Does having a high Grad GPA help at all

[xnfs93hy]

Regardless of UG GPA?

I'm just curious to know.

Also, people have told me that it OK to do 2 years community college. But now I am thinking "Hey, maybe I want to do a masters degree."

Who knows, I mean, that may be the case, I may not want to go to med school. But some grad schools cost nearly as much.

Would a prestigious grad school (Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Penn) look down upon taking lower level classes at a CC and upper levels at a four year?

Assuming I have comparable stats to the others students applying.

It seems like with the ivies, a high ranked UG would help. I'm thinking maybe if I can do CC first I may actually be able to transfer if I can stay @ or very close to the 4.0 range.
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By the way, I have been working on my math and it is coming along slowly but surely.

What has been helping believe it or not is Algebra II for dummies and this used college algebra text. It's working pretty good so far but I am noticing that I have a pretty crappy foundation. I am focusing on nailing my times tables because that is killing me. Otherwise all I need to do is review concepts. I literally use a calculator for everything an I want to get to the point where I do not even need one.

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[xnfs93hy]

From a medical school admissions standpoint, would having a 4.0 in your masters program give you a boost?

 

[Depakote]

It wouldn't hurt you, but a high grad GPA wouldn't fully make up for a low UGrad GPA. Ideally you'd nail both.

Then again, if your ultimate goal is medical school, a masters in a related becomes somewhat redundant and a masters in a field that might help you in your career later (MPH or MBA) isn't going to improve your marketability to medical schools all that significantly.

There are Special Masters Programs that are specifically designed for med school admissions, but these are for applicants that are having trouble getting admitted in the first place.


And a note on 4.0's. Easier said than done... don't assume you can pull off perfection. Aim high, consider it a goal, but to plan on it happening.

 

[NickNaylor]

A lot of people pursue post-bacc degrees if they need to pull up their GPA. Granted, you can't really improve your GPA all that much, but any little bit can help.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

A lot of people pursue post-bacc degrees if they need to pull up their GPA. Granted, you can't really improve your GPA all that much, but any little bit can help.

Post-baccs are a very specialized type of graduate program however, and not very comparable to "grad school" in general (programs like MPH's, etc)

And to respond to the OP...you're not even a senior in high school yet...why are you worrying about grad school to pull up a college GPA that you don't even have yet? One thing at a time...

 

[Vicviper]

I'd suggest doing a Masters maybe if you're really interested in research, but otherwise it's not really necessary for Med school - but if you really want to, by all means.

And my brother got into a Princeton Graduate program after going to a CC just fine.

And good idea on the Algebra II for dummies, I used that with some of my students when tutoring AII, and it really helped. You're right about the calculations in your head, I always told my students that having that mastery of multiplication not only lets you do things much faster, but also gives you much more confidence. Good luck!

 

[Maygyver]

You haven't even started undergrad yet. If you stop wondering about hypotheticals, you have nothing to worry about GPA wise in undergrad. Also, why are you so set on Ivies? To be completely honest, to get into an Ivy, you need to be intelligent, and intelligent people don't bomb undergrad. No offense, but stop worrying about things 5 years down the line and STOP THINKING YOU WILL FAIL. Planning for failure helps you in no way.

Seriously, you will get where you go, when you get there. This doesn't mean you don't have to do anything and everything will fall in place, but it means you need to stop worrying about things you can't do anything about now. I remember when my brother got into an Ivy for his masters program it pretty much became my goal to follow him up. If you really want to get into one, put in the WORK, stop planning for failure, and keep your chin up. Start working and things will work out. You are really doing yourself no good by changing your mind over theories. You need to get out there and figure stuff out for yourself. I am not saying that it is bad to change your mind or have a ton of ideas (personally I am pretty indecisive too) but you need to give things a shot before you shoot them down, and most of the things you think about, you can't even try yet. Give it time. Do what you can do now, stop worrying, make some friends, and have some fun! It's summer!!!!

 

[yanorglu]

Would you care to update us on your planned major at the moment?

 

[Vicviper]

You haven't even started undergrad yet. If you stop wondering about hypotheticals, you have nothing to worry about GPA wise in undergrad. Also, why are you so set on Ivies? To be completely honest, to get into an Ivy, you need to be intelligent, and intelligent people don't bomb undergrad. No offense, but stop worrying about things 5 years down the line and STOP THINKING YOU WILL FAIL. Planning for failure helps you in no way.

Seriously, you will get where you go, when you get there. This doesn't mean you don't have to do anything and everything will fall in place, but it means you need to stop worrying about things you can't do anything about now. I remember when my brother got into an Ivy for his masters program it pretty much became my goal to follow him up. If you really want to get into one, put in the WORK, stop planning for failure, and keep your chin up. Start working and things will work out. You are really doing yourself no good by changing your mind over theories. You need to get out there and figure stuff out for yourself. I am not saying that it is bad to change your mind or have a ton of ideas (personally I am pretty indecisive too) but you need to give things a shot before you shoot them down, and most of the things you think about, you can't even try yet. Give it time. Do what you can do now, stop worrying, make some friends, and have some fun! It's summer!!!!

Amen to that.