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What a medical school GPA calculator does and when to use it
A medical school GPA calculator shows the GPAs medical schools see after AMCAS checks your transcript: your total, your BCPM GPA and your AO GPA. Your college’s own GPA can come out different, because AMCAS uses its own grade values and keeps every attempt at a repeated course.
Definition
BCPM stands for biology, chemistry, physics and math. AMCAS puts those courses into one science GPA and every other course into AO, short for all other.
Use it while you plan your science schedule, before you fill in the coursework section of your application, or when you want to know what one hard semester did to your BCPM number. It works from letter grades on a US transcript and does not convert numeric or narrative grading systems.
How to use the medical school GPA calculator
Enter each course
Type a name under Course (optional), then pick the Grade and Credits from your transcript. A course you took twice goes in twice, once per attempt.
Choose the subject
Pick Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Physics or Math or statistics for BCPM courses. Non-science and Other science both count as AO.
Set the year
Use the picker in each year’s title to choose Freshman through Graduate. Open Options and press Add year when you need the next one.
Want to see a filled-in transcript first? Press Show an example to load two premed years, then swap in your own courses.
How AMCAS calculates your BCPM GPA
BCPM GPA = BCPM quality points ÷ BCPM credits
Quality points
Grade value × credits. AMCAS gives A+ and A 4.0 and A− 3.7.
BCPM
Biology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics and math courses.
AO
All other courses, added up the same way.
Say you’re a premed junior. Your year looks like this, with each course in the group AMCAS would put it in.
| Course and subject | Grade · value × credits | Quality points |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 310 Cell Biology Biology (BCPM) | B+ · 3.3 × 4 | 13.2 |
| CHEM 232 Organic Chemistry II Chemistry (BCPM) | B− · 2.7 × 4 | 10.8 |
| MATH 152 Calculus II Math (BCPM) | A · 4.0 × 3 | 12.0 |
| HIST 205 Modern Europe Non-science (AO) | A− · 3.7 × 3 | 11.1 |
| SPAN 201 Intermediate Spanish Non-science (AO) | A · 4.0 × 3 | 12.0 |
BCPM: 13.2 + 10.8 + 12.0 = 36.0 quality points over 11 credits, and 36.0 ÷ 11 = 3.273, shown as 3.27.
AO: 11.1 + 12.0 = 23.1 over 6 credits, which is 3.85. Total: 59.1 ÷ 17 credits = 3.476.
The calculator shows an Undergraduate GPA (AMCAS) of 3.48, a BCPM GPA of 3.27 and an AO GPA of 3.85, with 17 GPA credits and 59.1 quality points. The history and Spanish grades lift the total but leave BCPM untouched.
How to read your AMCAS GPA result
The big number under Undergraduate GPA (AMCAS) is your total across freshman, sophomore, junior, senior and post-baccalaureate years. The badge and the line under it name the letter average it matches, such as a solid B+ for 3.48.
Stat
3.75
Average BCPM GPA of students who entered MD programs in 2025.
Source: AAMC FACTS Table A-16
BCPM GPA and AO GPA always sit next to GPA credits and Quality points, with a dash until a group has a course in it. Graduate courses get their own Graduate GPA and never move the undergraduate figures.
Open Show how it’s calculated for a by-year table with BCPM, AO and Total for each year. Medical schools post the GPAs of the classes they admit, so line your numbers up against the schools on your list. To aim higher, Open GPA planner shows the average your next credits would need for your undergraduate or BCPM GPA.
What changes your AMCAS GPA
A+ is worth no more than an A. AMCAS caps A+ at 4.0 even when your college gives it 4.33, so a transcript with several A+ grades can come out lower here than on your college record.
Repeats count every time. AMCAS uses each attempt, even when your college replaced the first grade. A C and then an A in the same 4-credit course average to a B over those 8 credits.
Content, not department, picks the group. AMCAS classifies each course by what it mainly teaches, using its Course Classification Guide. A biochemistry course run by a chemistry department still lands in BCPM.
Math is the M in BCPM. Calculus counts toward your science number here. On our AACOMAS and CASPA calculators, the same calculus grade lands in non-science instead.
Pass, withdraw and withdraw-failing. P and W stay out of every AMCAS GPA, and so does a fail in a pass/fail course (NP). A WF counts as an F, worth 0 points, inside the group its subject belongs to.
Quarter credits. AMCAS converts quarter hours with its own table, two-thirds rounded to one decimal, so a 4-unit quarter course counts as 2.7 credits. Tick My school uses quarter credits in Options and the calculator follows that table.
Frequently asked questions
What is BCPM GPA?
BCPM GPA is your GPA in biology, chemistry, physics and math courses, as AMCAS classifies them. Biochemistry counts in it too. AMCAS reports it next to your AO and total GPAs.
What does AO GPA mean on AMCAS?
AO stands for all other. It is the GPA of every course that isn’t biology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics or math, such as English, history or a foreign language.
Does AMCAS count both grades for a retaken class?
Yes. AMCAS counts every attempt at a repeated course, even if your college replaced the first grade. Enter each attempt as its own row in the calculator.
Is an A+ a 4.3 on AMCAS?
No, AMCAS gives an A+ the same 4.0 as an A. Your college GPA may be higher than your AMCAS GPA if your school awards extra points for an A+.
Do graduate courses count in my AMCAS GPA?
Graduate courses get their own Graduate GPA and stay out of your undergraduate BCPM, AO and total. Post-baccalaureate undergraduate courses, on the other hand, do count toward your undergraduate GPA.
Sources
- AMCAS Grade Conversion GuideAssociation of American Medical Colleges
- AMCAS Course Classification GuideAssociation of American Medical Colleges
- Grades factored into AMCAS GPA calculationsAssociation of American Medical Colleges
- FACTS Table A-16: MCAT Scores and GPAs for Applicants and Matriculants to U.S. MD-Granting Medical Schools, 2025–2026Association of American Medical Colleges
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