Not sure, but I suspect that having an MA degree will put some distance between your application and your undergrad gpa. I also suspect that the writing sample/SoP will probably count far more than your GPA.
(I'm curious: how high is a 3.7 graduate GPA? Obviously, it would be a really strong undergrad, but I was under the impression that the standards are different for graduate grading, and you'd want to be as close to the 4.0 as possible. I'm not in grad school yet, so I can't really speak to the truth of this...)
Quick note: while your college teaching experiences should be helpful, your testprep teaching/tutoring probably will not be, and I wouldn't even put that on your CV.
It is much harder in graduate school to get a 4.0 in many programs (including my own) because the professors feel that giving anyone an A means they don't need to improve/could equal the professor. Graduate professors like to feel superior to everyone, and thus (in my experience) hate labeling students "perfect." I know some professors in my program will not under any circumstances give As, and I knew at least one who did not read our finals (threw them out immediately) and gave everyone between a B- and a B+, depending on how much he liked them.
On the other hand, it's much harder to get a low GPA, because they'd have to really dislike you or you'd have to seriously screw up to get below a B. Since a 3.7 is an A-, I imagine it's pretty common. Maybe not at an Ivy, where getting in and showing up = all As, but many other places.
I know some professors in my program will not under any circumstances give As, and I knew at least one who did not read our finals (threw them out immediately) and gave everyone between a B- and a B+, depending on how much he liked them.
I will happily tell you via private message if you want to avoid applying there, but for obvious reasons I do not wish to post any overly identifying information that can be searched for by potential schools.
[I know of an undergrad department who googles/facebooks applicants, so you can never be too safe].
Graduate professors like to feel superior to everyone
I have only been in graduate school for like a week, but I've met several graduate professors before and this has not been my experience with the majority of them. I don't think a grade of A means "perfect," as no one can ever be perfect; it simply means "does excellent/exceptional work".
That's pretty crazy about the final exams -- how do you know this for sure? I know that graduate professors get lots of leeway when it comes to grading for their classes, but I feel like someone should've been able to report that somewhere...
It was reported, and he was fired--but my grade in the class wasn't changed, and nor was anyone else's. It's the lowest grade on my transcript. He did a similar thing for our midterms: wrote a grade at the top with zero comments, and then when people asked questions was completely unable to remember anything about anyone's paper.
I think it really depends on the program, and even the department, but my professors (with one or two exceptions) treat teaching like a chore that they have to perform when they should be doing research. I've even gotten an A on every single assignment in the class, including mid-term and final, had perfect attendance, participated, etc., and still gotten an A- because no one in the class gets above an A.
Now, every course I've taken outside of my department, I've gotten an A in, which makes me think it's more the professors in my department than anything else.
This isn't true of all programs. Profs in my former and current graduate programs give out As. And you had to do more than just get in and show up to get them.
That's what I said things like "many programs" and "in my experience"; obviously, no two schools are alike. But if I have one experience, and you have a different one, can either of us say which is more like other schools? I know of anecdotal evidence suggesting that my school and other schools have similar policies, but as I said, I don't believe it's true of all programs.
That is high for a masters degree program--this is assuming your grad program has no inflation, of course. 3.7 could mean someone had straight As but a few A minuses...or I guess Bs if your program doesn't believe in - or + .
It is not a bad GPA at all.
And as a side note, (not chiding anyone)--I wouldn't go as far to say that GPAs don't matter at all in doctoral programs--if you are talking about some more competitive ivy institutions, professors have been known to let students go for any myriad of reasons. I wouldn't give them another one.
(I'm curious: how high is a 3.7 graduate GPA? Obviously, it would be a really strong undergrad, but I was under the impression that the standards are different for graduate grading, and you'd want to be as close to the 4.0 as possible. I'm not in grad school yet, so I can't really speak to the truth of this...)
Quick note: while your college teaching experiences should be helpful, your testprep teaching/tutoring probably will not be, and I wouldn't even put that on your CV.
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On the other hand, it's much harder to get a low GPA, because they'd have to really dislike you or you'd have to seriously screw up to get below a B. Since a 3.7 is an A-, I imagine it's pretty common. Maybe not at an Ivy, where getting in and showing up = all As, but many other places.
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Where was this, if you don't mind my asking?
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[I know of an undergrad department who googles/facebooks applicants, so you can never be too safe].
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I have only been in graduate school for like a week, but I've met several graduate professors before and this has not been my experience with the majority of them. I don't think a grade of A means "perfect," as no one can ever be perfect; it simply means "does excellent/exceptional work".
That's pretty crazy about the final exams -- how do you know this for sure? I know that graduate professors get lots of leeway when it comes to grading for their classes, but I feel like someone should've been able to report that somewhere...
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I think it really depends on the program, and even the department, but my professors (with one or two exceptions) treat teaching like a chore that they have to perform when they should be doing research. I've even gotten an A on every single assignment in the class, including mid-term and final, had perfect attendance, participated, etc., and still gotten an A- because no one in the class gets above an A.
Now, every course I've taken outside of my department, I've gotten an A in, which makes me think it's more the professors in my department than anything else.
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It is not a bad GPA at all.
And as a side note, (not chiding anyone)--I wouldn't go as far to say that GPAs don't matter at all in doctoral programs--if you are talking about some more competitive ivy institutions, professors have been known to let students go for any myriad of reasons. I wouldn't give them another one.
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