Applying to Schools with a Lower-than-Average GPA

[Jon Andrew Greig]

Hello all,

I am in the middle of applying to about 10 schools (between masters programs at UK schools and some PhD programs in the US) at the moment, looking to study Ancient Philosophy. I come from a Great Books school (Thomas Aquinas College -- essentially like St John's College) that tends to have a harsher grading standard than most schools, and so my GPA ended up being 3.2 overall. I'm working to compensate this by seeking out tutors (their version of professors) that knew me well and that I did well with; working on an improved writing sample from a philosophy essay in school; and redoing the GRE to get better/improved scores, or at least noticeable scores.

All that said, I'm still concerned about my GPA. Just for quick background, I'm looking at Catholic U, Notre Dame, St Louis U, U of Toronto (all for PhD programs), (potentially) VA Tech as a backup masters, Oxford (B.Phil), Cambridge (M.Phil), U of St Andrews (M.Litt), U of Edinburgh (M.Phil) and (also potentially) U of Leeds (M.Phil). Most schools I'm looking at have a GPA requirement of 3.4 or 3.5 and up. I've been trying to ask each school how they specifically GPAs from schools with distinct grading standards, and am uncertain of whether I still have a chance with these particular schools or not. What gave me especial concern was U of Edinburgh, for instance, which responded to my question by saying "standard conversion-system which allows us to calculate the GPA for any student (in theory) from any institution in the world, and that is an agreed measure that we apply universally."

I'm left to wonder if it will be enough to improve the other aspects of my application to get a chance to get in to some of these schools or if I should reconsider higher aspirations for a more lower-grade masters program at more local schools. Any advice, anyone? Definitely very much appreciated! Thanks again,

Jon

Edited October 31, 2011 by Jon Andrew Greig

[Norman G]

Jon,

I wouldn't let a slightly lower than average GPA deter you from applying to graduate programs this fall. There are numerous factors that go into a schools decision process when reviewing applicants. That being said, a 3.2 GPA won't get you into Harvard--and I'd be skeptical about St. Louis U and U of Toronto (at least according to Peterson's guide to Graduate School both of those schools, which are top schools on the Gourmet Report, have around a 6% acceptance rate).

http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2011/03/are-some-schools-using-undisclosed-gre-cut-offs-in-admissions-decisions.html (there is some good discussion about GPA and other "cutoff" information in the comments section)

Best of success,

Norman

[sebgrebe]

Hi Jon,

I applied for UK programs last year. I think it will be very hard for you to get into Oxbridge, since all evidence I have indicates that you need at least a UK First to get in - this would probably be something between 3.6-3.8 on the US scale, although different universities use different translations from US to UK scales. However, Edinburgh and St Andrews are worth a shot; I know of people whose GPA wasn't particularly terrific and who got in. What definitely helps is to apply early, i.e., December or January, since these universitites have rolling applications.

Good luck!

Edited November 8, 2011 by sebgrebe

[Jon Andrew Greig]

Hello all,

Thank you for your informative responses, definitely helpful to have some context for making important decisions in these cases. I'm also wondering if it is still worth applying to certain schools over others (like U of Toronto, St Louis, Oxbridge, etc.), or if it's helpful to spread out the application layer. I'm up to 10 or 11 schools, and wondering if that is enough or too much, given the chances with my GPA that I have. Anyway, definitely appreciate your comments again. Cheers,

Jon

[Heartless1]

I have a friend with a 2.6GPA who was accepted into a ranked program.

Other factors (letters especially) can save you.

[wishfulthinker85]

very encouraging to hear that there's still hope. thank you heartless1

[thelonious23]

A compelling writing sample can make a world of difference. That plus letters and decent GRE scores can help off-set a lower GPA.

[twwright]

Just a quick word; I believe the progams you want to apply to in Scotland, especially, are MSc, not MPhil.

[Jon Andrew Greig]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Just an update to my application process and where I've ended up: I applied to 11 grad programs for philosophy -- 5 in the UK, all masters-level, and 6 in the US, all PhDs. University of Edinburgh accepted me for the MSc in Ancient Phil, while I was rejected everywhere else (although I received counter offers from other departments at U of Dallas (Masters in Humanities, with the possibility to transfer to Philosophy) and U of Leeds (Masters in Phil of Religion)).

Quite fortunately, U of Edinburgh was up there in choices for me, and so I have since happily accepted their offer. I'm hopeful it will lead to better results with doctoral programs down the road (most pertinently, next year). I'm writing back to the schools that I got rejected at to see what factors led to my rejection, but I'm guessing it was most likely due to the weak GPA (other than competition everywhere) and coming from a school which, though it has a great reputation in the liberal arts world, isn't as well known as, say, the ivy leagues. In any case, U of Edinburgh may be good preparation for graduate study elsewhere--or perhaps even there. We'll see.

Postscript, @twwright, I applied for the MSc at Edinburgh and MLitt at St Andrews. So yes, I was quick to pick that up.