is identical — only the ceiling changed.
- 4Read the orientation letter: 4.375 rescaled back to 4.0 is 3.5, closest to an A− on the US 4.0 letter table.
Enter 4.375 (or round to your form's precision) and note in any free-text field that it's a proportional conversion from a 4.0 transcript. If the receiving institution publishes its own table, that table — not this proportion — is the number that counts.
Where conversions go wrong
Adding 1.0 to jump from a 4.0 to a 5.0
A 3.5 on a 4.0 scale is 4.375 on a 5.0 scale, not 4.5. Scales stretch by the ratio of maxima (×1.25); they never shift by a flat point. Adding a constant inflates lower GPAs far more than higher ones.
Treating a 10-point CGPA like a percentage
An 8.5 CGPA is not 85%. The 10-point scale is its own ceiling: 8.5 ÷ 10 = 0.85 of the way up rescales to 3.4 on a 4.0 scale, but many institutions apply a country-specific table (e.g. the “(CGPA − 0.75) × 10” route) that lands somewhere different.
Round-tripping through several scales
Converting 4.0 → 10 → 4.3 → back stacks rounding error and implies precision the method never had. Convert once from your real transcript to the one scale you need, and keep the original on record.
Reporting a proportional figure as official
Listing “4.375 / 5.0” as if a registrar produced it is risky. State that it is a proportional conversion from a 4.0 transcript, and let the receiving body apply its own table for anything that counts.
Before you write a converted GPA on a form
Keep it honest
- Convert from your original transcript GPA every time — never from an already-converted number.
- Match the precision the form asks for; don’t report 4.375 where two decimals (4.38) are expected.
- Add a one-line note that the figure is a proportional conversion wherever a free-text field allows it.
When accuracy really matters
- For transfer credit, applications, or official records, use the conversion the receiving institution publishes.
- For competitive admissions, a recognised credential-evaluation service carries more weight than any proportion.
- If a 5.0 figure is requested, confirm whether they mean an unweighted rescale or a weighting reconstruction.
Conversions are approximate — your institution's table governs
Cross-scale GPA conversion is not standardised. This tool uses a pure linear rescale (value ÷ source maximum × target maximum), which is transparent and reversible but deliberately ignores the country- and institution-specific lookup tables that real registrars and admissions offices use. The 5.0 scale in particular is usually a weighted scale, so a proportional figure is rough orientation only. For transfer credit, applications, or anything official, use the conversion your institution or the receiving body publishes.
How it works
- 1
Enter your GPA and source scale
Type your GPA, then pick the scale it's on (US 4.0, US 4.3, 5.0 or 10-point). The input is capped to that scale's maximum so a typo can't inflate the result.
- 2
Choose the target scale
Pick the scale you need the figure on, or use the swap button to flip source and target. The headline updates live, with the nearest US 4.0 letter shown for orientation.
- 3
Read every scale and the disclosure
The all-scales panel shows your GPA on 4.0, 4.3, 5.0 and 10-point at once. Copy the result, and note the disclosure: for anything official, use the conversion your institution publishes.
GPA Scale Converter — questions
How do you convert a GPA between scales?+
The only transparent, reproducible method is a linear rescale: converted = value ÷ source maximum × target maximum. Your position on the source scale (for example 3.5 ÷ 4.0 = 87.5% of the way up) is held fixed and re-expressed against the target maximum, so a 3.5 on a 4.0 scale becomes 4.375 on a 5.0 scale and 8.75 on a 10-point scale. The result is then capped to the target scale's range.
Is converting a GPA between scales standardised?+
No. There is no single official conversion between grading systems — every country, institution and admissions office uses its own mapping, usually a lookup table tuned to its grade distribution rather than a clean proportion. This converter is deliberately transparent about that: treat its figures as well-informed orientation, and use the conversion your institution or the receiving body publishes for anything that counts.
Does a 4.0 just become a 5.0 by adding 1.0?+
No. Scales are stretched, not shifted. You multiply by the ratio of the maxima, not add a flat point. A 3.5 on a 4.0 scale becomes 3.5 × (5.0 ÷ 4.0) = 4.375 on a 5.0 scale — not 4.5. Adding 1.0 inflates lower GPAs far more than higher ones and produces numbers no institution would recognise.
How do I convert a 10-point CGPA to a 4.0 GPA?+
By proportion, divide your CGPA by 10 and multiply by 4.0: an 8.0 CGPA is 8.0 ÷ 10 × 4.0 = 3.2 on a 4.0 scale. Be aware that many bodies apply a country-specific table instead — for example some use a route like (CGPA − 0.75) × 10 to reach a percentage first — so a proportional figure is orientation only, not an official equivalence.
What's the difference between the 4.0 and 4.3 scales?+
They are identical except at the very top. On a flat 4.0 scale an A and an A+ both cap at 4.0; on a 4.3 scale an A+ is rewarded above a flat A, raising the ceiling to 4.3. By proportion a 4.0 transcript only reaches 4.3 if it was already sitting on the 4.0 maximum, and a 3.7 / 4.0 rescales to about 3.98 / 4.3.
Why is the 5.0 scale singled out as a trap?+
A 5.0 scale is usually a weighted scale, where advanced coursework earns bonus points on top of the base grade. A proportional rescale assumes an unweighted, evenly-stretched scale, so it cannot reconstruct how a specific weighting policy would have scored your modules. Treat a 4.0 → 5.0 conversion as rough orientation, and ask whether a form means an unweighted rescale or a reconstruction of a weighting policy.
Does converting back and forth recover my original GPA?+
Yes, the linear rescale is mathematically reversible: 4.0 → 10 → 4.0 returns to exactly 4.0 at full precision, with no drift. The only ways you'd lose accuracy are rounding an intermediate number before converting back, or converting a value that had to be capped to a scale's ceiling. Always convert from your original transcript figure rather than chaining several converted numbers together.
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