Is a 2:1 a 3.0 or a 3.3?

Both answers appear in published tables. Toronto puts a 60% 2:1 at mid-B (3.0) and a 65% 2:1 at B+ (3.3), so the answer depends on where in the 2:1 band your average falls. Quote your actual average, not just the class.

Do I convert each module or the final average?

Most admissions offices look at the overall average or the class on your degree certificate. Converting module by module and averaging the results gives a slightly different number because the scale is not linear.

What if my university uses a 0–20 or letter scale?

A few UK institutions publish other scales. Use their own conversion if they publish one, and check the class on your final transcript.

UK degree classification to US GPA

British universities mark out of 100 but award degrees in classes, and a 2:1 is not the same thing as a B. Enter your average mark to see your class and an estimated 4.0-scale GPA.

Convert a grade

Grading scale

Your grade

Standards vary by school; follow your target school’s rules.

How the estimate works

The estimate draws straight lines between these points on the “Percentage average (0–100)” scale: 40 → 1.0, 60 → 3.0, 65 → 3.3, 70 → 3.7, 100 → 4.0. The points in the middle come from the published tables below; mapping the lowest pass to 1.0 and the top of the scale to 4.0 is a GradeKite assumption. Values outside the points get no estimate.

Grade bands

Class	Overall average mark
First class	70 and above
Upper second (2:1)	60–69.99
Lower second (2:2)	50–59.99
Third class	40–49.99
No honours classification	Below 40

Why UK marks look low

A UK mark of 68 is a strong result. Honours degrees are classified from a weighted average, and at Oxford Brookes, whose regulations we cite below, a First starts at 70%, an upper second (2:1) at 60%, a lower second (2:2) at 50% and a third at 40%. Most universities use the same thresholds, though how they weight each year and whether they lift borderline averages differs. Marks in the high 80s and 90s are rare in essay subjects because markers reserve them for exceptional, publishable-quality work. That is why a straight percentage-to-letter swap, where 68 would be a D+ in many American high schools, badly understates a British transcript.

Classes in the table above

The band table is the Oxford Brookes classification for bachelor’s degrees with honours. The converter highlights the row your average falls in. Postgraduate taught degrees use a different vocabulary: Pass, Merit (60–69.99) and Distinction (70 and above) at Brookes.

Worked example

Priya finishes with a credit-weighted average of 64.0. That is a 2:1. The University of Toronto lists 60 as a “mid-B” (3.0) and 65 as a B+ (3.3), so 64 sits four-fifths of the way between them: 3.0 + 0.3 × 4/5 = 3.24, shown as 3.2. A school that asks for “a 2:1 or a 3.0” would normally treat her as meeting the bar; one that asks for 3.3 might want 65.

A second example: an average of 71 is a First. Toronto treats 70 as A− (3.7), and between 70 and the top of the scale the estimate rises slowly, so 71 gives about 3.71. Do not read too much into the decimals above 3.7; few UK averages go past 80.

What universities publish

Source	What it says
University of Toronto, School of Graduate Studies	Bachelor’s: 60% (2:1) = mid-B (3.0), 65% (2:1) = B+ (3.3), 70% (First) = A− (3.7). Master’s: 60% Merit = mid-B, 70% Distinction = A−.
Oxford Brookes University Regulations	First 70% or above; 2:1 60–69.99%; 2:2 50–59.99%; Third 40–49.99%.

Estimated conversion table

Percentage average (0–100)	Estimated US GPA (4.0)
40	1.0
50	2.0
55	2.5
60	3.0
62	3.1
65	3.3
68	3.5
70	3.7
75	3.8
80	3.8

Sources

Once you have course grades on a 4.0 scale, the GPA calculator turns them into a credit-weighted GPA.