About the AMCAS GPA Calculator (BCPM)
This AMCAS GPA calculator recalculates your college GPA the way the American Medical College Application Service does for MD applications. Paste your courses — one per line with the course name, grade, credit hours and a classification — and it reports your BCPM (biology, chemistry, physics, math) science GPA, your AO (all other) GPA and your total GPA, plus the credit hours behind each.
AMCAS standardizes grades across schools, so its numbers often differ from your transcript GPA. Every attempt of a repeated course counts even if your school replaced the grade, plus and minus grades always count (A− = 3.7, B+ = 3.3), and an A+ is capped at 4.0. Pass/fail, withdrawn, audit and incomplete grades are left out of the GPA. Quarter-hour transcripts can be converted to semester hours.
Tag each course BIOL, CHEM, PHYS or MATH to put it in your science GPA; anything else (ENG, PSYC, SOC…) counts as AO. Under the AMCAS Course Classification Guide, biochemistry counts as chemistry, statistics and biostatistics count as math, and astronomy counts as physics. Use it to plan which pre-med courses to retake or how a post-bacc could lift your science GPA.
With the default inputs, the bcpm (science) gpa is 3.38. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the amcas gpa calculator (bcpm)
- 1List each course on its own line: name, grade, credit hours, classification.
- 2Tag science courses BIOL, CHEM, PHYS or MATH; other tags count as AO.
- 3Include every attempt of repeated courses exactly as on your transcript.
- 4Choose quarter hours if your school uses the quarter system.
- 5Read your BCPM, AO and total GPA and the hours behind each.
Formula and method
Each letter grade is converted to AMCAS grade points — A+ and A = 4.0, A− = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, B = 3.0, B− = 2.7, C+ = 2.3, C = 2.0, C− = 1.7, D+ = 1.3, D = 1.0, D− = 0.7, F = 0 — and multiplied by the course’s semester hours to give quality points. Quarter hours are converted to semester hours by multiplying by 2/3.
The BCPM GPA divides the quality points of all biology, chemistry, physics and math courses by their hours; the AO GPA does the same for everything else; the total GPA combines both. Every attempt of a repeated course is included, and grades without grade points (pass, credit, withdrawal, audit, incomplete) are excluded from all three GPAs. AMCAS also breaks GPAs down by year in school, which this calculator does not.
- BCPM
- Biology, chemistry, physics and math courses
- AO
- All other courses
- Quality points
- Grade points × semester hours
Worked examples
Pre-med transcript with a retaken organic chemistry course
Science courses: Chem B+ (13.2) + Bio A− (14.8) + Calc A (16) + Physics B (12) + Orgo C+ (9.2) + Orgo retake A (16) = 81.2 quality points over 24 hours, a BCPM GPA of 3.38. AO: English A (12) + Psychology A− (11.1) = 23.1 over 6 hours = 3.85. Total = 104.3 ÷ 30 = 3.48. The pass/fail sociology class is excluded, and both organic chemistry attempts count.
Quarter-system science courses
Quarter hours are multiplied by 2/3: the 5-unit courses become 3.33 semester hours and the 4-unit courses 2.67. Science: (4.0 + 3.3) × 3.33 + 3.0 × 2.67 = 32.33 over 9.33 hours = 3.46 (statistics counts as math). Writing (A−) gives an AO GPA of 3.70 over 2.67 hours, and the total is 42.2 ÷ 12 = 3.52.
A+ grades are capped at 4.0
AMCAS gives an A+ the same 4.0 as an A, so the two science courses produce a 4.00 BCPM GPA. Philosophy at B− is 2.7, and the withdrawn Spanish course is excluded, so the total is (12 + 12 + 8.1) ÷ 9 = 3.57.
Frequently asked questions
What is the BCPM GPA?+
BCPM stands for biology, chemistry, physics and math. It is the science GPA AMCAS calculates from every course classified in those four areas, and medical schools look at it alongside your total GPA.
Does AMCAS count retaken courses?+
Yes. AMCAS includes every attempt of a repeated course in your GPA, even if your college’s grade-replacement or forgiveness policy dropped the original grade from your transcript GPA.
Is an A+ worth more than 4.0 in AMCAS?+
No. AMCAS assigns the same 4.0 to an A+ and an A. Plus and minus grades count even if your school ignores them, so an A− is 3.7 and a B+ is 3.3.
Does biochemistry count as chemistry or biology?+
In the AMCAS Course Classification Guide biochemistry is classified as chemistry, while statistics and biostatistics are math and astronomy is physics. All of these count toward the BCPM GPA.
Do pass/fail courses affect my AMCAS GPA?+
No. Pass, credit, withdrawal, audit and incomplete grades have no grade points, so AMCAS lists the hours but leaves them out of the GPA calculation. Enter a graded F as F — it counts as 0.0 grade points.
What is a good BCPM GPA for medical school?+
In AAMC Table A-16, students who matriculated at US MD schools in 2023–24 had a mean science (BCPM) GPA of 3.71, against 3.54 for all applicants. Applicants well below that often strengthen their science record with upper-level courses or a post-bacc program first.