Easiest way to boost GPA for graduate admission?

[Mango122784]

I'm a "long term lurker" here and took a break for a few years. Things have changed and I have a 2 year old now and little time to get on here and research threads. I have about 2 hours in the evening to clean/pay bills/call family/cook dinner/buy groceries etc etc, I'm sure this is everyone's life and I'm no different. My real dilemma is boosting my GPA to a 2.75 for graduate school and I'm at about 2.15 GPA. There are tons of brilliant people here and wondered if anyone can give me the basic pathway of attaining this. TESC TE etc? I've only ever done some Cleps and Dantes but those won't boost GPA :/


-Britt

[Yanji]

IMO, there really isn't a shortcut for this kind of thing... the tried and tested way is to build an "alternate transcript" and try to get As on those courses. They can be online, at a local school or even a community college. Courses relevant to the degree you're pursuing would be particularly useful to take (e.g. Literature or Writing courses for an English MA) and hard science courses like Calculus or Matrix Algebra are pretty much universally respected. Many programs will be willing to overlook your low GPA if you get a good GRE score, particularly in combination with a few alternate transcript courses. Your essays can also help soften the blow of a poor GPA. Finally, you could always look for open admission Master's programs, but I think admissions hurdles are generally a good thing, especially at the graduate level.

[Jonathan Whatley]

What subjects are we talking about, both for your undergraduate major or similar so far, and for your graduate school interests?

[clep3705]

There can be a shortcut for getting rid of bad grades depending on your specific circumstances. Several states have "academic fresh start" programs. See this post for more information: http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...print.html

Fresh start programs aren't panaceas for low grades.

[cookderosa]

Sure! It's a simple math formula. How many credits do you have that make up your 2.15? We can use a GPA calculator to determine how many credits at an A or B are needed. Easy-peasy.