Whats the highest gpa a scale can reach, and where an A+ is worth more than four

What institutions print for this family

How to check your own ceiling

1. Establish whether an A+ exists on your scale at all. Many institutions do not record one. Where the top grade is simply A, the ceiling is four grade points and no amount of outstanding work moves it. That is a property of the institution rather than of the work, and it is worth knowing before comparing your number with anyone else's.
2. Read the value beside it, not the letter. Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska and Memphis each record an A+ and each pays it 4.00. Arizona State prints 4.33. The letter is identical on all five transcripts and the arithmetic is not, which is exactly the kind of difference a general GPA table cannot carry.
3. Read the cap on the cumulative average. An institution that pays an A+ above four commonly caps the reported cumulative average at 4.00 anyway. The individual grade distinguishes outstanding work on the transcript; the average a graduate school reads does not exceed four. Both facts live on the registrar's page and only one of them is usually quoted.
4. Do not confuse this with high-school weighting. A weighted high-school GPA exceeds four by adding points for course difficulty, typically honours, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate. An A+ above four is a property of the grade scale and applies to any course. The two produce different numbers on different transcripts and are routinely compared as though they were the same.
5. Ask which figure appears on the official transcript. Some institutions record one value internally and report another. The number that matters for an application is the one the registrar prints on the official transcript, and the registrar will tell you which that is if the page does not.

Arizona State University's published table records an A+ at 4.33, and its own material notes that the cumulative grade point average is nonetheless capped at 4.00. That combination is common: the individual grade can exceed four so that an outstanding piece of work is distinguishable, while the reported average cannot. A student reading only the grade table would draw the wrong conclusion about their ceiling.

Indiana University prints A+ and A both at 4.0. Missouri prints A+ (4.00) and A (4.00). Nebraska prints A+ = 4.00 and A = 4.00. Memphis prints 4.00 for A+ or A. At all four the A+ is a statement on the transcript rather than an arithmetic reward, which is worth knowing before chasing one.

A weighted high-school GPA exceeds 4.0 by adding points for course difficulty, typically for honours, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses. An A+ above 4.0 is a property of the grade scale itself and applies to any course. The two mechanisms are frequently confused and produce very different numbers on very different transcripts.

Common questions

What is the highest GPA you can get?

On a standard unweighted 4.0 scale, four. Some institutions record an A+ above four for individual grades, and at least one in this index prints 4.33 while capping the cumulative average at 4.00.

Does an A+ raise my GPA?

Only where the institution prices it above an A. At several institutions in this index an A+ and an A are both 4.00, so the plus is a note on the transcript rather than extra grade points.

Can a GPA be above 4.0?

Yes, in two different ways: a weighted high-school scale that adds points for course difficulty, or a college scale that records an A+ above four. They are different mechanisms and should not be compared.

Is a 4.0 the same everywhere?

The top of the scale is, but the steps below it are not, and that is what actually determines a cumulative average.

Other scale families

• Plus/minus 4.0 scale: what the registrars print
• Scales that record an A+: what the registrars print
• Percentage-mapped scale: what the registrars print