<p>Hello,</p>
<p>In terms of graduate school I understand that the overall GPA and the GPA obtained for someone's major are both looked at for admission. However, which one carries more weight? And how much more weight does it carry? I hope to apply in programs for the biological sciences at top graduate schools in the field. I have gotten mostly B's (and two W, withdrawal grades) in general requirement courses that are not in my major but A's in courses that fulfill my major. Any help would be appreciated.</p>
<p>There are only subjective answers to this, and they vary by individual and institution. If you’ve gotten all As in courses for your major (the same one you’re applying to graduate school for) then you should be relatively fine.</p>
<p>Only one school specifically asked me for my major GPA, though the committee could be directly or indirectly computing the GPA themselves. I think that if your overall is above 3.5-3.6, you have good GRE scores (700q+ and 600v+), and you have great research, you will be competitive for great programs. Reading the stats of people here is a bit intimidating but know that 99% of people are not in that position.</p>
<p>It really depends on field. Almost all of my applications asked for major GPA.</p>
<p>Often biomedical or science graduate programs will recalculate your GPA (total and science). Its often somewhat amusing to see the discrepancy between the students reported GPAs and their recalculated GPAs.</p>
<p>But for science graduate programs, it is essential to obtain research experience. This can be done by interning or volunteering in a research lab at your university or at another institution during summer break</p>