To submit the academic scores to institutions and organisations abroad, it is important to understand the difference between SGPA and CGPA. Particularly, Indian students must have clarity on SGPA vs CGPA, as different universities abroad have different metrics for assessing their students’ performances. Do you know that submitting the scores in the wrong metrics can cost delay or rejection in admission decisions? We have you covered!
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This article includes the difference between SGPA and CGPA for Indian students and professionals. Also, both SGPA and CGPA are equally important for academic purposes, from admission abroad and scholarship considerations to visa decisions. So, are you planning to apply to top universities abroad? If yes, check the thorough details on SGPA vs CGPA through this article.
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For situations where the candidate’s semester performance is important to consider for a decision, SGPA is a crucial metric.
SGPA stands for Semester Grade Point Average. It focuses only on one semester’s performance (all your subjects, weighted by credit).
Why SGPA is crucial for admission or aid decisions for students is that scholarships, semester promotions, or remediation often depend on your SGPA.
One bad semester means SGPA is the first one to fall in comparison to CGPA.
SGPA is important for students as well. SGPA semester’s report card in a number that can be imagined as a temperature check of how you performed just those few months. This helps to bifurcate subjects as weak and strong and prepare for the future accordingly.
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CGPA is a very crucial academic metric when it comes to the student’s overall performance. Simply, CGPA culminates all your SGPA into one powerful number that reflects your academic consistency across all semesters.
CGPA stands for Cumulative Grade Point Average. It focuses on the average performance of the candidate throughout the course of study. However, some universities use simple averages; many use weighted averages for measuring academic performance.
Why CGPA is crucial is that it is used as the first thing that employers, higher‑education institutes, or scholarship committees first glance at to evaluate your overall academic status.
It is crucial to understand that the formulas for both SGPA and CGPA are as follows:
SGPA = Grade Points Sum / Credit Points Sum
CGPA = Sum of Grade Points / Total Number of Subjects
So, let us take an example where a student got the following grades in semester 1:
Subjects | Credit Point | Grade Points | Subject Score (CP x GP) |
Accountancy | 2 | 8 | 16 |
Business Studies | 4 | 7 | 28 |
Mathematics | 3 | 6 | 18 |
English | 3 | 8 | 24 |
Hindi | 4 | 6 | 24 |
Total | 16 | 35 | 110 |
So, the
SGPA = Grade Points Sum / Credit Points Sum
= 110/16
= 6.87
Here are the subject-wise scores of a student in semester 1:
Subjects | Grade Point |
Accountancy | 8 |
Business Studies | 4 |
Mathematics | 8 |
English | 7 |
Hindi | 9 |
Total | 36 |
So, the
CGPA (Semester 1) = Sum of Grade Points / Total Number of Subjects
= 36/5
= 7.2
Overall CGPA Calculation
Students’ SGPA in each term are mentioned below. Each semester has the same number of credits:
Semester | SGPA |
Sem 1 | 7.6 |
Sem 2 | 8.4 |
Sem 3 | 9.2 |
Sem 4 | 9.4 |
CGPA = Sum of SGPA / Total Number of Semesters
= 34.6 / 4
= 8.65
Note: Thinking CGPA = simple average of all SGPAs without credit weighting. That’s wrong if semesters have different credits.
We have mentioned the important differences between CGPA and SGPA in the table below in respect to different aspects. Check it out:
Aspects | SGPA | CGPA |
Full Form | Semester Grade Point Average | Cumulative Grade Point Average |
Meaning | SGPA shows the academic performance of one semester | CGPA shows the academic performance of a single semester, year, or an entire course of study. |
Formula | SGPA = Grade Points Sum / Credit Points Sum | CGPA = Sum of Grade Points / Total Number of Subjects |
Use | It is secondarily used by universities and employers to measure the applicant’s performance of a particular semester | It is primarily used by universities and employers to check the applicant’s academic consistency over the time of course . |
Impact of one bad semester | SGPA will be impacted significantly with a huge drop in the grade/score. | The performance shown by CGPA can be minimally impacted as the result can be diluted by other semesters |
So, the major difference between SGPA and CGPA is that a bad semester can definitely ruin your SGPA, as it is a term-wise result. However, even if you tank one semester, a solid CGPA buffer can save you, given that you’ve performed consistently good in other semesters.
So, now that we know the difference between SGPA vs CGPA. Let us check which is preferred by universities abroad and employers:
For scholarships or semester-based programs, SGPA is used to screen term-wise performance.
For higher studies or job applications, CGPA is often used for measuring applicants on their academic performance as it’s the long-term metric.
Many educational institutions convert CGPA to percentage (often using × 9.5) for comparison or eligibility.
Generally, for abroad studies, CGPA is often converted to the 4.0 GPA scale for admission decisions. However, each university has its own method of using the metric.
Check out the below mentioned tips and strategies to score well in both SGPA and CGPA. Both are crucial metrics for Indian students applying for universities abroad. Some might ask for a semester result (SGPA) for evaluation. Hence, it is important to achieve good grades as per both CGPA and SGPA. Here are the tips:
Try to score well in early semesters as these tend to weigh heavily on the overall CGPA.
Give priority to the weaker subjects more. Low credits and subject-wise low scores can drag down both SGPA and CGPA.
There are some semesters when students might not have performed well. SO, if the university allows it, try to retake the examination and replace the bad grades with improved scores. This can eventually help in improving CGPA.
Stay consistent with the academic performance in all semesters.
Both the metrics CGPA and SGPA are crucial academic metrics for students, especially those planning to study abroad. Generally, SGPA helps you to plan your academic preparations for the next semester by giving you insights into which subjects to focus more on.
On the other hand, CGPA is more of a broad academic display. It is the ultimate scoreboard you’ll present to the world. Mainly, all universities abroad, as well as companies, ask for a CGPA or equivalent GPA for evaluation. To be precise, students must focus and aim for CGPA stability; however, they cannot ignore SGPA, as its scores are inculcated to show the overall CGPA.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
In this case, as well, a 7.5 SGPA = 7.5 CGPA for a single semester. The overall CGPA is an average of all the SGPA. Hence, it is important to know the SGPA attained in all the semesters to compute the CGPA to CGPA.
For a single semester, a 7 SGPA = 7 CGPA. However, the overall CGPA cannot be determined from a single SGPA. This is because CGPA is typically computed as a cumulative average of all your SGPAs over multiple semesters.
Both are important metrics of academic performance. CGPA is generally considered more important as it is often used by universities and colleges abroad to measure candidates' academic performance to make admission decisions. On the other hand, SGPA is important as well because all SGPA together make up the overall CGPA score.
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