How to Calculate GWA
A step-by-step walkthrough for calculating your General Weighted Average in the Philippines, with real examples.
Step 1 — Gather your grades and units
Open your grade report or report of grades (ROG) and write down every subject from the term you want to compute. For each subject you need two numbers: the grade (on your school’s scale) and the number of units for that subject.
Most majors and general education courses carry 3 units. Lab courses often carry 4 or 5. PE and NSTP usually carry 2 units, but they may or may not count toward your academic GWA depending on the school.
Step 2 — Multiply grade by units
For each subject, multiply the grade by its number of units.
weighted grade = grade × units
This gives you each subject’s contribution to the weighted average.
Step 3 — Add the weighted grades
Add up every weighted grade you just computed. This is the numerator of the GWA formula.
Step 4 — Add the units
Add up the number of units for every subject. This is the denominator. Include the same subjects you included in step 3.
Step 5 — Divide
GWA = total weighted grades ÷ total units
The result is your GWA, usually rounded to 2 – 4 decimal places depending on your school’s policy.
Worked example
A BS Computer Science student has these grades after one semester at a UP-style school:
| Subject | Grade | Units | Grade × Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| CS 11 (Intro to Programming) | 1.25 | 3 | 3.75 |
| Math 21 (Calculus I) | 1.75 | 4 | 7.00 |
| English 10 | 1.50 | 3 | 4.50 |
| Physics 71 | 2.00 | 4 | 8.00 |
| PE 1 | 1.00 | 2 | 2.00 |
| Total | 16 | 25.25 |
GWA = 25.25 ÷ 16 = 1.5781. That’s a strong semester — solid Cum Laude pace.
Tips and common errors
- Always use the official number of units, not the number of hours per week.
- Don’t forget INC (incomplete) grades — they don’t count until resolved.
- If your school doesn’t count PE or NSTP toward GWA, leave them out of both totals.
- For cumulative GWA, include every subject from every term you’ve finished.