Pass/Fail Impact Calculator
Graded credits only — pass/fail credit usually sits outside GPA.
Standard 4.0 ladder points shown; your school's table wins.
The decision in one sentence
Pass/fail is GPA insurance: it caps the downside of a rough course at zero GPA movement, and its price is giving up the upside of a strong letter. The arithmetic that decides whether the insurance is worth buying is the break-even letter — with a 3.40 over 60 credits, a graded C in a 3-credit course pulls you to 3.33 while a P leaves 3.40 untouched, but a graded A would have bought 3.43. Expect below your GPA, and the P protects you; expect above it, and the P costs you. The genuinely dangerous square is the F, because at many schools the shield does not cover failing at all.
Questions
What does a P do to my GPA?
Under the treatment this tool models, nothing: the P earns credit hours but carries no quality points, so your GPA is computed as if the course were not there. That is the published policy at schools like Rice (a P has no impact on GPA) and Maryland (a passed course counts as hours but is not computed in the GPA). Your registrar's page is the authority for yours.
What is the break-even letter?
The letter whose grade points equal your current GPA. Any letter worth more pulls your GPA up, so grading it beats the P; any letter worth less pulls it down, so the P protects you. The tool names the lowest standard-ladder letter at or above your GPA — with a 3.40, that is A- (3.7), since a B+ (3.3) already sits below.
What happens if I fail a pass/fail course?
At many schools the shield only covers passing: a grade of F is counted as a failure and included in the GPA (Rice's published language, and Maryland computes a failed pass-fail course into both averages). Some schools instead record a no-credit mark outside the GPA. The tool shows the F-counts number and flags the policy split; your registrar decides which applies.
Does the tool know my school's eligibility rules?
No. Schools restrict pass/fail to electives, cap total pass/fail credits, set conversion deadlines, and sometimes exclude major requirements — Maryland, for example, publishes a 12-credit career cap and an electives-only rule. This page prices the GPA arithmetic only; whether the option is open to you is catalog territory.
What if I have no graded credits yet?
Enter 0 for graded credits. A lettered course would simply set your GPA to that letter's points; taken pass/fail, your GPA stays unstarted. There is nothing yet for the new grade to dilute, so the stakes are at their largest.