Why Your Calculated GPA Doesn't Match Your Official Transcript
Common causes include pass/fail or audited courses being excluded from the official GPA but accidentally included in a manual calculation, a repeated course being averaged in manually when the institution's policy replaces the original grade instead, and plus/minus grade point values that differ slightly from the standard assumed scale.
A GPA calculated by hand and an official transcript figure disagreeing isn't usually a math error — it's almost always a difference in which courses or policies are actually being applied.
Pass/fail and audited courses
Most institutions exclude pass/fail and audited courses from the GPA calculation entirely — the credit hours may count toward graduation requirements, but the grade itself isn't factored into the weighted average. Including these courses in a manual calculation as if they carried a normal letter grade will produce a mismatched result.
Repeated course policies
Many institutions have a specific policy for a repeated course — commonly replacing the original grade entirely in the GPA calculation (grade replacement) rather than averaging the two attempts together. A manual calculation that averages both attempts, when the institution replaces instead, will produce a different number than the official transcript.
Institution-specific grade point values
While A = 4.0 and B = 3.0 are widely standard, the specific value assigned to plus/minus grades (an A- might be 3.7, 3.67, or something else depending on the institution) varies enough to shift a calculation slightly. Checking the specific institution's official grade point scale, rather than assuming a generic one, resolves small persistent discrepancies.