GPA
PluralGPAs
- 1Initialism of grade point average.
She maintained a 3.8 GPA throughout her undergraduate degree.
His GPA slipped after a difficult semester in his sophomore year.
Note
Schools and colleges use this initialism, read letter by letter, for the overall average of every course grade a student has taken so far. The figure usually comes first and works like an adjective: a 3.8 GPA, a 0.13 GPA. It also counts freely in the plural, as when recruiters for engineering jobs look for candidates with high GPAs.
- 2Initialism of granulomatosis with polyangiitis.
Her GPA was managed with a course of immunosuppressive therapy.
Doctors confirmed GPA through a tissue biopsy and antibody testing.
Note
The full name describes the disease in two halves. Granulomatosis points to the necrotizing granulomatous inflammation, usually in the upper and lower airways. Polyangiitis points to the vasculitis that damages many small to medium blood vessels. Like most disease names, it is normally used without an article (a diagnosis of GPA), though a single patient's illness can be her GPA.
- 3In a UK pension scheme, the age at which a member's Guaranteed Minimum Pension becomes payable.
Before taking early retirement, he asked the adviser how many years he still had until his GPA.
Her annual pension statement shows her GPA on the same page as her State Pension age.
Note
An abbreviation built on another abbreviation: the G is GMP, itself short for Guaranteed Minimum Pension, so three letters compress a whole phrase of UK pensions jargon. It is usually personal, a member's own GPA set out on a statement. Outside pensions most readers will take it for the student's grade average, so spell it out at first mention for a general audience.
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