An A+ is the highest letter grade in the American grading system, typically representing performance at or above 97% in a course. While it sits at the top of the grading scale, its actual impact on your GPA depends on where you go to school, because colleges handle the A+ differently from one another.
How an A+ Translates to GPA
Most American high schools and colleges use a 4.0 grading scale, where an A is worth 4.0 grade points. The question is whether an A+ earns you anything extra. The answer varies by institution, and the difference matters more than you might expect.
Some schools treat an A+ as worth 4.33 grade points, giving it a numerical edge over a standard A. This means earning an A+ in those schools can push your GPA above a 4.0, which is otherwise considered a perfect score. Other schools cap the scale at 4.0 and treat an A+ identically to an A in GPA calculations. Rice University, for example, switched from awarding 4.33 points for an A+ to awarding just 4.0 starting in Fall 2018. That single policy change meant students earning the same grades suddenly had different GPAs on paper.
At the high school level, weighted GPAs for honors and AP courses can push the number even higher. An A+ in an AP class might be worth 5.0 or 5.33 depending on the school’s weighting policy. If your school uses a weighted scale, check the student handbook or transcript guide to see how A+ grades factor in.
What Score Earns an A+
The percentage threshold for an A+ is not standardized nationally, but most schools set it at 97% or above. Some use 98% or even 100% as the cutoff. A handful of schools and professors don’t award the A+ at all, treating the plain A as the highest possible mark. This is worth knowing if you’re comparing your transcript to someone else’s. Two students with identical test scores could end up with different letter grades simply because their schools define the top of the scale differently.
Does an A+ Help in College Admissions?
For high school students, the value of an A+ depends on how your school reports grades and how colleges recalculate them. Many selective colleges recalculate applicant GPAs using their own internal scale, which may or may not distinguish between an A and an A+. If your school awards 4.33 for an A+ and a college recalculates on a flat 4.0 scale, that extra third of a point disappears.
That said, an A+ still signals something on a transcript. Admissions officers reading your course grades can see the difference between an A and an A+, even if the recalculated GPA treats them the same. In a competitive applicant pool, that distinction can reinforce that you were at the very top of a class.
How Graduate Programs Treat the A+
If you’re applying to medical school, the AMCAS application system (used by nearly all U.S. medical schools) assigns the same weight of 4.0 to both an A+ and an A. Earning an A+ in organic chemistry won’t give your AMCAS GPA any numerical boost over a regular A.
Law school applications go through LSAC, which calculates its own version of your GPA. LSAC’s conversion can differ from your college’s scale, and how they handle the A+ depends on how your institution’s grading policies map to their system. The key takeaway for any graduate school application is to check how the specific application service recalculates grades rather than assuming your transcript GPA will carry over unchanged.
A+ Grades Outside the U.S.
The A+ grade exists in several other countries, though the scales and expectations differ. In Canada, an A+ generally corresponds to scores of 90% or above, with some provinces setting the bar at 95%. Canadian universities that use percentage-based grading often place A+ at the top tier alongside a 4.0 or 4.33 GPA equivalent, depending on the institution.
The United Kingdom doesn’t use letter grades in the same way. Instead, undergraduate degrees are classified by honours levels. A Canadian or American A+ roughly aligns with a First Class Honours classification in the UK system, which typically requires an overall average of 70% or higher (UK grading scales are calibrated very differently, so 70% there reflects exceptional work). If you’re transferring credits or applying internationally, your university’s international admissions office will have a conversion chart specific to the countries and institutions involved.
When the A+ Actually Matters
The practical impact of an A+ comes down to one question: does your school’s GPA scale reward it numerically? If your institution assigns 4.33 points, then A+ grades can meaningfully raise your GPA above 4.0. If your school caps at 4.0, the A+ is a symbolic distinction on your transcript but won’t change your calculated average.
For students focused on class rank, the difference between 4.0 and 4.33 per course can shift rankings, especially in competitive high schools where dozens of students cluster near the top. For scholarship applications that list a minimum GPA, an A+ on a 4.33 scale provides a small but real cushion. And for your own sense of accomplishment, an A+ means you performed at the highest level your school recognizes.