I’m going to be receiving my B.A. from Emerson College this week! Definitely excited but wish I was graduating with a GPA better than a 3.4. I know nothing about applying to Grad school, and would like to do a lot things before I even consider applying. However, I am interested in taking classes, and was wondering if my GPA from Emerson would carry over to the next school?
The idea is that I would keep taking classes until my GPA was higher, then I would apply to graduate school. Again, I know nothing about the process. Just curious is all.
There is really no point to taking more classes unless you are making up a deficiency. Are you interested in an M.A. or a Ph.D.? If the latter and you cannot get into the program you wish (with a 3.4 you certainly have chances to get admission but there are no guarantees) then you might want to start with a M.A. and show that you are capable to doing the work. This is much better than just taking more random courses at another university.
All that being said, you have not identified any target graduate programs and that is important. It is possible that the ones you want to apply to will be a good fit for you and accept you as is. At the very least you need to take the GRE and line up letters of recommendation before you apply.
In answer to your question, all your grades will be considered by a graduate program and they will, if they choose combine them to make a cumulative GPA.
Before you think up more schemes like this, please check out the links at the top of the forum, here is a Grad School 101 or some such FAQ that may be helpful for a general overview.
No, that’s not really going to work…first of all, a 3.4 is a good GPA. Second of all, your GPA does not officially carry over if you are taking non-degree classes. I suppose you could recalculate your GPA yourself and discuss it in your statement (a lot of people do that for major GPA or last 60 credits) but it’s unlikely to really give you any significant boost.
If you are aiming for MA programs, your GPA is fine, and I wouldn’t worry about it. If you are aiming for PhD programs, it’s a bit low but not impossible - I got into a PhD program with a 3.4 (and finished it in October of last year). It also depends on the field - some are more competitive than others - and what the rest of your record looks like (if you have extensive research experience, presentations, maybe even a publication - that changes things).