<p>When graduate schools analyze undergrad transcripts what exactly are they looking for???</p>
<p>Dear phantombrain,</p>
<p>In no particular order, they are looking for:</p>
<ol>
<li>Grades/GPA/performance (A’s, B’s, 4.0, etc.)</li>
<li>Rigor of the coursework (i.e. if you took courses that weren’t just fluff)</li>
<li>If you took key classes that are typical in the major and your performance in them (e.g. If you did EE-Signal Processing, then they might look for DSP or equivalent)</li>
<li><p>Any graduate courses and your performance in them </p></li>
<li><p>(Rarely) Professors who taught the class (if possible)</p></li>
<li><p>(Rarely) Class average (if possible) </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Hope this help,
-DV</p>
<p>I don’t about most applicants, but most of the people I know can only take graduate courses their senior year due to the graduate courses having prereqs that students have to fulfill their junior year. If a student applies for grad school their senior year, how it look if they are concurrently taking a graduate course?</p>
<p>Also from most people I’ve talked to, they tihnk graduate courses are much easier. Maybe this depends on the school, but I definitely see masters/phd students having much higher GPAs than undergrads. Poeple say it’s because professors don’t like giving Bs or anything lower becauseit might affect the student’s job opportunities.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No. I wouldn’t agree - there might be less “busywork,” but there is much more writing involved and higher standards on each assignment, particularly when it comes to research quality.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That’s because the minimum graduate GPA is 3.0. Anything below a B is considered unsatisfactory, anything below a C is failing.</p>
<p>What I will say is true is that professors are generally more flexible in graduate courses. They understand the many demands on a grad student’s time and aren’t particularly harsh when it comes to deadlines. They’re also generally willing to work with you to figure out how to get the grade you need.</p>
<p>Taking graduate classes as an undergrad typically looks good for the applicant, because it shows that you are going for the most rigorous schedule and may have some preparation necessary for success in the program.</p>