I got into my 1st choice with a hefty scholarship. I was below the requirements in both GPA and GRE (GPA: 3.16 GRE: V150 Q147 W4). I was really close to my professors, so I'm sure they wrote really great LOR for me. I also mentioned in my SOP how transitioning from high school to college was difficult for me, but my junior year I buckled down. My senior year, I become an academic personal trainer where I had the opportunity to teach essential skills to students who were on academic probation. This showed that I not only worked harder, but was willing and able to help kids with similar struggles. I beleive this really helped my application. My GPA in CSD courses was a 3.57 also. I applied to 4 grad schools and got into 3 so it isn't all about grades and GRE. I was also fairly involved on campus and didn't just go to school and go home. Hope this helps! Good luck!
