cumulative GPA and explanaion

[matrenholm]

So I went to two schools. First school I did totally crappy and got a 2.4 gpa and then transferred to a better school and got a 3.4. Do I have to average these out and technically, my cumulative GPA is under 3.0 and I need to supplement my application with an explanation of why my gpa was crappy? I'm applying to MSW programs by the way.

[Levon3]

This might be a question to ask the program director. 

[TheHessianHistorian]

On 12/9/2017 at 1:13 AM, matrenholm said:

So I went to two schools. First school I did totally crappy and got a 2.4 gpa and then transferred to a better school and got a 3.4. Do I have to average these out and technically, my cumulative GPA is under 3.0 and I need to supplement my application with an explanation of why my gpa was crappy? I'm applying to MSW programs by the way.

Yes, this is correct. You will need to include a brief explanation in your statement of purpose explaining why your cumulative GPA was so low.

Focus on making sure all the other parts of your application are stellar, to make up for the low GPA. GRE scores, letters of recommendation, writing sample, etc. should all "wow".

Lastly, you should be contacting the program coordinator and potential professors that you would like to work with at the schools you're interested in. If you develop a preliminary relationship with people from the department, they may be more likely to overlook your GPA.