An A is four grade points at every institution in this index. Almost everything else about the letters differs. An A+ is 4.00 at Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska and Memphis and 4.33 at Arizona State. A B+ is 3.3, 3.33, 3.3333 or 3.5 depending on where it was earned, and an A- is 3.67, 3.7 or, at Memphis, 3.84.
The top of the scale
Four grade points for an A is the one point of agreement. Whether an A+ exists at all is not: several institutions here do not record one, and among those that do, four price it identically to an A and one prices it above four. Arizona State's 4.33 sits with a cap on the cumulative average at 4.00, so the extra value appears on the grade and not on the reported figure.
The middle, where the money is
A B+ is the cell that separates one scale from another. Indiana, Missouri, Toronto and Oregon State print 3.3. Arizona State, Nebraska, Memphis, Fairleigh Dickinson, Xavier and UMass print 3.33 or 3.300. Cincinnati prints 3.3333. South Carolina prints 3.5, on a scale with no minus grades at all. Applied across a transcript that spread moves a cumulative average by more than a tenth of a point.
The minus grades, and the institutions without them
An A- is 3.67 or 3.7 nearly everywhere, and 3.84 at Memphis. Some institutions record no minus grades: South Carolina steps in halves, so there is no B- to fall to and a plus is worth more. Which of those two designs a student is on is not their choice and is worth understanding before comparing numbers with anyone.
Questions people ask about what is an a
What is an A worth in GPA?
Four grade points at every institution in this index. That is the one value the published scales agree on.
What is an A+ worth?
4.00 at Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska and Memphis, which record it as a distinct letter with no premium, and 4.33 at Arizona State, which caps the cumulative average at 4.00 anyway. Several institutions do not record an A+ at all.
What is a B+ worth?
3.3, 3.33, 3.3333 or 3.5, depending on the institution. It is the value that differs most across the published scales and the one worth checking on your own registrar's page.