<p>Hopefully not very. I'm finishing up my third semester (first semester sophomore year), and my GPA is most definitely going to go down a bit. I had a 3.85 entering this semester, but I think I'm going to end up getting my first grade below an A-, which will bring it down to more of a 3.7 something. </p>
<p>Here's the thing--- I'm currently taking 18 hours of classes (six total). I work two jobs, usually at least 20 hours a week, if not more. And I go to a top 20 school. I definitely want to go to grad school for a social work/public policy-type endeavor. </p>
<p>Will grad schools take into consideration:
1. My undergrad school
2. The fact that I work a decent amount in addition to a full courseload?</p>
<p>Or will someone from a lesser-known school, but who has a 4.0 and more time to devote to classes in the first place, be regarded more highly by admissions officers?</p>
<p>In my personal opinion, a 4.0 is a detriment to an application. EVERYBODY who went to any kind of decent school has a hardass professor or two where their normally A work will get them a B. If you have a 4.0, it sounds like your whole focus is on grades and that won't translate into a good grad student. I think a 3.7-3.9 is the ideal GPA range for an applicant, but that's just my opinion.</p>
<p>not sure I'd say, exactly, that a 4.0 is a "detriment," but a 3.75 wouldn't really be viewed as much worse than a 3.85; once you're above a 3.7 in most fields, adcoms pay FAR more attention to such things as research matches and fit issues</p>
<p>From my experience, a 4.0 definitely does not hurt the applicant. Imagine people getting penalized for getting 4.2s/4.0 from Stanford and Cornell (rare A+ result in 4.3 at these schools). It means they are smart (top of the class usually), not just grade grubbers. Anyways, the fact that you are coming from a good school will help offset your GPA (which is great anyways).</p>
<p>The only reason you should be worrying about your GPA going down from a 3.85 to 2.7 is if you're applying for law school. Aside from that, people don't care nearly as much about how close your GPA is to 4.0 as long as it isn't below 3.3-3.5ish.</p>