Question about transcripts and GPAs

[pcantrell2810]

Good afternoon! I have recently completed my application, and I am just waiting for my transcripts to arrive for professional entry. However, I think I made a dire mistake by including ALL transcripts from EVERY school I've ever attended (to err on the side of caution). Now, for most people, this would make sense, but I have attended 6 different schools in the last 10-12 years, and I have grown quite a lot in the last decade. Anyway, the very old transcripts are absolutely going to have Cs, Ds, and Fs on them. I was floating around, taking a bunch of random courses while I tried to figure out a career path, and when I found a class uninteresting, I tended to just stop going. Pair this with the fact that I was in the Army, got married, moved 4 times, got divorced, had two kids, etc..... well you get the idea. 

 

Now to the question: Does CASPA calculate GPA based on every single class you have ever taken? Or only for courses that apply to the degree you obtained? This potential screw up could take me from a 3.77 GPA down into probably the low 3s or high 2s, and that's the last thing I want to happen. Thanks in advance!

[PACrankset]

pcantrell2810,

 

This information is fairly well documented in the CASPA FAQ's. Yes CASPA does use every grade from every class you have taken this includes retakes, some schools may look at retakes differently but this is school dependent. CASPA also states very clearly that you are to enter ever class from every school into the system. I too have a large number of schools due to international study and various pre-reqs, so you are not alone there.

See how they calculate your score out and then see if you need retake some classes to bring your GPA up.

[DiggySRNA]

...However, I think I made a dire mistake by including ALL transcripts from EVERY school I've ever attended (to err on the side of caution)...

 

Not including ALL of those transcripts would have been a dire mistake...a very expensive one too. 

 

 

Can you imagine being in your clinical year of PA school when they find out you did not include all of your xcripts? then expel you for academic dishonesty?

[pcantrell2810]

Well then, I don't feel so silly for including it. I should give you a little more background I think. I called one of the schools I was applying to, and a rep called me back today. I asked him that question (as I hadn't thought to check the FAQ like a dummy), and he basically said "yeah, you probably shouldn't have done that I guess". I should have just come here first, because it sounds like he was incorrect. Thank you for the quick reply!