GPA / GWA Calculator Philippines
Compute your General Weighted Average across all Philippine grading systems: UP / UST 5.0 scale, DLSU 4.0 scale, Ateneo QPI, and percentage (75โ100). See your Latin honors eligibility and DOST scholarship qualification at a glance.
Setup
Subjects
Enter each subject’s name, units, and grade. Add or remove rows as needed.
GPA vs GWA โ what’s the difference?
GPA (Grade Point Average) is the simple average of all your grades. GWA (General Weighted Average) weights each grade by the number of units (credit hours) for that subject. In the Philippines, the GWA is what universities actually use for honors, scholarship eligibility, and Latin distinctions. A 3-unit subject affects your average more than a 1-unit subject.
GWA = ฮฃ(grade ร units) รท ฮฃ(units)
Example: ((1.5 ร 3) + (2.0 ร 3) + (1.75 ร 2)) รท (3 + 3 + 2) = 14.0 รท 8 = 1.75
This is the same formula used at UP, UST, DLSU, Ateneo, FEU, Adamson, San Beda, and almost every Philippine university and college. The only difference between schools is which grading scale they apply.
Philippine grading scales side-by-side
The same academic performance produces different “numbers” depending on the school’s scale. Here is how they line up.
| Performance | UP / UST (5.0 scale) | DLSU (4.0 scale) | Percentage | US letter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excellent | 1.00 | 4.0 | 97โ100 | A+ |
| Very good | 1.25 | 3.5 | 94โ96 | A |
| Good | 1.50 | 3.0 | 91โ93 | Aโ |
| Above average | 1.75 | 2.5 | 88โ90 | B+ |
| Average | 2.00 | 2.0 | 85โ87 | B |
| Below average | 2.25 | 1.5 | 82โ84 | Bโ |
| Satisfactory | 2.50 | 1.0 | 79โ81 | C+ |
| Marginal pass | 2.75 | 0.5 | 76โ78 | C |
| Passing | 3.00 | 0.0 | 75 | D |
| Failing | 5.00 | 0.0 | < 75 | F |
Latin honors eligibility in the Philippines
The three Latin honors โ Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, and Summa Cum Laude โ are determined by your final cumulative GWA across all semesters of your degree. Most PH universities follow the standard CHED-recommended cutoffs, though some have school-specific variations.
| Honor | UP / UST | DLSU | Percentage | Approx. % of grads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summa Cum Laude | 1.00 โ 1.20 | 3.85 โ 4.0 | 95 โ 100 | ~ top 1% |
| Magna Cum Laude | 1.21 โ 1.45 | 3.6 โ 3.84 | 92 โ 94.99 | ~ top 3% |
| Cum Laude | 1.46 โ 1.75 | 3.4 โ 3.59 | 90 โ 91.99 | ~ top 10% |
| With Honors (some schools) | 1.76 โ 2.0 | 3.0 โ 3.39 | 87 โ 89.99 | ~ top 25% |
Universities may have additional requirements beyond GWA โ for example: no failing grade ever, no grade of Incomplete unresolved by graduation, no leave of absence beyond one semester, must finish within prescribed years. Some require all subjects to be taken at the school (no transfer credits) and exclude PE / NSTP / electives from the honors computation. Always check your university’s specific honors policy.
DOST scholarship and other grade requirements
Several Philippine scholarship programs and graduate school admissions use minimum GWA cutoffs. Here are the most common ones:
- DOST-SEI Undergraduate Scholarship โ minimum GWA of 2.25 (UP/UST) / 2.5 (DLSU 4.0) / 85% per semester to retain the scholarship. Initial qualification is based on the DOST exam plus high school GWA.
- CHED Tulong Dunong Program โ minimum GWA of 2.5 (UP/UST) / 2.0 (DLSU 4.0) / 80%. For low-income, college-level students.
- Iskolar ng Bayan (UP Tuition Waiver) โ UP retention requires no failing grades and full-time status. Honors students retain on top of regular subsidy.
- SM Foundation College Scholarship โ minimum GWA of 2.5 (UP/UST) / 2.0 (DLSU 4.0) / 85%.
- Most graduate schools (MA, MS, MBA) โ require minimum undergraduate GWA of 2.0โ2.5 (UP/UST) for admission consideration. Top programs like UP MBA or AIM require โฅ 1.75.
- Medical school admission (PMA, UERM, FEU-NRMF, UST, DLSU-COM) โ require pre-med GWA of typically 1.75 or better plus passing NMAT scores.
- Bar examination eligibility โ no specific GWA requirement, but admission to law school typically requires โฅ 2.5 undergraduate GWA.
How fractional grades and grade conversions work
Different schools handle the same academic performance differently. Here are the key rules:
- UP uses 0.25 increments. Grades are 1.0, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2.0, 2.25, 2.5, 2.75, 3.0, then jumps to 5.0 (fail). Some courses also use 4.0 (conditional, meaning take a removal exam) but this is increasingly rare.
- UST uses 0.25 increments like UP but treats 3.0 as the lowest passing grade and 5.0 as failure. The honors cutoffs are identical to UP.
- DLSU and Ateneo use 4.0 / 3.5 / 3.0 / 2.5 / 2.0 / 1.5 / 1.0 / 0.0. The 4.0 scale is becoming more popular as PH schools internationalize.
- Private high schools (Ateneo HS, La Salle Greenhills, ICA, Xavier) typically use percentage from 75 to 100. A 90 is considered honor-roll worthy; 95+ is exceptional.
- Public schools and DepEd-following private schools use 60โ100 percentage with 75 as passing. Below 75 is “Did Not Meet Expectations.”
When transferring schools or applying to graduate programs abroad, your transcript usually shows your GWA in the home school’s native scale. The receiving institution converts it to their scale using a published table. Some agencies (WES, ECE for US grad school applicants) do this conversion for you.
Tips for boosting your GWA
- Prioritize high-unit courses. A 1.0 in a 3-unit major subject pulls your GWA up more than a 1.0 in a 1-unit PE class. Focus your study time on the courses that affect your weighted average most.
- Don’t drop hard subjects in panic. Dropping creates a “DRP” record on your transcript without improving your GWA. Better to finish with a 2.5 than to drop and retake later โ repeat grades are usually averaged.
- Use freshman/sophomore years to build buffer. GE and lower-level courses are usually easier to ace. A strong start gives you room to absorb harder upper-level subjects.
- Take elective gen-eds you’ll enjoy. A passion-aligned elective is more likely to net you a 1.0โ1.25 than a forced “easy A” you can’t engage with.
- Talk to professors during the semester โ not finals week. Asking questions and engaging early often results in slight grade boosts for “class participation” and signals genuine interest.