Grad School gpa

EagleScout13

USMA Class of 2017
5-Year Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2011
Messages
174
Just curious if grad schools use only our academic gpa from West Point and not our entire gpa based on academics, military, and physical fitness?
 
Grad schools will want a copy of your transcripts so that will carry your academic grades on there, plus your DPE and Military classes. Most reputable graduate schools realize that you do much more than just academics while at West Point so they'll add to your GPA to put you on par with other candidates. I have heard of instances where Grad schools add a whole point to your academic GPA (a 3.0 would go toa 4.0).
 
They're looking at your academic GPA from undergrad, but as has been said, they know a service academy is a rough ride.

USCGA provides a cover letter stating that graduates who even appear to have struggled at CGA (due to a number of requirements placed on them) often go on to be highly successful in graduate school or the workforce.

I applied to GW with a fairly low GPA from CGA. I also had four years real-world experience in the program area I applied to (which was enough for a GRE waiver). I received a conditional acceptance, provided a maintained a B average in my first semester, which of course, I did. My resulting grad school GPA was about 1.3 points higher than my undergrad (that gives you an idea of how bad my undergrad was).

I also benefited from the fact that one of the program directors was a West Point grad and understood that service academy GPAs often take a hit. While I'm not sure how widely that understanding is held, it was true in my case.

I had heard to "add a point" too, but I haven't found it to be true in practice. However, I do know they appreciate the experience and the rigor and they factor that into their decisions.

There are very few graduate schools that have issues with their service academy students. We've done a pretty good job impressing them.
 
most graduate schools care a about your letters of recommendation and your statement of purpose -- essay you write about why you want to attend graduate school in a particular field, and what your qualifications are. In some fields, admissions committees care about things like undergraduate research, writing samples, your work or internship history, or an in-person interview. Graduate schools generally do not care about extracurricular activities whatsoever unless they're directly related to the field you want to study -- often there's not even a place to write about extracurriculars on the application.

Pretty much, grad school admissions care most about your GPA, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, and your personal statement. They don't care really if you were a jock, was a squadron/battalion commander, etc... However, when you write your personal statement/purpose, you can use many accomplishments during your undergrad outside of GPA to demonstrate your ability to work independently; follow instructions; motivations; and many of the other attributes that grad schools look for in an individual. So while they may not care that you were a squadron commander at the academy, you could slip that in as you're mentioning how you learned to lead groups and to be a follower, and how this became a valuable trait when you got involved in doing group research projects, internships, etc... In other words: While grad schools don't care for much outside of GPA, Letters of recommendations, GRE scores, and your personal statement/purpose; there are ways to include all your accomplishments and experiences you have in presenting yourself.
 
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