Will the GRE as my major mess up my GPA for grad school?

[alissaroot]

KariedAway: My suggestion would be to contact the grad school you plan on attending directly and asking them this question. If you are choosing a highly competitive program, I would think they would want you to have a good GPA in traditional classes within the area you plan to study. Your application will consist of other stuff besides just your GPA, so make sure you have rock-solid letters of recommendation and an excellent SOP (statement of purpose).

Even if they do not like it, you do have other options. You could enroll at Rutgers or another school as a non-degree-seeking student and do well in a few courses and then apply as a degree-seeking student, or you could enroll at an open-enrollment school like WNMU and take a few classes, do well in those and transfer to Rutgers. This may also help you save some money if Rutgers lets you transfer a few credits. I think a good way to prove you are capable of doing well in grad school level work is by actually doing well on some of the work and putting that on your application. You could also see if Rutgers would accept you on a probational or conditional basis, and then do well.

Your GPA will indeed reflect a 4.0 even if you only have 30 or so graded credits.

Thanks for the shout out, I have been hoping that sharing my GRE experiences in minute detail would help people thinking about it. Trying to find discussion about it when I was considering it was a nightmare, so I'm very satisfied to help others!

Could someone explain the GRE, what it is and how it works? And what if I have no GPA? Is it possible to find grad schools that will overlook that?

The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is an aptitude test intended to gauge the readiness of potential grad school students in a chosen field of study. But EC will award up to 30 undergraduate credits for a high score on this exam, up to eighteen at upper level, allowing people to test completely out of a major for $130. It's not easy, but many people have earned nice big chunks of credit this way, for very little money. It is offered three times a year in 8 subjects.

Yes, you can still go to grad school. You can choose an open enrollment program, such as WNMU or Harvard Extension school, or you can do as perrik suggested and take a more traditional route for your major, using the GRE for an Area of Focus or a second major that you do not necessarily plan to study in grad school. I wouldn't worry, most grad school programs I have looked at have an 80% acceptance rate or better. Many online and distance-learning programs accept even more students than on-the-ground programs. What I'm trying to say is, your chances are good, very good as long as you have a decent GPA, excellent SOP, good letters of recommendation, and a shiny resume.

I'm not an expert of any sort in grad school admissions, so take all this with a grain of salt. As always, your mileage may vary.

Good luck!