The Overall CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) is the single, weighted average of all your grades from the very first semester to the current one. Unlike a single term's GPA, the Overall CGPA is what truly matters for graduation honors, job applications, and further studies.
Step 1: Gather Semester Performance Data
The first step in learning how to calculate overall CGPA of all semesters is to collect the necessary data from every academic term you've completed. For each semester, you will need two pieces of information:
Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA): The average of the grades you achieved during that specific term.
Total Credit Hours: The total number of credit hours (or credits) for all the courses you successfully attempted in that specific semester. This number is critical because it acts as the weight of that semester's performance.
Using a specialized CGPA calculator is highly recommended for this process, as it flawlessly manages the summation and comparison steps, giving you an immediate and error-free answer to the crucial question of how to calculate overall CGPA of all semesters.
You need these two values for every single semester that will be included in the overall CGPA calculation.
Step 2: Determine the Semester's Weighted Contribution
The core concept behind how to calculate overall CGPA of all semesters is using a weighted average, not a simple average. This means a semester where you took 18 credits will have a greater influence than a semester where you only took 12 credits.
To find each semester's contribution, you must combine its performance (SGPA) with its size (Total Credit Hours).
For each semester, you'll multiply the SGPA by the Total Credit Hours for that term. This product gives you the semester's Total Weighted Score.
Step 3: Calculate the Cumulative Totals
The final stage of learning how to calculate overall CGPA of all semesters involves accumulating the results from all your terms:
Total Cumulative Weighted Score: Add up the Total Weighted Scores you found in Step 2 for all of your completed semesters. This is the grand total of your academic achievement, adjusted for course loads.
Total Cumulative Credit Hours: Add up the Total Credit Hours for all of your completed semesters. This represents the total academic workload you've undertaken throughout your program.
Step 4: The Final Overall CGPA
Your Overall CGPA is the final result when you compare the Total Cumulative Weighted Score to the Total Cumulative Credit Hours. This figure is the most accurate reflection of your academic standing because it correctly accounts for all the courses you've taken and the varying credit loads across the semesters.
