GPA Below 3.0

Platocrat
Sat, 05 Sep 2015 04:33:02 +0000

I made it into UCLA with a 3.14 GPA (philosophy). It can be done! But you need to be able to really clearly explain your academic path, perhaps why you aren’t where you think you could be, and why you should now be viewed as a competitive student. You really have a chance to give them the “other side” of your transcript with your personal statement, so use it to the best of your abilities. If your community college has a transfer center, utilize it as best you can.

In my case, I dealt with mental illness, and ended up spending several years re-learning how to be around people and just live life in general. I am sure they did not grant me admission because they felt sorry for me; rather, I explained how I was an exemplary student in high school, how I was dealt a severe setback, how I was able to use this setback as a learning experience, and how I ultimately am a better person for it. You really don’t want to throw a pity party; you want to explain just how amazing you are (in spite of whatever may have happened to you otherwise).