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- I've read that gpa is what matters most. Which gpa would they be most interested in? Community college, UC upper division, or all together?
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<p>in equal parts: GPA and test scores (LSAT, GRE, MCAT, etc). together they'll count for ~ 95% of your case. the other ~5% is everything else you have going for you (job, extra curriculars, volunteer work, how good your undergrad institution was). it's said that some weight is given to upper div work. exceptions: 1) there's a notable preference for kids who come out of the ivy league, though this is likely due in part to old money donations going to schools letting these kids in; 2) if you've got some sort of exceptional story (e.g., you cured cancer), that can considerably act in your favor and help adcoms look past GPA / test scores that don't meet par. </p>
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- if opting for gradschool at any of the UC campuses will they use only the transferable classes + classes taken at their campuses to calculate GPA?
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<p>weirdly phrased question, but if you're asking what i think you're asking, the answer is this: when factoring your GPA, grad schools take into account every uc-level/transferable class that you've ever attempted credit for, anywhere, ever.. that means that if you got an F in one class, and retook it for an A, you've essentially got a C on your record. W's don't seem to hurt much. + there's plenty of room to write addendums in explanation of insufficient or inconsistent performance. </p>
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- when Do people normally apply to gradschool (month)?
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<p>of course, it depends.. lot's of people apply during their senior year so that they'll be able to matriculate into a grad program immediately after undergrad, during the following year. others take a few years off to work, which can look good on applications for certain schools (e.g., northwestwern law) and then apply. personally, i'm gearing toward law school.. average entering age at most places is about 24 / 25. </p>
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- the prestige of the grad programs is usually compatible with the prestige each school has for undergraduate degrees?
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<p>again, not quite sure what this means.. if it's at all relevant, a school's 'overall prestige' is usually based on the quality / 'prestige' of its graduate programs combined. i.e., a school with lots of highly regarded grad departments will boast a high overall ranking (i.e., harvard).</p>