CLEP/DSST and GPA?

[cookderosa]

In context I was referring to well-known public universities as a class. That's probably still too vague as a reply. For the sake of argument, let's say my goal is to get into the University of Michigan as a proxy for my ideal class of grad school. Is that specific enough?

I already know if I want to go there I had better have a 3.75 GPA or higher. I'd probably have to test well on the SAT or AP or something, too. I didn't take either when I was a kid, so I'd be taking that for the first time as an adult. My HS grades sucked due to multiple factors, most but not all of them externalities beyond my control. So, I'd have to overcome the optics of bad HS grades which I suspect is not trivial but neither is it impossibly hard.

Got it! Yep.

Ok, so undergraduate admissions and graduate admissions are two different animals. If you want to get into undergrad, it's a little like a funnel- that's where "everyone" is applying because that's where you start. As such, universities can be more picky and charge more since the mass of applications exceeds the spots they have open. It's a simple case of supply and demand.

This isn't really the case with graduate school. Sure, there are competitive grad school admissions - but those are again, top tier colleges for on-campus 21 year olds who are entering into a 6 year PhD program. Beyond that, honestly, you'll have your pick.

No matter where you apply for undergrad, you're over 21, so no SAT or ACT for you. Previous college transcripts, if applies, will be required.

For grad school applications, there are a zillion factors, but let's remove the top competitive schools and bottom-feeder for profits. Everyone in the happy middle wants a GPA of 3.0 or better. Some, not all, may have you take a standardized exam, but with so many graduate schools FIGHTING for enrollment, you can find tons that don't.

I really do appreciate that we scare the crap out of teens so they get good grades so they can get into college. No one really has the courage to tell them ANYONE can get into college. It's a buyer's market.

Your target college, University of Michigan, as an example has already entered into a partnership with Coursera offering master's degrees online for a fraction of the cost as on campus. Colleges are taking great efforts to accommodate the changing market and find buyers (I mean students).

In my opinion, education in America is a product, not a privilege.
https://www.coursera.org/degrees