How to use this calculator
- Find your overall percentage average on your transcript
- Enter it above to see the three common Chinese GPA scales side by side
- Read the indicative UK honours class for context
- Before applying, check the specific university's stated requirement — some ask for a percentage directly, others a GPA on their own scale
The honest starting point: GPA conversion is not a formula, it is a negotiation. There is no official standard that converts a Chinese percentage into a 4.0 GPA or a UK honours class. What exists are several widely used approximations, each producing different numbers from the same transcript — and universities know this, which is why many publish requirements directly in percentages for specific countries.
The three formulas above are the ones admissions offices most commonly encounter from Chinese applicants. The standard stepped scale gives 85% a 3.7. The Peking University quadratic formula, which spreads credit more steeply near the top, gives 85% about 3.44. The Zhejiang linear formula gives 3.5. Same student, three GPAs, all defensible — which is exactly why the disclaimer sits at the top of this page rather than in a footnote.
UK honours classes are the other common reference: First (70%+ in UK grading), 2:1 (60-69%), 2:2 (50-59%), Third (40-49%). Because UK grades run lower than Chinese ones, universities translate: a Chinese 85%+ is commonly treated as First-equivalent and 70-84% as 2:1-equivalent. But the mapping varies by university and even by department, and some ask for subject-specific averages instead of overall.
Practical advice: if your percentage is marginally below a published requirement, compute all three scales and present the strongest one with your transcript, plus your rank in class if it is strong. Admissions teams are used to applicants self-reporting GPA with the formula stated. What they penalise is not the formula choice — it is hiding the original percentage.
How evaluation services handle it
WES and similar credential evaluators convert course by course using their own credit-weighted tables, which regularly produce different results from any self-calculated scale. If a university requires an official evaluation, budget four to eight weeks for it — do not wait until the application deadline.
Individual course grades can matter more than the average: many UK master's admissions weight final-year and major-specific marks explicitly, so a strong final year can offset a weaker overall average.