Repeating a Course
Many universities give students a chance to repeat a course for a better grade. Typically the opportunity to repeat a course depends on
- The number of credit hours you have attempted. Generally you can only repeat a course within a certain number of attempted hours.
- The original grade (generally you can repeat a D or F grade)
- When you repeat the course. In some cases, you can repeat the course up until graduation and in other cases you may need to repeat the course within a limited period of time.
- The grade that is used to determine your GPA. Generally the second grade is the one that counts even if it is lower.
Suppose you had the following grades the first semester
Credit Hours |
Grade |
Quality Points |
|
Math |
4 |
D |
4 |
Soc. |
3 |
C |
6 |
English |
3 |
B |
9 |
Chem. |
4 |
F |
0 |
History |
3 |
B |
9 |
17 |
28 |
GPA = 28/17 = 1.65 (See the topic: Calculating your GPA) for more information on how grades are determined.
Now suppose you repeated Math and Chemistry and took three additional classes. Suppose you had these grades for these courses
Credit Hours |
Grade |
Quality Points |
|
Math |
4 |
C |
8 |
Chem. |
4 |
B |
12 |
Psyc. |
3 |
B |
9 |
Art |
3 |
C |
6 |
Phil. |
3 |
B |
9 |
17 |
44 |
GPA = 44/17 = 2.59
Now to calculate your cumulative GPA, you eliminate the math and chemistry grades from the previous semester. The remaining credit hours for the previous semester will be 17-8 = 9. The remaining quality points from the previous semester will be 28-4 = 24.
The total credit hours for both semesters will be 9+17 = 26. The total quality points for both semesters will be 24+44 = 68.
Thus your overall GPA will be 68/26 = 2.62..