What gpa do they look at?

[palabracrush]

I just earned an MA in TESOL and am thinking about switching careers to Speech and Language Pathology. My undergrad gpa is 3.45 and my graduate gpa is a much higher 3.9. Will admissions committees look at my higher GPA from the masters program or will it be mostly irrelevant? I'm an out of field candidate who plans on taking some post-bacc courses over the summer, as well.

[SouthernDrawl]

I applied as an out of fielder with a different MA. On CSDCAS both GPAs will combine to create your overall GPA. This is what they will look at. If a school doesn't use CSDCAS, they will evaluate all of your transcripts unless they have a policy to only look at a certain number of hours-like the last 60.

[Crimson Wife]

A bigger "red flag" would be why you are changing fields so quickly. It's one thing to do it after some time in the workforce but if you just finished grad school, frankly it makes you look either like you can't get a job and/or you have no clue what you really want.

Sorry if this comes off as a bit harsh, but do you really want to spend all the effort and expense of applying this upcoming cycle if whoever reads your application is likely to have the same concerns?

[babykoala]

Not OP, but how long should someone wait for it to be "okay" to switch fields (especially given how many SLP students come to grad school with unrelated degrees/leveling courses)?

Edited May 23, 2016 by babykoala

[SouthernDrawl]

I had a previous MA in a related field. I have been a secondary English teacher for three years. I never got any negative feedback about being capricious. Everyone I spoke with about my application said my academic background and career experience was a plus. If you've got the scores and the capital, I say apply. Worst they can say is "no," in which case you can always look into employment to give your app a "real world" edge.

[Crimson Wife]

19 hours ago, babykoala said:

Not OP, but how long should someone wait for it to be "okay" to switch fields (especially given how many SLP students come to grad school with unrelated degrees/leveling courses)?

It's like job-hunting- at minimum 1 year's experience at the current position before applying, and preferably 2. Anything less makes you look like you're either a flake or bad at what you do.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Crimson Wife
clarifying

[Crimson Wife]

17 hours ago, SouthernDrawl said:

I had a previous MA in a related field. I have been a secondary English teacher for three years. I never got any negative feedback about being capricious.

Three years is a LOT different than "I just finished" unless the OP didn't actually mean she graduated within the past 12 months.

[EESpeechie]

Most programs not on CSDCAS or looking at just the past 60 units, will most likely consider your transcripts very holistically. CSDCAS just sends the GPA total with all grades counted so schools can either look at the transcripts separately if they want or use the CSDCAS GPA. I wouldn't worry too much as long as your have good GRE scores and keep your post-bacc GPA up. 

I also wouldn't worry about them thinking that it's odd that you're switching careers so early. Having a TESOL background would actually make you quite unique so if you enjoy your post-bacc classes, I say go for it! Good luck!!