<p>I'm seeing people post about low GPA and they're getting advice to boost GPA by taking courses at a community college or other local university. Doesn't the only GPA that matters come from the degree granting institution you graduated from? Do grad schools actually take into account grades from other places, and are you expected to calculate those when reporting GPA? I had a 4.0 (approx 80 credits) before transferring, so should I be including those hours in my GPA calculations when I apply (unless their calculation expectations are specifically stated)?</p>
<p>no... GPA at every institution attended counts.</p>
<p>MY DD is applying for a PhD, some schools as for every single transcript and others ask only from institutions where you earned a degree</p>
<p>To make a distinction here, at my current institution any transfer credit does not affect my GPA at my current institution. I had a 3.98 before transferring, but a 4.0 now even with close to 70 transfer credits from the former institution. </p>
<p>However, every program I've submitted applications to so far as asked for each GPA individually. So... it shows up in the application, but unless your institution operates differently, I'm not sure transfer credits will necessarily "boost" the current GPA.</p>
<p>Yes Lylek, that was my point. My credits transfered, but obviously not the GPA. However it sounds like (from what everyone on this board is saying) that you would figure out your GPA as if the grades DID follow you from one institution to another (ie calculate the 3.98 over 70 credits, add it to the 4.0 over the rest of your credits, then divide by the total number of credits). So the earlier (and/or later) grades would in fact boost the GPA as it appears on the application.</p>
<p>Okay so do you report one unified GPA then? Just how do you report it on a resume?</p>
<p>If you average a GPA on a resume from multiple schools, you will lose your offer and will be blackballed by some companies for fraud (seriously). Many graduate schools will automatically cut you when your transcript and application don’t match.</p>
<p>A GPA is a point of comparison. If your resume says:
</p>
<p>and a recruiter knows that a 3.0 is average for Berkeley in that major, he considers you to be an average Berkeley student. However, if that GPA came from a 2.0 for 2 years at Berkeley averaged with a 4.0 for 2 years at Bakersfield College, you’re not an average Berkeley student, you’re a well below average Berkeley student and an excellent Bakersfield student. Representing yourself as an average Berkeley student is not correct.</p>
<p>The correct way to represent yourself is to either only put the 2.0 Berkeley GPA or to list both schools with their own GPA (4.0/4.0 at Bakersfield and 2.0/4.0 at Berkeley).</p>
<p>The same thing goes for grad schools. You should list each school separately with separate GPAs or you should only list your degree granting GPA.</p>