<p>I have a question on the GPA requirement. I see on many school's website, they require a 3.0 GPA. Does that mean if I don't have a 3.0, then I have no way to get it? Do they see my factors that I have good experience or high GRE and make an exception?</p>
<p>That requirement is not COMPLETELY rigorous. I’ve met two people who gained admission without meeting the GPA requirement. However, they both had some other qualification. Perhaps you should contact the professors you want to work with.</p>
<p>Many grad school admissions take a holistic approach. If you have a sub-3.0 GPA, maybe you have stellar test scores and recommendations. A 3.0 and higher is usually preferred but it’s not the end of the world.</p>
<p>On the other hand, there are departments that take all sub-3.0 GPA’s and place them in the circular filing bin. It really depends on the department. A professor at a department I was denied at told me that he was really pushing for me to get in, but the admissions committee thought that my GRE was too close to the departments cut-off of 1200 so they took someone else with a higher score. Talk about numbers based! My GRE was 1330/5.5!</p>
<p>Tough break VastlyOverrated, which department was that?</p>
<p>It depends not only on the department, but on the graduate school. Often, that 3.0 requirement is set by the graduate school. At some universities, the department has more power than the graduate school, and at others, it’s the other way around. If you have a sub-3.0, but excellent recommendations and research experience and a prof wants to take you on as a research assistant, you stand a better chance getting into a program at a university where the department is stronger than the graduate school.</p>
<p>Sadly, they generally don’t come out and tell you which model they fall under.</p>
<p>A lot of grad schools also now focus on your last 60 hours… I think this is a better guage along with test scores honestly…
But I am biased, I kind of messed around fresh and sophomore years because it was that time of my life.</p>
<p>^^^ I have a question about the last 60 units. If a grad school says they only look at your last 60 units, do they literally mean that? </p>
<p>For example, say someone had 5 withdraws, a couple F’s, and an overall GPA of 2.3 for the first part of college. THeir only excuse was that they weren’t trying. However, in the last 60 units, they buckled down and they had a 3.6 GPA for that period of time. Would the masters program look at ONLY the 3.6 GPA, and not take into account the poor record before? Would they be on the same standing as someone who had maintained a 3.6 for all 4 years? If not, how much of a difference would the admissions make of it?</p>
<p>a 3.6 in your last two years isn’t that great a GPA when most doctoral programs and many masters programs accept students with at least a 3.5 GPA overall. that said, if the rest of your application is strong and you’ve got something to set yourself apart (i.e. near perfect GRE scores or a publication) then you’re good to go. if you just have the decent upper level grades but nothing else to really stand out, you’ll have to apply to some less competitive programs.</p>
<p>grad schools do like to see a trajectory in students’ transcripts, though. if you messed around the first year or two and then did great the last two to three years, that can be almost as good as being a solid student throughout your undergrad. but if you’ve got a bad grade here or there peppered into your upper level courses, that can hurt you. schools will definitely take into account your first two years, but they may simply place more emphasis on your last two years or the credits for your major. they’re not going to pretend those Fs and withdrawals didn’t happen, though.</p>