Graduate School Admissions: How Important is GPA? Any Advice for Low GPA candidates?

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
1

I’m currently a junior studying civil engineering at an undergraduate university. Truth be told I’ve come to realize that after many classes, exposure to the industry, and talks with professionals, engineering really isn’t for me and I really want to make a career change. I’ve always been a creative type and really want to get into something in the visual arts/film industry. I did a ton of artsy/musical hobbies and activities while in college. I don’t have it completely narrowed down yet what I exactly want to study but I know all of the artsy fields appeal to me: animation, visual arts, graphic design, film.

The main dilemma right now is that I’ve realize my GPA is really low, especially in my engineering classes. I have around a 2.8ish GPA, with my engineering GPA hovering around the low/mid 2.0s. I got Cs/Ds in most of my engineering courses, and rank near last in the class in my engineering classes. On a flip side my elective and non-engineering GPA is in the 3.8ish range, which is what’s really saving my overall GPA right now. I’m wondering how much do you think the GPA issue is going to affect me, and with about 1 more year of undergraduate school left, what would be the best advice to boast up my application or experience in switching to this industry?

2

I’d also like to add that I’m in NYC so I’ll probably be applying to the schools in that area, but I’m completely open to moving to the west coast as well, as long as the school is located in the city/some sort of urban habitat since I don’t have a car and really can’t drive to get around.

3

In your letter, stress the same points you made here – especially how you did well in non-major courses. Do you have anything you could put in a portfolio? If not, I recommend taking foundation-level courses at your school or maybe a 2-year school – whichever is cheaper.