GPA statistics

[taratm]

Hi all,

 

When a program notes that their "average gpa of accepted students is 3.5 or 3.6", is it realistic enough for me to apply with a 3.3 gpa?(assuming I'm competitive enough with respect to other requirements).

Edited May 26, 2015 by taratm

[Jay's Brain]

Without any context to your program of interest and other factors, it is hard to say. Most people, including myself, will probably give you the same answer. That really depends on the program, the potential supervisors you may have (if this is research-based), and what the graduate committee at that particular institution holds for these kind of statistical references. If, as you said, your other requirements are competitive, they may give you an exception. If the 3.5-3.6 GPA is not a strict cutoff, you still have a chance! 

Good luck!

[bsharpe269]

I post regularly about this but I got into top programs with a 3.25 uGPA. I did a MS first with a good GPA though. You need to make up for the low GPA in other areas. In my opinion, the best way to do this is to take time off to do full time research. If you are average in your other areas then you have little chance of getting into a great program with a 3.3. If you blow them away in other areas (research experience, LORs, etc) then you can get into any school you want.

[taratm]

Right, but I mean when a program admission statistics page says that, do they usually mean it's the cutoff or the average? because they are pretty different.

 

Like this one :

 

"To give you a realistic view of the strength of your application, on average a GPA of 3.5 and GRE scores reaching at least the 80-85th percentile for all three sections are typical of students accepted into our program."

 

http://www.neuroscience.umn.edu/ProStu/apppross.html

[BeakerBreaker]

I'd apply without a doubt, if you think the rest of your application will be strong. The average might be a 3.5, but the range is probably quite wide. I also didn't have the best uGPA, but I had a lot of (post-bac) research experience which was more than enough to compensate.

[ballwera]

I got in with a sub 3.0 but I had 3 years of full time research under my belt and good LORs. I mean unless you know the range of gpas, the average is kind of useless imo. 

[lxwllms]

I got in with a 3.1 to many great universities straight out of undergrad. Many of these universities stated much higher GPAs as their average. So, I would take it as just that -- an average. It's fair I think to ask an administrative person this question as well.

[eeee1923]

I say apply. The worst that can happen is they say no (and there are plenty of other programs). 

 

Also when you ask about your chances - it depends on the standard deviation accompanied with those average GPA's (which is program dependent). 

[expandyourmind]

my undergrad gpa was 3.5 with a 3.2 bio gpa. my masters is a 4.0 so it evens things out!

[Vene]

That sounds like it's a 3.5 average, not a 3.5 cutoff, so I'm inclined to say apply and hope for good news.

 

And fyi, there's a page for UMN that lets you look at programs statistics, which should help you see how you compare to previous classes. https://apps.grad.umn.edu/programs/select_program.aspx?l=t

 

Unfortunately, when I tried it just now, it says the service is unavailable. Hopefully that just means the IT department needs to fix it, not that they're no longer providing the information.

[taratm]

Thanks everybody.

I contacted the admission office of those programs I was interested in. That number is an average with  a standard deviation of 0.2. So there is still room for hope !

[Cookie]

That sounds like it's a 3.5 average, not a 3.5 cutoff, so I'm inclined to say apply and hope for good news.

 

And fyi, there's a page for UMN that lets you look at programs statistics, which should help you see how you compare to previous classes. https://apps.grad.umn.edu/programs/select_program.aspx?l=t

 

Unfortunately, when I tried it just now, it says the service is unavailable. Hopefully that just means the IT department needs to fix it, not that they're no longer providing the information.

 

There's much more statistics there than most programs! incredible!

[Vene]

There's much more statistics there than most programs! incredible!

I sincerely wish every university did this, it would make picking universities that match your credentials so much easier.

[Cookie]

I sincerely wish every university did this, it would make picking universities that match your credentials so much easier.

 

Au contraire, the numbers look much better for them, ambiguous as they are now