Help! Do I Give Up?

[Slp2be!]

Hey all! 

I am currently a senior and am about to apply to grad schools in January. I am stuck. I have an overall GPA of 3.4. Do I delay my graduation to boost my GPA and retake classes? 

Can I even get in anywhere this cycle with a GPA this low? 

HELP. 

[Lwc23]

Don’t give up! First of all, is there any chance your fall/spring classes could raise your GPA? What’s your in major GPA and how does it compare to your overall? What else are you bringing to the table in terms of experience, GRE, etc.?

In terms of getting anywhere this cycle, I’d say it depends a lot on where you’re planning to apply. However, if pushing off applying for a year is something you could do, it probably wouldn’t hurt to get some experience and then apply with your (hopefully higher) GPA including senior classes. You could also consider putting off applying for a spring cycle...

[slptobe!]

I did! Don't give up  

[AlwaysaFalcon]

I did too! It took me 3 tries but I got in! Don't give up! Try and gain experience in the field and also try during research of programs statistics of acceptance on ASHAedfind! 

[Slp2be!]

On 8/31/2019 at 10:11 AM, Lwc23 said:

Don’t give up! First of all, is there any chance your fall/spring classes could raise your GPA? What’s your in major GPA and how does it compare to your overall? What else are you bringing to the table in terms of experience, GRE, etc.?

In terms of getting anywhere this cycle, I’d say it depends a lot on where you’re planning to apply. However, if pushing off applying for a year is something you could do, it probably wouldn’t hurt to get some experience and then apply with your (hopefully higher) GPA including senior classes. You could also consider putting off applying for a spring cycle...

I definitely think that my fall and winter courses could raise my GPA! At the end of fall semester, I should have a 3.45, but do these courses go towards applications? I know that a lot of apps are due Jan 15th, and the final grades aren’t out until December 17th. I dont know if this is enough time to add towards applications. 

 

I have some experience volunteering at an elementary school as well as a hospital. I am presenting some linguistics research in October, I am an undergraduate research assistant, I work 40 hours a week (nighttime shifts) caring for a spinal cord injury patient and was previously a phlebotomist. I have not taken the GRE (I was dealing with personal issues in the summer and decided to take it September 11th to be in a good headspace. 

 

i have been looking up newer, less ‘competitive’ schools to apply to and am applying to at least 10 in order to boost my chances. Including fall AND winter classes, I think I could get my GPA to a 3.5 or 3.6 but unsure if these classes will appear on applications due January. 

 

PS. This may be a dumb question but what is a major GPA? How do I figure that out? 

[LaceySpeechie]

18 minutes ago, Slp2be! said:

I definitely think that my fall and winter courses could raise my GPA! At the end of fall semester, I should have a 3.45, but do these courses go towards applications? I know that a lot of apps are due Jan 15th, and the final grades aren’t out until December 17th. I dont know if this is enough time to add towards applications. 

 

I have some experience volunteering at an elementary school as well as a hospital. I am presenting some linguistics research in October, I am an undergraduate research assistant, I work 40 hours a week (nighttime shifts) caring for a spinal cord injury patient and was previously a phlebotomist. I have not taken the GRE (I was dealing with personal issues in the summer and decided to take it September 11th to be in a good headspace. 

 

i have been looking up newer, less ‘competitive’ schools to apply to and am applying to at least 10 in order to boost my chances. Including fall AND winter classes, I think I could get my GPA to a 3.5 or 3.6 but unsure if these classes will appear on applications due January. 

 

PS. This may be a dumb question but what is a major GPA? How do I figure that out? 

I have no idea if those classes would or wouldn't count on your application - maybe someone else could weigh in? (I applied well after I'd graduated so I didn't have to worry about it.) But wow, those sure seem like some great experiences, and I'd expect that, especially if you're adding a lot of less competitive schools into the mix, it would really help you boost your applications if highlighted in your essay and resume! And your major GPA is just the GPA of your major, not counting classes that aren't in the major. You'd probably have to self-calculate it, unless your school has some kind of major GPA calculator (though I've never heard of that). Supposedly some schools value your major GPA more than your overall GPA, so if your major GPA is higher, that could help you as well!

[Slp2be!]

9 minutes ago, LaceySpeechie said:

I have no idea if those classes would or wouldn't count on your application - maybe someone else could weigh in? (I applied well after I'd graduated so I didn't have to worry about it.) But wow, those sure seem like some great experiences, and I'd expect that, especially if you're adding a lot of less competitive schools into the mix, it would really help you boost your applications if highlighted in your essay and resume! And your major GPA is just the GPA of your major, not counting classes that aren't in the major. You'd probably have to self-calculate it, unless your school has some kind of major GPA calculator (though I've never heard of that). Supposedly some schools value your major GPA more than your overall GPA, so if your major GPA is higher, that could help you as well!

I think my major GPA is close to the same to my actual GPA (around a 3.4), since a lot of the classes that lowered it were in my major (like A&P, stats, etc.) I am hoping that these experiences help to boost my GPA a little bit, because working so much has been the reason my gpa has suffered. I am just afraid that i will apply to graduate and not get in anywhere and then not have any way to boost my GPA at all. 

[LaceySpeechie]

29 minutes ago, Slp2be! said:

I think my major GPA is close to the same to my actual GPA (around a 3.4), since a lot of the classes that lowered it were in my major (like A&P, stats, etc.) I am hoping that these experiences help to boost my GPA a little bit, because working so much has been the reason my gpa has suffered. I am just afraid that i will apply to graduate and not get in anywhere and then not have any way to boost my GPA at all. 

I think it's important to keep in mind that your GPA is not awful (especially if you boost it with grades from this year), and you have a lot of really great experience! I think it's great that you're looking for less competitive schools, and if you're able to do well on the GREs and write a great essay, that will really work in your favor too. Definitely not worth giving up, so long as you believe the profession is for you!

[hopefulfuturespeechie]

I got in first try with that GPA! Dont give up!

[Slp2be!]

50 minutes ago, hopefulfuturespeechie said:

I got in first try with that GPA! Dont give up!

Thank you so much for the encouragement and reply! 

[BioCook]

I had a lower GPA and got in my first try. Definitely don’t give up! Rather than retaking courses and spending $$$$, focus on your applications and making sure you show that you are awesome!

[mels3862]

You definitely still have a chance! You just need to apply smart and to schools that don’t look at GPA as much. I had a 3.4 too, and I still was accepted! It only takes one acceptance