What is grade replacement?

Under grade replacement, also called grade forgiveness, only the retake grade counts toward your GPA and the original grade is excluded from the calculation while still appearing on the transcript. This usually gives the biggest GPA boost.

How does the average policy work?

Both attempts count, so the course contributes its credits at the mean of the two grade points. This softens a bad original grade without erasing it, and is common at institutions that limit grade forgiveness.

What does highest-grade mean?

Only the better of the two attempts counts toward GPA. If your retake is higher it behaves like replacement; if your retake is lower the original is kept, so your GPA never drops from retaking.

When are both grades counted?

Some institutions count every attempt, so the course appears twice and both grade points are averaged into the GPA across doubled credits. This is the strictest policy and a low retake can still pull you down.

What grade-point scale is used?

It uses the standard US 4.0 scale where A is 4.0, B is 3.0, C is 2.0, D is 1.0, and F is 0.0, with plus and minus modifiers. Convert your grades to letters before entering them.

Course Retake Grade Policy Calculator

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Retaking a course can help or barely move the needle depending entirely on how your school counts the second attempt. This calculator models the four common policies so you can see the real GPA effect before you decide to repeat.

How it works

Your GPA is total grade points divided by total credits. The tool starts from your current totals, removes the original course’s contribution, then adds it back according to the chosen policy:

4.0 scale: A 4.0, A- 3.7, B+ 3.3, B 3.0, B- 2.7, C+ 2.3,
           C 2.0, C- 1.7, D+ 1.3, D 1.0, F 0.0

replace : course counts retake grade only
average : course counts (original + retake) / 2
highest : course counts max(original, retake)
both    : course appears twice; both grades counted over doubled credits

The new overall GPA is then the rebuilt grade-point total over the adjusted credit total.

Example

A 3.20 GPA over 60 credits, retaking a 3-credit C (2.0) for an expected A (4.0): under replacement the course jumps to 4.0 and the GPA rises noticeably; under average it only counts as 3.0; under both-counted the extra 3 credits dilute the gain.

Notes

Letter-to-point mappings vary slightly by school, and some cap how many courses qualify for forgiveness. Confirm your registrar’s exact scale and limits.