Seton Hall GPA vs. CASPA GPA

[chris.shannon77]

Does anybody know if Seton Hall's GPA calculation is always higher than CASPA's?

 

 

 

[SHU-CH]

Hi Chris -

 

We calculate a "pre-req" GPA instead of a "science" GPA. Our pre-req GPA is calculated using the following courses:

 

Bio (2 semesters)

Chem (2 semesters)

Anatomy and Physiology 1 and 2 (or an anatomy course and a physio course)

Microbiology

Psychology

Math (a semester of pre-calc, calc or stats)

 

So to answer your question: it depends. If you took a bunch of science courses and did well in all of them, your CASPA GPA might be higher. If you had a disaster in something like organic chemistry, our pre-req GPA would probably be higher because it does not include that particular course.

 

(As an aside I should mention that we do also look at non-pre-req courses so if you took things like organic, cell bio and genetics and did well in them it certainly helps your application. We singled out the courses above as pre-reqs because they seem to do well in identifying people who do well in our program.)

[chris.shannon77]

Hi Chris -

 

We calculate a "pre-req" GPA instead of a "science" GPA. Our pre-req GPA is calculated using the following courses:

 

Bio (2 semesters)

Chem (2 semesters)

Anatomy and Physiology 1 and 2 (or an anatomy course and a physio course)

Microbiology

Psychology

Math (a semester of pre-calc, calc or stats)

 

So to answer your question: it depends. If you took a bunch of science courses and did well in all of them, your CASPA GPA might be higher. If you had a disaster in something like organic chemistry, our pre-req GPA would probably be higher because it does not include that particular course.

 

(As an aside I should mention that we do also look at non-pre-req courses so if you took things like organic, cell bio and genetics and did well in them it certainly helps your application. We singled out the courses above as pre-reqs because they seem to do well in identifying people who do well in our program.)

 

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

I just filled out the prerequisite sheet that is part of your application and it's all A's.  My concern is when I majored in "social life" back in the mid 90's.  My cumulative GPA for CASPA was 3.27 from 190 credits.  That's right on the boarder of your requirement and that is where my concern lies.

 

Everyone I've ever talked to says that CASPA gives them a lower GPA than what they would get from a direct application.  If that's the case I can relax a little.

 

Also, I can't find on your website what the application fee is for the program.

[SHU-CH]

That's ok. The 90s was pretty much the last time I had a social life, too...

 

Our minimum entering GPA used to be 3.0. We found that occasionally some people were coming in just barely at a 3.0 and were struggling. In looking at some stats it seemed like 3.2 was a fairly solid safe cutoff so we raised our GPA. It is too soon to make a valid statement about the effect in terms of real stats, but I can't imagine it could hurt. 

 

Your apparent background in healthcare will help make you an attractive applicant to many programs. I can't swear to it, but I think the University application fee is $75.

[c_francois]

Hi Chris,

 

How are re-takes calculated in the over all GPA? Do they get averaged in? What if an applicant improved  significantly in pre-requisite courses however  when averaged with the old GPA it's still not a 3.0 would you encourage this applicant to apply? Looking forward to hearing from you. 

[SHU-CH]

For pre-requisite courses, we use the last taken courses in our calculation. 

For overall GPA, we combine everything together. It would be too complex to go in an to try to see what substitutes for what. 

Our current required GPA is 3.2 so you would have some work to do. You will find that programs have very little flexibility to stray from their admissions requirements. The way our accreditation works is that programs can set whatever entry requirements they like, but they are then obligated to publish them and to follow them. 

[Krissyd]

Quote

 

@SHU-CH

Hi Chris,

I was also wondering if the higher grades was taken. Such as if a C was made in intro to psych but an A was earned in abnormal psych.

I was also wondering if you could give any information about an idea candidate such as GPA and HCE such as if there was an ideal GPA that was preferred more.

 

Thank you so much!