GPA requirements for PhD programs

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    Gpa Phd Programs
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the GPA requirements for admission into Science and Engineering PhD programs, specifically whether programs consider the entire undergraduate GPA or focus on the Junior/Senior GPA. Participants share personal experiences and institutional policies regarding GPA evaluation.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about the impact of a low GPA from many years ago on their chances of admission into PhD programs.
  • Another participant mentions that at the University of Auckland, only the GPA from the final qualifying year is considered unless the applicant is borderline or entering a restricted program.
  • A different viewpoint suggests that most programs look at the entire undergraduate GPA, but notes that credits may expire after 10 years if not applied to a degree, potentially resetting the GPA for some applicants.
  • The original poster confirms their credits are still valid and discusses the academic renewal policy at Penn State, which they narrowly missed qualifying for due to their GPA being slightly above the cutoff.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on whether PhD programs consider the entire undergraduate GPA or just the later years, indicating that there is no consensus on this issue.

Contextual Notes

Some participants reference specific institutional policies that may not apply universally, and the discussion includes personal circumstances that could affect GPA evaluation.

itsJones610
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I was wondering if most Science and Engineering PhD programs look at the entire undergrad gpa or the Junior/Senior gpa? I am a returning student and my old gpa (from 12 years ago) is 2.04 after 63 credits. I figured out that depending on which path I take to finish my undergrad I will need to finish with an average gpa of about 3.7 or higher just to pull my overall gpa to a 3.0. Will my old gpa hurt my chances?
 
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Cannot speak for others - at the University of Auckland, the gpa for only the final qualifying year is all that matters unless you are very borderline and/or you are entering a restricted program.

Of course none of it matters if someone important wants to supervise you :)
 
Most look at your entire GPA. But at most schools (or in most states), credits expire after 10 years if you don't apply them to a degree, which means your GPA starts over (and you have to start over from the beginning with your bachelors degree). Are you sure your credits are still valid?
 
Yes they are still valid. I'm at Penn State they have something called academic renewal but to qualify you have to be out for more than 4 years AND have a gpa lower than 2.00. So my 2.04 just narrowly missed the cutoff. Too bad my younger self didn't know this or maybe I would've put more effort into skipping class and not studying lol.
 

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