SGPA and CGPA are not the same thing
SGPA — Semester Grade Point Average — covers one semester only. It is the credit-weighted average of your grade points for the subjects in that semester.
CGPA — Cumulative Grade Point Average — covers every semester completed so far, again weighted by credits.
Because both are credit-weighted, a 4-credit subject moves your average roughly twice as much as a 2-credit one. Averaging your SGPAs without accounting for credits gives the wrong CGPA whenever semesters carry different credit totals.
How the credit weighting works
The formula is:
CGPA = Σ(SGPA × credits) ÷ Σ(credits)
Worked example across three semesters:
| Semester | SGPA | Credits | SGPA × credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8.0 | 22 | 176.0 |
| 2 | 8.6 | 24 | 206.4 |
| 3 | 9.1 | 20 | 182.0 |
| Total | 66 | 564.4 | |
CGPA = 564.4 ÷ 66 = 8.55. A plain average of the three SGPAs would have given 8.57 — close here, but the gap widens as credit loads diverge.
Common university formulas
| University | SGPA to percentage |
|---|---|
| VTU | (SGPA − 0.75) × 10 |
| Anna University | SGPA × 10 |
| Savitribai Phule Pune University | SGPA × 9.5 |
| Mumbai University | (SGPA × 7.1) + 11 |
| Most autonomous colleges | SGPA × 10 |
Always confirm against your own marksheet — the conversion is normally printed on the back, and it is the only figure an employer can verify.