Semester Clarity

How would adding or dropping a course change my GPA?

Enter your base credits and GPA, then the course you're considering adding or dropping and the grade it carries (or is expected to carry). Your base scenario is never changed; only the result reflects the add or drop.

For a drop, enter the grade that course actually carries in your base GPA.

Need your next decision? Graduation GPA Projection

How we calculated this

Adding a course combines its quality points with your base quality points, over the new, larger total credits. Dropping a course removes its quality points from your base, over the new, smaller total credits. Using the example values above (12 credits at 3.5, adding a 3-credit course at 4.0), the new GPA is 3.6 over 15 total credits. Your base scenario itself is never modified; only the calculated result changes.

Limitations

This assumes the course's quality points are already known or confidently estimated; for a course still in progress, treat the entered grade as a scenario, not a certainty. It also does not know whether dropping a course affects your enrollment status, financial aid, or degree pace; check those separately if they matter to your decision.

Common mistakes

A common error is entering a drop course's credits without confirming it is actually included in the base GPA you entered; dropping a course that was never counted in your base changes nothing about your real GPA. Another is treating an in-progress course's current grade as final when estimating an add.

Frequently asked

Does dropping a course always raise my GPA?
Only if that course's grade is below your base GPA; dropping a course above your base GPA would actually lower it. Enter the real numbers rather than assuming a direction.
What if the course I'm adding is pass/fail?
If your school excludes pass/fail from GPA, do not enter it here; this tool only models courses that carry quality points toward your GPA.
Can I model adding and dropping at the same time?
Calculate the two changes one at a time, using the result of the first as the base credits and GPA for the second.
How is this different from Course Grade Effect on GPA?
Course Grade Effect on GPA replaces one grade already inside your total credits. This tool changes your total credits themselves by adding or removing a course entirely.
What if my dropped course has more credits than my base?
That is not a valid drop; a dropped course's credits cannot equal or exceed your base total, since it must already be part of that base with room left over.

Next decision

To project your GPA further out with a change like this already factored in, see Graduation GPA Projection.