What Do I Need on My Final?

Your course grade is built from categories: homework, quizzes, exams, and the final. Because the final isn't scored yet, your current grade only describes the other categories. If the final is worth 30%, your current grade covers the remaining 70%, and the calculation is just: how many points does the final's 30% have to add?

Worked example: you have a 78% and want an 80% in a class with a 30% final. Your 78% locks in 78 x 0.70 = 54.6 points. You need 80 - 54.6 = 25.4 more points from a slice worth 30, so 25.4 / 0.30 = 84.7%. Score an 84.7 or better on the final and the class ends at 80%.

Three sanity checks the calculator handles for you: an answer at or below 0 means your target is already banked no matter what happens on the exam. An answer over 100 means the target is out of reach through the final alone. And anything in between comes with the letter grade that score represents, so you know what "an 84.7" actually asks of you.

If your final counts as a regular test inside a category, or your class runs on points instead of weights, first convert: the final's weight is its points divided by the total course points. A 200-point final in a 1,000-point course is a 20% final. For the full category-by-category picture, use the weighted grade calculator, and for the classic quarters-plus-exam setup, the semester grade calculator.