Last 2 years GPA computation

[was1984]

Some of my schools require me to submit my GPA for the last 2 years of study. This isn't as cut and dried for me as it is for some other people. I'm currently an M.S. student, and I have a 4.0 in my M.S. degree. I expect to get a 4.0 this semester also. I also have graduate coursework that was non-matriculated (1 semester, 4.0) from after my B.S. degree that I am applying toward my M.S.

My undergraduate degree my last couple of semesters was abysmal, due to a couple of personal issues. I had a 1.8 GPA Fall of my last year, and a 3.0 Spring of my last year, causing me to drop to a 3.32 overall GPA.

My question is this: how do I define last 2 years? If I consider 2 years to be 4 semesters, then I could state that my GPA for the last 2 years is 4.0 for applications that are due after I have grades from this semester. If I consider it to be the last year of my undergrad and the first year of my MS degree, my GPA doesn't look so hot. If I use 1 semester from my undergrad and 3 graduate semesters, I have about a 3.6.

What would you do? What's expected of me here?

Edited October 20, 2010 by was1984

[votanor]

On 10/20/2010 at 2:12 AM, was1984 said:

Some of my schools require me to submit my GPA for the last 2 years of study. This isn't as cut and dried for me as it is for some other people. I'm currently an M.S. student, and I have a 4.0 in my M.S. degree. I expect to get a 4.0 this semester also. I also have graduate coursework that was non-matriculated (1 semester, 4.0) from after my B.S. degree that I am applying toward my M.S.

My undergraduate degree my last couple of semesters was abysmal, due to a couple of personal issues. I had a 1.8 GPA Fall of my last year, and a 3.0 Spring of my last year, causing me to drop to a 3.32 overall GPA.

My question is this: how do I define last 2 years? If I consider 2 years to be 4 semesters, then I could state that my GPA for the last 2 years is 4.0 for applications that are due after I have grades from this semester. If I consider it to be the last year of my undergrad and the first year of my MS degree, my GPA doesn't look so hot. If I use 1 semester from my undergrad and 3 graduate semesters, I have about a 3.6.

What would you do? What's expected of me here?

I don't understand - why are you applying to another place if you are already in an MS program? do you want to pursue a second master's degree? in any case you should contact the head of the department for that program and they can tell you if they will use your undergrad gpa, or grades from your current MS program or both. generally the gpa that is considered in graduate admissions is everything you've taken up until the time you recieved your degree. after that your gpa is set in stone and your non-matriculated classes will not impact your undergrad gpa. they will appear on the transcript but will not be used to calclulate your cumulative gpa. in most cases they only look at the last 60 units of your undergrad career, but again that's for classes you took until you got your degree. but if you are applying to a second master's or phd program then you can ask someone working at the school.

[DariaIRL]

Keep the undergrad and grad GPA separate. So for your last two years GPA, it may not actually be 2 yrs worth, but it's your grad-level work and most recent.

[was1984]

Keep the undergrad and grad GPA separate. So for your last two years GPA, it may not actually be 2 yrs worth, but it's your grad-level work and most recent.

This is kind of along the lines of what I was thinking. The purpose of asking for the last 2 years GPA is to gain insight into the student's recent academic performance, I'm assuming, so this seems appropriate.