How important is major GPA, minor GPA, and overall GPA?

[Ariananana]

Hey everyone,

I'm a junior this year, but not graduating until December 2014 because I want to finish my minor in public policy since I was accepted to take graduate courses to fulfill the requirements, which have been great. I plan on taking 3 courses in my final semester while interning and working. My goal is to be accepted into a PhD program in geography, particularly related to the effects of population growth on water resources-- mix of demography and certain aspects of physical geography. My advisor/professor recommended UC-Santa Barbara since he knows faculty there that he would love to recommend me for and such-- but I have doubts that I could even dream of getting into that school.

 

I am a transfer student from a business school so I have a lot of variety on my transcript, for better or worse-- from business to politics to economics. Since my major GPA after this semester will be like a 3.8-4.0 depending on one of my physical geography courses, I'm thinking he has assumed the rest of my grades were equally fantastic, in addition to my advanced GIS skills going in. My gen eds between the two schools without my geography courses is only ~3.15 (with 4 C/+'s in gen eds), overall being somewhere in the 3.3-3.4. UC- Santa Barbara and similar schools seem to be extremely competitive, so would I have any chance of getting into those? I don't anticipate any drop in my major GPA and my gen eds are done except for a music and german lit course (ugh!).

 

Just wondering if anyone who is in grad school or has been accepted has noticed any priorities given to the major and/or minor gpa relative to the overall and how much weight the overall gpa has on odds of getting in.

 

Thanks, and sorry if that was too long! I've been so worried looking back on my transcript

 

 

EDIT: I did read the original post pinned and I'm not asking what my chances are at UC-SB, it is just an example of the high expectations my advisor has. More just wondering of how grad schools view a much lower GPA outside of the major/overall. I've had (now-controlled) problems with my epilepsy over the past few years, but I REALLY hate to play the health card because it seems like an excuse to some people, and that just looks terrible.

Edited March 9, 2013 by ArianaKristen

[tarrman]

Major GPA is definitely most important of the three GPA's. Grad schools love seeing improvement over your years in college, and your high major GPA definitely demonstrates this. And an overall 3.3-3.4 GPA is still very good; keep working hard and it'll continue to grow. Only the very best schools expect 3.8+ GPA's anyways.

 

And don't forget, having a recommender who knows faculty there is a HUGE benefit. There are other aspects of the application that will also be judged aside from GPA. Research experience is another big factor that can easily erase any doubts casted by low grades.

 

I strongly recommend against playing the health card when you apply to grad schools; that usually results in instant rejection. It gives them the impression that you will continue to have issues that affect the quality of your work (even if it isn't true), and it makes you less appealing as a candidate. It seems a little unfair, but these schools are going to be investing a lot of time and money into you, and they want to make sure they get their money's worth.

[wanderingalbatross]

In my experience major GPA is more important than gen eds. My major and minor GPAs were both much higher than my overall. It looks like your in-major GPA is excellent, and your overall isn't low enough to ruin your chances. UCSB is very competitive but there are a lot of very good schools where you could find a niche. Water resources is huge right now, as there's expected to be a a global water crisis within the next 15 years (a report on this was in the AAG bulletin last year). You could also try looking at San Diego State, U. Arizona, and Pennsylvania State (all very good), but don't let the competitiveness of places like UCSB discourage you from applying -- sometimes they are looking for a specific sort of applicant and it could be you.

Edited March 9, 2013 by wanderingalbatross

[spacezeppelin]

I encourage you to apply to whatever schools you want, while still having a less competitive options. I was in a similar situation with a stark difference between the "types of GPA". My overall was low because of some bad chem classes, but my major GPA was quite high.

 

I've been accepted to every school I applied to thus far (i have one more to hear from), including my reaches. If I known this would happen I would have applied to a few tougher programs. You never know where you are going to get in. Qualified people get rejected everywhere, people get into super reaches. It really does happen. So just make sure you apply to a range of schools, so no matter how it turns out you wont have any regrets.

 

I have learned that schools really do seem to pick the students that THEY think are the best. They aren’t robots that take data inputs and spit out a ranked list. I think the adcoms at my schools must have looked at my terrible chem grades and realized they had absolutely nothing to do with my ability to succeed in a different felid. Think of your overall application and pick your schools based on the big picture you present.

[pears]

i had a less than ideal GPA that floated around the 3.2 overall range, and not much higher for my majors (3.35 or something like that). Ws abound, too. generally a pretty ugly undergrad transcript, compared to most. the only saving grace was that i kicked butt and took names my last 3 semesters, but it was hard to salvage my extreme slackertude from my first half of undergrad. i did my best to compensate by having a stellar writing sample (i chose the topic, so it was something i was super interested in, and i asked the professor to tear it apart and help me build it back up), strong LoRs, lots of work experience, and a great SoP (i've wanted to be an archaeologist my whole life, so, again, it's just natural enthusiasm there).

 

i committed today, but at each of the programs i was admitted to, professors instantly remembered my file. many said i had one of the most unusual blends of classes they'd seen (in a good way!), and all of them remarked that they really enjoyed my SoP. i made up for the numbers with my writing and by reaching out to mentors; if you really love what you do, and you're doggedly pursuing grad study for the right reasons with a clear goal in mind, it'll show in your writing.

 

so, major GPA is important, but a major recovery in the end of your undergrad can help a lot, as will really strong written application components. worked for me!