Can you raise your UC GPA after your graduate from undergraduate?

Question

I want to go to graduate school, but I think I need to improve my GPA from undergraduate. Can I do this by retaking classes at a JC and taking addiction courses at a community college? Does anyone know?

Answer 1

Here is the correct answer.

Going back to a JC will NOT raise your undergraduate GPA.

It is NOT the graduate college that evaluates your GPA by looking at ALL your schools-it is the school you graduated from-the school where you obtained your BA that collects all your undergraduate transcripts and gives you a final cumulative GPA for your undergrad diploma. Once graduated that becomes your GPA for your Bachelors degree.

Bud is correct----If you have graduated it is TOO LATE to change your undergrad GPA.

The best thing you can do is get a high score on the GRE.

Answer 2

This is a good strategy on the surface, and yes the new credits will effect your overall GPA but you are missing two things.

One: Your overall GPA now is a cumulative of about 120 or so credits. When your GPA is calculated you take the total number of grade points and divide by your total number of credits. So now that you have more credits it is harder to effect your overall GPA. KInd of like throwing a small rock in a big pond. This is why so many people coast through senior year of college, because your GPA is pretty set.

For a quick proof of this, say you had been a solid B student all through college, graduating with a 3.0 GPA. (That's 360 grade points divided by 120 credits) Now say you take two full semesters at the JC and get a solid 4.0 in everything. You are adding 96 grade points to the 360 (456), but now you are dividing by your new credit total 144, 456/144 = 3.16.

You see two solid semesters of straight A's would raise you OVERALL GPA ***0.16 points***.

This brings me to point number TWO.

Two: This is your overall GPA. Take a look at a grad school application, liek you say you are interested in. They ask you to break down your course work buy institution. Ie; You would have your degree institution on one line with your graduating GPA and your post grad course work on another with that GPA.

I am sorry but the bottom line is, while the new coursework may look commendable and depending what your motives and goals still might be a good idea, the best way to get a good GPA is to really work your butt off the first two years of college (setting that GPA in stone, more like tossing a large rock in a gold fish bowl.)

Hope this helps, Good Luck!

Answer 3

Taking extra classes will raise your overall GPA that you report, however, it's not going to change your UC GPA. Schools send your transcript of courses you finish at each individual school. They don't lump everything together. That's the job of the grad school looking at your application. It's going to be patently obvious to grad schools that you're trying to artificially raise your GPA. They're free to take that into account and basically ignore the new grades.

Your better off spending your time getting as high a standardized test score (GRE, LSAT, whatever) as you can or doing some internship or some other extra curric.

Answer 4

Once you graduate, that's it! Now if you don't feel your grades from UC were good enough, you could take other classes anywhere and apply to graduate school. When they look at your admissions paperwork, they'll see the transcripts from your undergraduate work and the additional classes.

If you improve your grades, then they might look more favorably on you because you've proven yourself more recently by taking more classes. But that all depends on the admissions office of that particular school, what additional classes you take, and where.

Answer 5

If you graduated it is TOO LATE---your GPA is set in stone. If you have not graduated you can sometimes retake the class at the same college and petition for the higher grade to be your permanent grade.

If you already graduated-----The best thing you can do is study your butt off and get a high score on the GRE and then write a letter explaining how you have matured.

Good luck.

Answer 6

if you have graduated then game over. your gpa is your gpa and there is nothing you can do. you could take more classes at a JC and submit those transcripts but they will be looked at separately from your undergrad classes.