What letter grade is a 3.5 GPA?
Usually none. A grade is worth exactly 3.5 at only 43 of the 981 verified scales: a B+ at 36, a two-letter AB at 5, a BA at Western Michigan, and Michigan State’s numeric 3.5. None of the 43 is an A, A+ or A−. Elsewhere a 3.5 falls between two grades, set by whether the college uses pluses and minuses.
A 3.5 has no percentage of its own either; 887 of the scales print none. Convert a GPA on your school’s scale, or see the full GPA scale chart for every letter.
| Where a 3.5 falls | Verified US scales |
|---|---|
| A B+ worth exactly 3.5 | 36 |
| An AB worth exactly 3.5 | 5 |
| A BA worth exactly 3.5 (Western Michigan) | 1 |
| Michigan State’s numeric grade 3.5 | 1 |
| Between a B+ and an A− | 476 |
| Between a B and an A (whole-letter scales) | 458 |
| Between other grades (Mohawk Valley, College of Central Florida, MIT) | 3 |
| No grade points printed (Bristol Community College) | 1 |
Why a 3.5 is not a single grade
“A 3.5 is a B+” is true at 36 of the 981 scales and wrong at every other one. It holds where a college steps its grades in halves, as Rutgers–New Brunswick and NJIT do, recording a B+ as 3.5. On the tenths scale found at 296 of them a B+ is 3.3 and an A− 3.7; on the thirds scale found at 166 they are 3.33 and 3.67. Either way a 3.5 sits exactly halfway and matches neither grade.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison shows a third pattern. Its guide lists an AB as an “Intermediate Grade” worth 3.5, a grade between a B and an A that is partly both. So the same 3.5 is a B+ at Rutgers, an AB at Wisconsin, and no single grade at all on a tenths scale, where a B+ is 3.3. Read the scale before you read the number.
Sources: University of Wisconsin–Madison Guide, Undergraduate.
Is a 3.5 GPA good?
There is no published threshold for a good GPA, so the useful answer is a set of comparisons rather than a label. The only dated national average belongs to high school: 3.11 for the class of 2019, from NAEP’s High School Transcript Study, measured unweighted on a four-point scale. A 3.5 sits 0.39 above it. No official body publishes a national average for college GPAs, and the widely repeated figure of about 3.0 has no source.
Named rules say more. In college, a 3.5 meets OPM’s GPA route to Superior Academic Achievement for applicable GS-7 jobs both overall and in the major’s required courses. At Arizona State it sits inside the cum laude band of 3.40 to 3.59, a tenth below magna. Earned in one semester with 12 or more regularly graded credits, it meets the University of Maryland’s dean’s list. Among high school minimums it clears the University of California’s 3.4 for nonresidents (and so the 3.0 for residents) and Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship line, and stops short of Zell Miller’s 3.7.
| GPA minimum | Who sets it | Measured on | Does a 3.5 meet the GPA minimum? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5, dean’s list (Semester Academic Honors) | University of Maryland | One semester, 12 or more regularly graded credits | Yes |
| 3.5, GS-7 Superior Academic Achievement major-field route | Office of Personnel Management | Required courses in the major field, all years or the final 2 | Yes, the GPA route |
| 3.40 to 3.59, cum laude | Arizona State University | ASU resident coursework, bachelor’s | Yes, inside the band |
| 3.60, magna cum laude | Arizona State University | ASU resident coursework, bachelor’s | No, 0.1 short |
| 3.4, nonresident freshmen | University of California | A-G courses, high school | Yes |
| 3.50, Florida Academic Scholars (Bright Futures) | Florida Department of Education | Weighted GPA, 16 college-preparatory credits | Yes, if 3.5 is that weighted GPA |
| 3.7, Zell Miller Scholarship | Georgia Student Finance Commission | The HOPE GPA, high school core courses | No, 0.2 short |
Sources: National Assessment Governing Board, release on the 2019 High School Transcript Study (the 3.11) · NCES, How is Grade Point Average Calculated? (the study’s unweighted four-point scale) (archived copy) · University of Maryland, Academic Records and Regulations · OPM, General Schedule Qualification Policies · Arizona State University Catalog, Graduation with academic recognition · University of California, GPA requirement · Florida Bright Futures Student Handbook, chapter 1 (archived copy) · Georgia Student Finance Commission, Zell Miller Scholarship eligibility.
Weighted and unweighted 3.5 GPAs
A weighted 3.5 and an unweighted 3.5 describe different records, and the 3.11 benchmark is the unweighted kind. Weighting is each school’s own rule. Howard County, Maryland, counts an A as 5.0 in AP (and 4.5 in honors) against 4.0 in a regular class, so a weighted 3.5 there can rest on letters that average below 3.5 unweighted; White Plains High School multiplies weighted courses by 1.3 instead. No general conversion exists. Each named rule is laid out on the weighted high school GPA page.
Sources: Howard County Public Schools, Policy 8020 · White Plains High School, GPA calculator.
What grades add up to a 3.5 GPA?
On any letter 4.0 scale, equal credits of A and B average 3.5: (4 + 3) ÷ 2 = 3.5. Where pluses and minuses exist, a B+ and an A− in equal credits land there too, (3.3 + 3.7) ÷ 2 on a tenths scale and 3.33 with 3.67 on a thirds scale. Those are the two everyday routes to a 3.5, and they are why a 3.5 is an average at 937 of the 981 scales.
Unequal credits move the result off the midpoint. A 4-credit A beside a 3-credit B lifts the average above 3.5; put the B in the bigger course and it drops below. A student carrying a heavy lab load therefore feels a lab grade far more than a one-credit seminar. To run your own courses, work out your own GPA using your college’s grade values.
3 credits of A plus 3 of B: (4 × 3 + 3 × 3) ÷ 6 = 3.5
Is a 3.5 GPA an honors GPA?
Not by any general rule. A 3.5 has no name of its own, and each college writes its own honors. Two named rules show how far apart they sit.
Arizona State uses fixed bands for bachelor’s graduates, on the ASU GPA from resident coursework: cum laude from 3.40 to 3.59, so a 3.5 graduates cum laude there, with magna cum laude starting at 3.60.
The University of Maryland splits the two kinds of honor. A 3.5 semester with 12 or more regularly graded credits earns Semester Academic Honors, its dean’s list. Its Latin honors follow rank instead: generally the top 10% of graduates in each college or school, plus everyone at 3.9 or above. At Maryland, then, a 3.5 graduate’s Latin honors depend on how classmates did.
Sources: Arizona State University Catalog, Graduation with academic recognition · University of Maryland, Academic Records and Regulations.