Transfer Student / Low All College GPA

[Number4]

I am hoping to apply to MSW programs for Fall 2016. I did really horrible my freshman year of college and ended up getting a 1.6 GPA because of depression and issues at home. I left the university that I was at and took courses at community college to bring my GPA up. I ended up transferring into a different university, my degree granting university, and here I have a 3.5 GPA. The problem is , because I originally had such low grades my all college GPA ends up being a 2.7 and I know most programs have a set requirement of 3.0 for admittance. I have experience as an intern and also working for a nonprofit as well as being active in my sorority on campus, organizing community service events and chartering two chapters of nonprofit organizations on campus. I am looking to go into a program focused on Macro level social work.  I am wondering if I even should waste the time in applying to programs if my GPA doesn't meet the minimum requirement.( I also don't feel like taking the GRE will boost my chances since I haven't taken a math class in years and i'm horrible at math)

 

 

 

Schools I want to apply to in the Fall: Depaul, UIC, The Catholic University, Widener, Temple, Howard 

[socialwork2015]

I would suggest that you retake some of the classes you did poorly in to replace the original grade. Choose a few of the easy ones so you get As. That should boost your gpa. I had a similar situation and by retaking a few classes, I replaced Fs with As. MSW programs get so many apps that even highly qualified apps get rejected because there are not enought seats in the program so if your gpa didn't meet the requirement it'll probably be an automatic denial.

Edited May 21, 2015 by socialwork2015

[Number4]

I have taken some of the courses over at the college I'm receiving my degree from, but I didn't know if it would replace the low grade since I didn't retake them at the university where I got the original low grade. 

[nightwolf1129]

You could briefly address this in your personal statement(s) mentioning that you experienced some family problems which resulted in difficulty maintaining passing grades during your Freshman year; however, you transferred to another University and managed to achieve a 3.50 GPA.  You can also mention how you've learned and grown from this situation....basically turn a negative into a positive as best as you can.  If an MSW program is doing their job, they'll look at everything holistically including your internship experience, extracurricular activities, work in a nonprofit company, organizing community events, etc.  I hope this helps! 

[binichka]

I'm not sure about the requirements of the schools you're applying to, but the schools I've applied to have only asked about my upper division GPA.  I spent the first couple years of my undergrad at community colleges and then transferred to UCLA, and I've never had to figure out what my overall undergrad GPA was, just what I did in the last two years at UCLA.  My grade in statistics is the only thing from my lower division coursework I have been asked about.  I really think most schools aren't concerned with what you did or how well you did in your freshman and sophomore years.

 

I don't think your low GPA will be a major cause for concern, but talk to the schools if you feel it may hinder your ability to get in a school's program.  I think it's much better that you started out poorly and improved rather than vice versa.  

[hyronomus4]

You should definitely apply as it looks like you would probably be a pretty good MSW student.  The apps I did asked for both your Overall GPA and the GPA for the last 60 credits of your undergrad.   Like others have said you should address your reasons in you personal statement and explain what happened and what you've done to make sure it doesn't happen again.  I would apply with that and see what happens.  If nobody accepts you then you can try retaking classes to improve it for the next year.  I've also heard of people asking to do an interview if they have things on they're application that they're worried about.  You could check on that if you think it would help your situation. 

[Number4]

Which schools did you apply to? 

 

The only school I have on my list that I know looks for the last 60 credit hours GPA is UIC.I looked into UPenn and saw that they don't have a GPA requirement at all, but I don't know if that really means they'll accept an applicant below a 3.0. I've also been looking on the board and saw that most people didn't have an issue getting into a Master's program , just that it was harder to get into a PHD program. I hope that is the case. 

 

Thank you all for your advice so far 

[binichka]

I applied to schools in CA--UCLA and Cal State LA, Long Beach, and Fullerton.  They of course asked for transcripts for all schools I've attended, but the GPA I put on my application was for my last two years.  

 

Anyway, I agree with hyronomus4--I think you'd make a great candidate, and you shouldn't let your GPA discourage you from applying.  I think you're more than able to demonstrate you are capable of succeeding in grad school.  

[_kita]

You'll need to highlight how you can overcome problems, and show that your GPA is not among them. Do you have professors who can talk about your progress as a student, and your ability to handle adversity? That would be a fantastic addition to your application. Perhaps take a few graduate level classes and retake a few classes, as mentioned previously. 

 

You're background will give you more life experience to show why you are a helping professional. Another thing you can do is work summer social work jobs/internships to give you more specific experience. Demonstrate why you are rich in experience and make a good social worker. That will give you a glowing application everywhere else.

 

 Luckily, MSWs don't have as steep a requirement. However, you're looking at schools with very high expectations and more applicants. So there's more competition. Make as backup plans be willing to 1): give yourself a variety of choices and/or 2): be willing to take time off, to strengthen your credentials and reapply if need be.

 

It's not a waste of time if you really want it.