Leaving Cert to US GPA
Applying to college in the United States? Use this tool to seamlessly convert your Higher and Ordinary level Leaving Certificate grades into a standard US 4.0 GPA.
How is the Leaving Cert converted to a US GPA?
The US education system runs on a 4.0 GPA scale. Irish secondary school students looking to apply to US universities (often for athletic scholarships or Ivy League admissions) need to translate their H1-H8 and O1-O8 grades into this format.
Most international admission boards (like the NCAA and the Common App) use a standardized conversion framework that rewards Higher Level subjects with stronger weighting compared to Ordinary Level subjects.
Typical Conversion Scale
- H1 (90-100%): 4.0 US GPA (A / A+)
- H2 (80-89%): 3.7 US GPA (A-)
- H3 (70-79%): 3.3 US GPA (B+)
- H4 (60-69%): 3.0 US GPA (B)
- O1 (90-100% Ordinary): Capped at 3.0 US GPA
Important Note for US Admissions
Unlike the CAO points system which only counts your best 6 subjects, US universities typically calculate your GPA using all of your academic subjects. Be sure to include every subject you sat for in your Leaving Cert for the most accurate US GPA projection.