Graduate School GPA

[dinosaur.fight]

Situation

I'm hoping to apply to PhD programs next year. I'm currently in a dual masters degree program at a top public university. When I'm finished I'll received one professional MA (public policy) and another in liberal arts.

Dilemma

In my professional program, professors aren't are all shy about assigning B (sometimes C) grades to students. While I'm generally doing well, I'm probably going to have a couple or more B/B+ grades on my transcript from quantitative/economics courses.

Bottom line

My GPA is going to be 3.8, maybe 3.6 (GASP!), by the time I'm finished with both degrees. Should I be freaking the fuck out? Are my hopes of attending a top political science PhD dashed?

[runonsentence]

Talk to your recommendation writers and ask if they can address the fact that you are in a professional program (which doesn't subscribe to the same grade-inflation as many academic programs) and ask them to assure the committee that you worked hard and performed well.

[adaptations]

Bottom line

My GPA is going to be 3.8, maybe 3.6 (GASP!), by the time I'm finished with both degrees. Should I be freaking the fuck out? Are my hopes of attending a top political science PhD dashed?

Don't be freaking out. Obviously a 3.8 is better than a 3.6, but neither will shut you out of the application process. Certainly push to keep your GPA as strong as possible, as it's an important signal to the admissions committee, but don't overreact to a gpa that isn't a 4.0. Good luck!

[mv0027]

I think adcoms know that a 3.6 from a professional school is legit. Though, they will look closely at specific courses, so the ones that apply better be good.

[flyers29]

Wait, inflation isn't rampant at other professional schools? Looks like I went to the right professional school then.

[mv0027]

My school is all based on a strict curve...it was a pain.