Work hard in your classes to avoid failing grades.
Your grade point average (GPA) is a way of quickly summing up your performance in academic classes. Your decisions regarding the work you put into a class and assignments will have an effect on your grade point average. Withdrawing or failing a class will knock a hole in your grade point average and can have even more effects.
Withdrawal
When calculating your GPA, the grade received is transferred into points and multiplied by the number of credits given for passing the class. The points are then added up and divided by the number of credits. When you withdraw from a class, the class credits are not figured in your GPA. So a withdrawal from a class, labeled as a "W" on your college transcript, does not affect your grade point average.
Failing Effects
A failing score, typically a 59 percent or lower, affects your grade point average by lowering your overall average. An F usually equals 0 points. When averaging a 0 with the points from other classes, the failing score can dramatically reduce your total GPA.
Examples
As an example, say you earned a B in a 3-credit psychology class, a C in a 3-credit geology course and an A in a 3-credit algebra class and then withdrew from a 4-credit biology course. An A is usually considered 4.0 points, a B 3.0 and a C 2.0.
Multiply the grade points by the credits earned in the course. You would have 9 point-credits in the psychology class, 6 in the geology class and 12 in the algebra class. Add the points (27) and divide by the number of credits earned (9). The resulting GPA is 3.0. The withdrawn class is not included since you did not receive a grade and did not attempt any credits in that class.
If you had failed your biology class instead of withdrawing, the point total still equals 27 but you divide by 13 credits. The GPA with a failing grade equals 2.07.
Other Adverse Effects
A failing grade or a W on your college transcript can harm your chances for being accepted into a graduate program or employment. Either of the two transcript marks may also negatively affect financial aid, grants or scholarships. The withdrawal or failing grade also remains on your transcript even if you successfully repeat and pass the same class.
Tags: grade point, grade point average, point average, failing grade, number credits, your grade, algebra class
