Study abroad

[aeolian_harp]

I am currently interning at a study abroad institute and to amuse myself and to take advantage of the fact that I have access to such information, I looked up the grades of a bunch of my co-workers and other alumni of the program I knew

Comments

[kontzel]

Grades and GPA do matter - but how much depends a great deal on the program and degree. While not always true, a scholarly program/degree will put more emphasis on GPA compared to a professional or terminal masters program - which is still graduate school. I'm entering an MSW program and while it is not the most competitive program in the country or something, it is highly respected and didn't require as high has a 3.5 GPA. (ETA: And many professional or other programs will be more impressed by internships, fieldwork or undergraduate research projects compared to GPA. It really depends on field in my experience.)

Honestly, if I were looking at your readiness to enter graduate school your decision to go looking at coworkers grades would weigh more heavily. Not very cool in my opinion. That isn't really your business.

[brightbrowneyes]

I just wanted to say that this is an interesting thought. I studied abroad and it was one of the biggest academic challenges of my life. I didn't do as well as I would have at my home institution because it was hard, not because I partied all day!

[journalismgirl]

to take advantage of the fact that I have access to such information, I looked up the grades of a bunch of my co-workers and other alumni of the program I knew.

You can get yourself in a shitload of trouble if anyone ever finds out that you were accessing this information without explicit permission from the students in question.

Shame on you.

[gangur]

Seconded.

[woquinoncoin]

It really is about the whole package. Study abroad programs tend to be a major wild card in many applications -- what program? through what university? what year (especially in programs with a reputation for being up and down)? locational factors? individual variables(obviously not everyone adapts to living overseas the same way)? Unless it's a widely-known program in your field, all of this is relatively opaque to the adcomms so it's less about the grade and more about the experience. Can you convey what you learned from your own experience succinctly and convincingly in narrative form, in your SOP? That's the clincher.

Depending on your field, the strengths of other applicants, etc., your GPA alone (assuming it's above, say, 3.1) will not keep you out or get you in. Don't focus on it -- either your own or anyone else you know. Quit "taking advantage" of your access privileges and lookin' up other people's grades. That's pretty low, and it'll just distract you from what you can really control -- your own qualifications.

[brittdreams]

I'm pretty sure what you did is violate FERPA...

[journalismgirl]

Yep, it did.