<p>My GPA needs improvement. I want to go to Grad School. However I've already graduated. I'm under the impression that my GPA can't be recalculated at this point. </p>
<p>However do you think they will take into consideration classes that I've taken post B.S. and performed well in? I'm planning on taking some pre-req courses and retaking lower division courses for the M.S. program I'm interested in at a community college. </p>
<p>What do you all think? Has anyone else been successful in being admitted to an M.S. program post poor GPA performance?</p>
<p>It’s possible. Take courses toward a certificate or enroll as non-degree or adjunct.
Then, when your GPA improves and you get a high GRE score, maybe a friendly professor or department head to give you a waiver, and voil</p>
<p>As you’ve mentioned, taking classes post-bacc won’t change your GPA. Your BS GPA is fixed in stone. Also, retaking lower level classes at a CC won’t help. If you make the argument that your higher grade in Calc II now vs. 4 years ago shows that you’re a better student, the school will just say that the difference isn’t your performance but the difference in difficulty between a CC vs. your previous university.</p>
<p>At top universities you won’t be able to get away with this, but at some schools it’s common for people to enroll as a non-degree seeking student, take a few of the MS courses and earn A’s, then apply using A’s in the MS courses as justification that you can handle the coursework at that school. It also really helps if your professors know your name and will put in a good word for you. I’ve seen a few people do this.</p>
<p>Also, some of the lower tier engineering schools will admit you on a probationary period if your GRE is high enough. Basically, you’re admitted under academic probation and if your GPA is high enough after some number of credits (anywhere from 6 to 15 - it varies by school), you convert over to good standing. While under probation, you’re usually limited in the number of classes you can take at once and you can expelled from school for even one C (or failure to maintain a 3.0 or failure to maintain a 3.5 - it varies by school).</p>
<p>It would help if we knew how low your GPA is. Are we talking about a 2.8 or a 2.2?</p>
<p>If Stanford recommends it, that’s one thing. But I know many other schools that specifically warn non-degree seeking students not to pursue this path. I know of one that requires non-degree seeking students to sign a form that they understand that they are not accepted to a degree program and will not take classes for the purpose of applying to that degree program.</p>