Declining grad trend?

[Edotdl]

I'm a bit worried about my GPA trend. I am applying to phd programs this fall for Fall 2016 admissions. I transferred to my current institution last year and obtained a 4.0 first semester and a 3.8 second semester (I had a 4.0 at my old school, if that makes a difference). I'm not sure how well I'm going to do this semester, hopefully in the 3.8-4.0 range still but I've been pretty busy juggling classes and applications. I was wondering how much these trends really matter given that they are still relatively high and that most schools will not see this semester's grade (ie they just see 4.0->3.8 and not a continued fall, in the worse case scenario). Maybe looking for some confirmation that I'll be fine or some motivation to work harder, either would be fine.

Edited November 4, 2015 by Edotdl

[TakeruK]

If I saw a 4.0 one semester then a 3.8 another semester, I would just conclude that your typical GPA is about 3.8-4.0. Especially if your third semester is also 3.8-4.0. I don't think I would ever distinguish between a 3.8 GPA and a 4.0 GPA because I don't personally see a big difference between A and A-. This is from my experience awarding grades and from my experience receiving grades. 

[rising_star]

You're seriously sweating the difference between a 3.8 and a 4.0 (so between A and A-)? Wow, you need more stuff to do! It seriously is not a big deal. I rarely give As to undergraduates so, to me, a 3.8 is about as good as it can get.