Undergrad GPA

[heatheread]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and am curious to know how important you guys think undergrad GPA is to PhD programs.

From reading what has been written on the forums so far it sounds like personal statement and writing sample are the most important aspects of an application; however, I am concerned that my undergrad gpa (2.85) will take me out of consideration for top tier schools. I will finish my MA in Spring, and so far I have kept up a 4.0. I've presented at a couple of regional conferences, my committee is excited about my thesis, and I'm confident that I'll get good letters of rec.

My GRE scores were pretty solid except for the quantitative; I have a sort of block when it comes to math. In fact, math and science are the factors that kept my undergrad GPA down. Thank God there isn't any math in art history. :wink:

I'll definitely explain all that in my personal statement, but isn't it true that a lot of schools go to the numbers first in order to sort out the wheat from the chaff, as it were?

Much appreciated!

[purplepepper]

if you have an MA, your BA doesn't matter, it's all water under the bridge. Don't explain your low GPA or low math GRE. It'll come off as insincere and whiny. Just explain how your ideas have evolved from your BA, to MA and what you want to do with them in the PhD. And I truly don't believe that schools cut off by the numbers at first, unless they are truly low, which yours are not.