M.A. GPA?

[myopia]

Hello all, 

 

I have a possibly peculiar question: I'm currently enrolled in an M.A. program that I will complete this coming spring, and I'm planning on applying to Ph.D programs for the Fall 2014 season. The weakest part of my application is the GPA in this program. Although I have the second highest GPA of the students here, it is only in the 3.6ish range at the moment, and it worries me greatly how this will be perceived. After perusing this forum and other resources, it seems as though most M.A. programs consider a B or B+ to be a borderline failing grade, whereas here the professors seem to have a passionate hatred for grade inflation (I've taken non-degree graduate seminars at a more prestigious institution and received As for work that is notably worse than A-/B+ level work here). My letter writers have made clear that they mention the utter lack of grade inflation in letters of recommendation, but I am worried that having such a low M.A. GPA will prevent my letters or writing sample from even being read. Are my concerns justified? Would it come across as pitiful to attempt to explain this in my statement, or should I rely on my letter writers fully? 

 

Thanks!

[MattDest]

I don't think it will put you at a disadvantage at all, but I would let your letter writers explain it for you (if your department has a history of placing well, presumably this has worked in the past, and PhD departments might already know this). It might come across the wrong way if you try to explain it yourself.

[Narziss]

Try to make sure a letter writer mentions how well you did gpa-wise relative to other students because it would be my worry that the gpa definitely raises an eyebrow.

 

Apart from that, there isn't much you can do but work on the parts of the application on which you can actually still have an effect: namely the sample.

[thelonious23]

Also keep in mind that the school you're coming from makes a difference. If you're at a high-end school with a strong reputation, its understood that grades might be a bit lower and still on par with standard school grades. It's annoying but true.

 

Also, I wouldn't mention it in the letters unless there is some important mitigating reason you can give. Let your letter writers do that, since they are the source of the grades and have intimate knowledge of how the system works.