 I'm Barb Quick from the Tutoring Center, and I'm here to talk to you about GPA. First of all, what does GPA stand for? And do you know how to calculate yours? Finally, why does that one little number seem to matter so much? GPA stands for grade point average, and this can be applied to one academic term, which is your quarterly GPA, or your entire history at Western, which is your cumulative GPA. And there are reasons beyond personal satisfaction of why it's important to get good grades. Do you know what they are? Western requires a 2.0 cumulative GPA, or a C average, to make progress towards a degree, and that's the bare minimum. Many colleges and departments in Western have an even higher GPA requirement just to be admitted. These departments include the College of Business and Economics, the Psychology Department, and the Woodring College of Education. Finally, your Western GPA may affect your opportunities after leaving Western. Most graduate programs and an increasing number of employers look at your undergraduate GPA when making admission or hiring decisions. So where can you find your GPA? And how is it calculated? And what can you do to bring it up if it's low? Here's how to calculate your GPA. First of all, you'll need the number of credit hours and the grade for each class. For example, here's Math 114, 5 credits, and an A. Biology 101, 4 credits, with a B. Intro to Cinema, 3 credits, with a C minus. You'll need to change the letter grades to numbers. So the A equals 4 points, the B equals 3 points, and the C minus is 1.7. You'll multiply that numerical grade times the number of credits for each class to get grade points. Now total up the grade points and the credit hours. Finally, divide the total number of grade points by the total number of credit hours to get your grade point average, or GPA. As a student at Western, you have access to some great online resources that'll help you track your GPA. For example, to get your quarterly and cumulative GPA, use Web4U. After you log in to Web4U, click on Student, then Student Records, and then Academic History. For each quarter, you can find your credit hours, Q points, which equal grade points, and your quarterly GPA. At the bottom of the report, under Academic Summary to Date, you'll find your cumulative GPA. Another great online resource is the Academic Advising Center's GPA Calculator. There's a two-minute how-to video to help you get started, and if you need a little extra help, it also lists the Academic Advising Center's phone number. So to recap, GPA has a big impact on the following. Your academic standing, and that includes financial aid, clubs and varsity sport involvement, getting into any major or certain departments, receiving internships or scholarships, getting into grad school, med school, or law school, and even possible employment, if you don't have the experience to back it up. Thanks for watching our video. For more information about your GPA and how to improve it, please visit the Tutoring Center at Wilson Library 280. You can give us a call at 360-650-3855, or check out our website.