SGPA vs CGPA vs GPA: What is the difference between SGPA, CGPA, and GPA

GPA

GPA is the widely used global metric generally crucial for students looking to study abroad. GPA stands for Grade Point Average and is typically measured on a 4.0 point scale. Although the point scale might vary depending on the country, majorly, 4.0 GPA is used in popular countries such as Canada and USA. The metric is often considered for admission, jobs, and scholarship decisions because it offers a standardised academic evaluation format that makes it quite easy to measure students from different academic systems. A few of the important things to know about GPA include the following:

• GPA Full form: Grade Point Average

• GPA Formula: Total Credit Points / Total Credits

• Grading Scale: 4.0, 5.0, 7.0

Also Read: How to Convert 10 Point CGPA to 4 Point GPA?

SGPA

SGPA is basically your performance in one semester. For example, how well you did in Semester 3 only. The abbreviation stands for Semester Grade Point Average. SGPA is important for admission and scholarship decisions, where your semester performance must be considered. It includes all your subject marks weighted by credit to conclude the overall performance of one semester. Low marks in one of the subjects often mean a lower SGPA score with minimal impact on GPA and CGPA. A few of the important things to know about SGPA include the following:

• SGPA Full form: Semester Grade Point Average

• SGPA Formula: Grade Points/ Total Credit

• Grading Scale: 10.0

CGPA

CGPA is the overall academic performance of how you’ve done across all your semesters, your entire course so far. CGPA full form is Cumulative Grade Point Average. Mostly, CGPA is the key consideration for all educational institutions, employers and scholarship selection organisations to check the overall performance of the candidate. A few of the important things to know about CGPA include the following:

• CGPA Full form: Cumulative Grade Point Average

• CGPA Formula: Total Credit Points / Total Credits

• Grading Scale: 10.0

Is It Important to know the difference between CGPA, GPA, and SGPA?

Yes, it is crucial for students to understand the key differences between the three metrics: CGPA, GPA, and SGPA. Here are some of the reasons why one must know their meaning:

• International conversions: If you studied in India (10‑point scale) but are applying abroad, you’ll likely have to convert your CGPA/S GPA into a 4.0 GPA or a percentage.

• Your SGPA might show a stellar semester, but your CGPA tells the overall performance that recruiters and admissions panels pay attention to.

• A bad SGPA does not mean that they cannot have a good score. If improved later, CGPA can still go up. Many students think one bad semester ruins everything, which is definitely not true.

• For instance, on the Indian 10‑point system, if you’re consistently scoring 8.5+ SGPA, you’re hovering around the “excellent” bracket for CGPA.

Related Reads: How to convert your percentage into GPA - Study Abroad

CGPA Calculation vs GPA Calculation vs SGPA Calculation

In the headings below, we have thoroughly mentioned the formula and the metric calculation for CGPA, GPA, and SGPA.

CGPA Calculation

Each university has its own method of calculating CGPA. One of the most common methods to evaluate CGPA with the help of students’ marks is dividing the total credit points by the total credits of one semester.

CGPA Calculation for Semester 1

Let us now take an example where a student's marks are provided for semester 1.

Here, CGPA on a 10-point scale can be calculated as:

• Total Credit points = 132

• Total Credits = 16

• CGPA = Total Credit Points / Total Credits =132/16 = 8.25

Overall CGPA Calculation Across Multiple Semesters

The above-mentioned is the CGPA for one of the semesters. If the candidate needs to measure the overall CGPA across multiple semesters, the formula is mentioned below:

Cumulative CGPA Formula

= (CGPA₁ × Credits₁ + CGPA₂ × Credits₂ + ... + CGPAₙ × Creditsₙ) / (Total of All Credits)

Let us take an example to evaluate CGPA overall:

Cumulative CGPA = (8.2 × 20 + 9.5 × 18) ÷ (20 + 18)

= (164 + 171) ÷ 38

= 335 ÷ 38

= 8.81

SGPA Calculation

In order to calculate SGPA, students are required to divide the grade points by the total credits. Let us take an example to calculate the SGPA of a student. In the table below, we have mentioned the scores of a student with the credits for different subjects:

SGPA= Grade Points/ Total Credit

= 98/12

= 8.16

GPA Calculation

It is important to understand that GPA can be calculated on different grading scales, including 4.0, 5.0, and 7.0. However, the most common scale is GPA on a 4.0 scale. We have taken an example below for a better understanding of the 4.0 GPA calculation.

GPA Calculation for Semester 1

Here is how to calculate:

Here, GPA on a 4.0-point scale can be calculated as:

• Total Credit points = 50.4

• Total Credits = 15

• GPA = Total Credit Points / Total Credits =132/16 = 3.36

Overall GPA Calculation Across Multiple Semesters

Below, let us check how you can calculate the GPA across semesters:

Cumulative GPA = (3.36 × 15 + 3.70 × 18) ÷ (15 + 18)

= (50.4 + 66.6) ÷ 33

= 117 ÷ 33

= 3.55

CGPA Vs GPA Vs SGPA: Key Differences Between the Three

Here is the table with all the important differences between CGPA, GPA, and SGPA.

Common Mistakes Students Make for CGPA, SGPA, and GPA

There are various mistakes made by students while converting, calculating, and even understanding the three grading metrics: GPA, SGPA, and CGPA. We have mentioned these below. Candidates should avoid these mistakes while understanding the contrast between CGPA vs GPA vs SGPA.

• Thinking CGPA is a simple average of all SGPAs without credit weighting. That’s wrong if semesters have different credits.

• Using a generic conversion formula when your university uses a specific one. Always check.

• Getting overly fixated on one high SGPA and ignoring future semesters, as consistency matters more for CGPA.

• Ignoring international applications: If going abroad, misunderstanding how your CGPA/S GPA maps to the 4.0 scale can cause delay or rejection of the application.

Conclusion

As we have already discussed, three of the academic metrics, CGPA, GPA, and SGPA, are quite different from each other. SGPA is the academic performance for one semester, whereas CGPA is for the entire course of study. On the other hand, GPA can be calculated for a semester, a year or the entire course. Check the points below for informed decisions on which one to focus on, as per the usage:

• Planning to work for employers or higher education institutes: Focus on your CGPA and keep it consistently strong. This is because all of these organisations check the overall academic background for decisions.

• Planning to study abroad: Understand how your CGPA/S GPA convert to the 4.0 scale or percentage. Verify with the university before doing the conversion/calculation.

• Bad Semester: If you have not performed well in one of the semesters, don’t panic, as improving in subsequent semesters can increase your CGPA.