3.7 GPA: percentage, letter grade & meaning
A 3.7 GPA is exactly an A- on the standard scale. Below: the percentage, the grade mixes that produce it, and how it lines up with honors cutoffs at real schools.
Letter ranges: A- (90–92%). The percentage is an estimate; schools differ.
How 3.7 compares with nearby GPAs
| GPA | Letter grade | Estimated % |
|---|---|---|
| 3.6 | B+ to A- | ≈ 90.3% |
| 3.7 | A- | ≈ 91% |
| 3.8 | A- to A | ≈ 93.3% |
How we estimate the percentage
A 3.7 GPA is one of the fixed anchor points we use, set at 91%.
Anchors are the midpoints of the common letter-grade ranges (for example, B+ is 87–89%, so 3.3 is anchored at 88%), except 4.0, which is set at 98% because it covers both A and A+. This is our own estimate, not an official conversion; your school's scale may differ. Some calculators simply divide the GPA by 4 and multiply by 100, which would put a 3.0 at 75%, a C on the ranges used here, so their numbers can differ from ours.
What a 3.7 GPA means
On the standard 4.0 scale, 3.7 is the grade-point value of an A-, so a transcript of all A- grades gives exactly 3.7. Because the letter is exact, the only uncertainty is the percentage: an A- usually covers about 90–92% on common charts, and schools differ.
Some schools do not use plus/minus grades, so there is no A- at all. There, a 3.7 has to be built from A's and B's: seven credits of A for every three credits of B (7 × 4.0 + 3 × 3.0 = 37 points over 10 credits).
Grade combinations that give a 3.7
With plus/minus grading, the cleanest route is an A- in every course. A mix works too, because grades above and below 3.7 cancel out: an A (4.0) is 0.3 above it and a B+ (3.3) is 0.4 below it. Weighted by credits, four credits of A cancel three credits of B+ (4 × 0.3 = 3 × 0.4).
That is why credits matter. A B+ in a 3-credit course can be offset by an A in a 4-credit course, but not by an A in a 1-credit seminar. The sample semester below uses exactly this.
How fragile a 3.7 is
Five equal-credit courses at A- give 3.7. Replace one A- with a B+ and the term falls to 3.62. Replace it with a B and it falls to 3.56. Over a handful of courses, a single grade moves a 3.7 a lot; over a long record it moves it very little, which is why the one-more-term table below matters less the more credits you have.
Is a 3.7 GPA good?
A 3.7 is a strong GPA: your record is mostly A- and A grades. Many Dean's List thresholds sit at 3.5, so a 3.7 term usually clears them, but some schools rank students instead of using a fixed number. Honors are less uniform. In the table below, 3.7 is exactly the magna cum laude line at some schools, a little short of it at others, and only the minimum for summa at a school that also ranks students. Always check the rule at the school or program you care about.
What a 3.7 GPA means at real schools
Policies change by catalog year, so treat these as examples, not guarantees. Checked on each school's official pages in October 2026. GPAForge is not affiliated with these schools.
| School | Dean's List | Graduation honors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Arizona | Term GPA of 3.500–3.999 with at least 12 letter-graded credits (6 for half-time). A 4.000 earns Dean's List with Distinction. | Cum laude from 3.500, magna from 3.700, summa from 3.900, with at least 45 graded credits at the university. | |
| Texas A&M University–Central Texas | Term GPA of 3.5 to 3.99 with at least 12 letter-graded resident credits. A 4.0 term earns the President's Honor Roll. | Cum laude from 3.60, magna from 3.70, summa from 3.90, with at least 45 credits taken at the campus. | |
| University of Connecticut | Not listed on the page we checked | Minimum GPA plus class rank: cum laude needs 3.0 and the 75th percentile of the school or college, magna 3.4 and the 85th, summa 3.7 and the 95th, with at least 54 calculable credits. Actual cutoffs are set yearly and run higher: in May 2025, cum laude cutoffs among the larger schools listed were about 3.74 to 3.86. | |
| Central Michigan University | Semester GPA of 3.50 or higher with at least 12 letter-graded CMU credits. A 4.00 semester earns a place on the President's List. | Cum laude at 3.50–3.74, magna at 3.75–3.89, summa at 3.90–4.00 cumulative, counting only letter-graded CMU credits. | |
| University of Southern California | USC Dornsife: semester GPA of 3.5 or higher with at least 12 letter-graded units. | Cum laude at 3.5, magna at 3.7, summa at 3.9 overall GPA; the lower of the residence and combined GPA is used. | |
| University of Michigan–Dearborn | Term GPA of 3.50 or higher, with a minimum graded-credit load (see the catalog page). | Only two tiers: a cumulative GPA of 3.5–3.79 is recommended for "With Distinction", and 3.8 or higher for "With High Distinction". | |
| Ohio State University | Not listed on the page we checked | Cum laude at 3.5, magna at 3.7, summa at 3.9 cumulative, with at least 60 credit hours at Ohio State. Individual colleges can add rules. |
A sample semester that adds up to 3.7
Here is one way a 15-credit semester works out to exactly a 3.7. Note how the A in the 4-credit course offsets the B+ in a 3-credit course. The course names are only examples; your own credits and grades will differ.
| Course | Credits | Grade | Grade points | Points × credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calculus II | 4 | A | 4.0 | 16.0 |
| Microeconomics | 3 | B+ | 3.3 | 9.9 |
| American Literature | 3 | A- | 3.7 | 11.1 |
| Statistics | 3 | A- | 3.7 | 11.1 |
| Public Speaking | 2 | A- | 3.7 | 7.4 |
| Total | 15 | 55.5 |
GPA = 55.5 ÷ 15 = 3.70
What one more term could do to a 3.7
Assume you have 60 credits completed at a 3.7 GPA and add 15 new credits. Your cumulative GPA would become:
| Next 15 credits | New cumulative GPA |
|---|---|
| All A's (4.0) | 3.76 |
| All B's (3.0) | 3.56 |
| All C's (2.0) | 3.36 |
To lift a 3.7 to 3.8 with straight A's, you would need about 30 more credits at that grade (same 60 completed credits assumed).
Frequently asked questions
What is a 3.7 GPA as a percentage?
On the standard 4.0 scale, a 3.7 GPA equals A-, which works out to about 91%. There is no universal conversion, so schools and applications may use different cutoffs.
Is a 3.7 GPA an A-?
On the standard 4.0 scale, yes: 3.7 is the grade-point value of an A-. At a school without plus/minus grades there is no A-, and a 3.7 is an average of A's and B's, for example seven credits of A for every three credits of B.
Is a 3.7 GPA magna cum laude?
At some schools it is exactly the line: in the table above, University of Arizona, Ohio State, USC and Texas A&M–Central Texas start magna cum laude at 3.70. At Central Michigan magna starts at 3.75, and at the University of Michigan–Dearborn the higher tier, High Distinction, starts at 3.8. Check your own school's policy.
Can I have a 3.7 GPA with a B on my record?
Yes. With equal credits, seven A's and three B's average exactly 3.7 (7 × 4.0 + 3 × 3.0 = 37, divided by 10 courses). A few B's can be balanced by enough A's.
Does a 3.7 GPA qualify for summa cum laude?
Usually not by GPA alone. In the table above, most fixed-GPA schools start summa at 3.9. At the University of Connecticut, 3.7 is only the minimum for summa, and you also need to rank in the 95th percentile of your school or college.