Enter your current score, total points possible, and extra credit earned — see your new percentage, whether your letter grade changes, and exactly how much extra credit moved the needle.
Enter your scores above to see the effect of extra credit
Extra credit points are added to your earned points, but the total possible points remain the same. This effectively raises your percentage above what was achievable through regular assignments. Even a small amount of extra credit can push you from a B to a B+ or from a C to a C+.
In a large course with 500+ total points, 5 extra credit points moves your grade by only 1%. That rarely crosses a grade boundary. Run the calculator first to confirm whether the boost is meaningful before spending the time.
Some professors add extra credit to your total earned points (most common). Others apply it as a category percentage or course-level bonus. These methods give different results. Check your syllabus or ask before calculating.
Most professors cap extra credit at 3–5% of total course points. A student who is 15% below passing cannot close that gap with extra credit alone — strong performance on remaining core assignments is still required.
Extra credit has the highest value when you are 1–3% below the next letter grade. Use this calculator to check — if you're at 89.3% and A− starts at 90%, even 1–2 extra points may be all you need.
Professors are far more likely to offer extra credit opportunities in weeks 6–10 of a semester than during finals week. If your grade is slipping, raise the question early when there is still time to act on the answer.
If you need an 88% on your final to hit your target but think that's too high, check whether extra credit can raise your pre-final average first. Even 2–3 extra credit points can lower your required final score significantly. Use our Final Grade Calculator to model this.
Explore more free grade tools from GradePilot.