CLEP/DSST and GPA?

[jsd]

is there a rule of thumb for how many GPA graded courses I should make sure to have on my transcript if my goal is a competitive grad school?

Depends on the specific grad school(s) you're applying to.

Find out what the specific requirements are for the grad schools/programs you're interested in, then work backwards from there.

[davewill]

If I'm aggressively CLEP/DSST-ing out of stuff, is there a rule of thumb for how many GPA graded courses I should make sure to have on my transcript if my goal is a competitive grad school?

There's no standard. The thing is that grad school applications are a package. If you have good experience, or GRE scores or recommendations, GPA may not be crucial. Some schools will insist that prereqs are graded, but not even that is universal. I suggest taking with schools you are interested in applying to. Grad admissions are much easier to talk to than undergrad.

[cookderosa]

If I'm aggressively CLEP/DSST-ing out of stuff, is there a rule of thumb for how many GPA graded courses I should make sure to have on my transcript if my goal is a competitive grad school?

What do you mean by competitive?
Hard-core competitive? Like a PhD at Harvard competitive? Like Top 10 med school competitive? Because that's a list of about 100 colleges- there are 2,000 that many that don't care, so part of the scenario is where you want to go.

This question is a little like when someone in high school is told they have to complete "4 years of math, 4 years of English, etc..... to get into college...." which is true for some colleges, certainly not all colleges - the TRUTH is you can walk into any community college without ever having attended a single high school class, so, it's useless to apply general guidelines to everyone, because there really isn't one best path or way.

So, can you go to grad school? Yes - can you get into EVERY grad school? No. Neither can the kid who just spend $150k on his bachelor's degree from NoNameU.

I'll also be a little bold and say that you're not breaking rules by CLEPping. The college you're attending sets the rules, and assuming you are playing by THEIR rules and the college is legitimate, you should take every advantage available to you. So, if your college allows you to CLEP out of 45 credits, then CLEP 45 credits! That's called being smart!

[retro]

In context I was referring to well-known public universities as a class. That's probably still too vague as a reply. For the sake of argument, let's say my goal is to get into the University of Michigan as a proxy for my ideal class of grad school. Is that specific enough?

I already know if I want to go there I had better have a 3.75 GPA or higher. I'd probably have to test well on the SAT or AP or something, too. I didn't take either when I was a kid, so I'd be taking that for the first time as an adult. My HS grades sucked due to multiple factors, most but not all of them externalities beyond my control. So, I'd have to overcome the optics of bad HS grades which I suspect is not trivial but neither is it impossibly hard.

[davewill]

In context I was referring to well-known public universities as a class. That's probably still too vague as a reply. For the sake of argument, let's say my goal is to get into the University of Michigan as a proxy for my ideal class of grad school. Is that specific enough?

I already know if I want to go there I had better have a 3.75 GPA or higher. I'd probably have to test well on the SAT or AP or something, too. I didn't take either when I was a kid, so I'd be taking that for the first time as an adult. My HS grades sucked due to multiple factors, most but not all of them externalities beyond my control. So, I'd have to overcome the optics of bad HS grades which I suspect is not trivial but neither is it impossibly hard.

None of that stuff is used for grad school at all, so you can forget about all HS and SAT. Are you talking about Master's or PhD? Research or professional?

[jsd]

I've never seen a grad program that looks at your HS grades, SAT scores, or if you took AP courses/exams.

Read the admission requirements for their specific grad program you're interested in.

[dfrecore]

SAT/ACT is used to get into a 4-yr school as a freshman. Once you have a certain number of college credits (varies by school), you're no longer considered a freshman, but a transfer student, and then SAT/ACT no longer applies.

Once you have a college degree (BA/BS), High school, SAT, etc. don't count. Grad school looks at your college, not high school.

[cookderosa]

In context I was referring to well-known public universities as a class. That's probably still too vague as a reply. For the sake of argument, let's say my goal is to get into the University of Michigan as a proxy for my ideal class of grad school. Is that specific enough?

I already know if I want to go there I had better have a 3.75 GPA or higher. I'd probably have to test well on the SAT or AP or something, too. I didn't take either when I was a kid, so I'd be taking that for the first time as an adult. My HS grades sucked due to multiple factors, most but not all of them externalities beyond my control. So, I'd have to overcome the optics of bad HS grades which I suspect is not trivial but neither is it impossibly hard.

Got it! Yep.

Ok, so undergraduate admissions and graduate admissions are two different animals. If you want to get into undergrad, it's a little like a funnel- that's where "everyone" is applying because that's where you start. As such, universities can be more picky and charge more since the mass of applications exceeds the spots they have open. It's a simple case of supply and demand.

This isn't really the case with graduate school. Sure, there are competitive grad school admissions - but those are again, top tier colleges for on-campus 21 year olds who are entering into a 6 year PhD program. Beyond that, honestly, you'll have your pick.

No matter where you apply for undergrad, you're over 21, so no SAT or ACT for you. Previous college transcripts, if applies, will be required.

For grad school applications, there are a zillion factors, but let's remove the top competitive schools and bottom-feeder for profits. Everyone in the happy middle wants a GPA of 3.0 or better. Some, not all, may have you take a standardized exam, but with so many graduate schools FIGHTING for enrollment, you can find tons that don't.

I really do appreciate that we scare the crap out of teens so they get good grades so they can get into college. No one really has the courage to tell them ANYONE can get into college. It's a buyer's market.

Your target college, University of Michigan, as an example has already entered into a partnership with Coursera offering master's degrees online for a fraction of the cost as on campus. Colleges are taking great efforts to accommodate the changing market and find buyers (I mean students).

In my opinion, education in America is a product, not a privilege.
https://www.coursera.org/degrees

[retro]

Thanks for the tip!