How much does UGPA count

[bellagrl]

So here is the honest truth. I was a mediocre student as an undergraduate (about a 3.0 flat). I did have a job working about 30 hours a week so gained some professional experiences, but not so great academically. I am currently in an MA program with a 3.8 gpa. I am a TA, I have done research as a grad assistant, have been a editor of a department publication for 2 years, and I am writing thesis. I will have great Letters and hopefully decent GRE's, so how much will my UGPA bring me down? Will I still have a shot at a Phd program?

[kfed2020]

I think your more recent grades in your Masters program will count for a lot more -- especially given that they're graduate work, but also considering that they'd constitute an 'upward trend' for your grades. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[YagglesSnaggles]

Most say that Undergrad G.P.A is more important than Graduate ones because they provide a more objective perspective of a students work in a larger sample size of courses. The argument is that most students in Master's programs, especially the ones intrepid enough to apply to PHD prog's, have close relationships with their professors. Add this to an already inflated graduate school grading process--where a B is pretty much a failing grade in most programs--it is difficult to discern a students potential by their graduate grades; I am sure this varies in most places, but the 'brightest' student from my master's program was very limited in his school choice from a few too many years as an undergraduate partying it up and receiving merely average grades. I think the UG G.P.A is supposed to proffer a better idea of the person as a whole, but I say that for some the college experience is an integral part for forming scholars who view the world through alternative lenses.