raising GPA

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by traffic777, May 15, 2007.

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  1. traffic777

    traffic777 New Member

    In order to raise GPA, can I ask Excelsior to disregard (not count) some "B" courses that are part of my official evaluation now?

    I'd ask them myself, but the office is closed already :)
     
  2. Pilot

    Pilot Member

    Yes you can, as long as it is not a grade from a course or examination you took at excelsior.
    You need to submit a written request.
    Good Luck
    P.S. I think it can be faxed
     
  3. PhD2B

    PhD2B Dazed and Confused

    If you are referring to courses you are transferring in from another college, then the credits are the only part that transfers, not the grades.
     
  4. CoachTurner

    CoachTurner Member

    yes, you can ask Excelsior to not transfer any course you want to not transfer. You must do it in writing, it can be faxed or attached as a document in an email. There are a lot of reasons to do this and raising the GPA is just as legitimate as any other. This does not apply to courses/exams taken through Excelsior.

    Grad schools know about this though and therefor ask for transcripts from all schools attended. Also, while Excelsior does indeed transfer in grades as well as credits, they do not calculate your GPA on transcripts.

    Question here though - if you're dropping a B to raise your GPA, exactly how high are you trying to raise your GPA? Generally speaking, a B in an undergrad course or two is not a bad thing.
     
  5. traffic777

    traffic777 New Member

    Thank you for your input, guys.

    Coach, I'm trying to raise my GPA from 3.7 to as close to 4 as I can. This will raise my chances of admission to some law schools by as much as 20%. Some law schools are tough to get into, so I want every bit of advantage I can get.

    My undergraduate work was all done in one college of a foreign country. Excelsior transfered all courses, grades and credits and made them all count. Now I want to erase some off my record and fill the void with easy and/or pass/fail tests. I haven't completed my Excelsior degree yet, got a few more UL credits to go.
     
  6. PhD2B

    PhD2B Dazed and Confused

    I have never heard of a college transferring grades. No college I have ever attended transferred anything but credits. I just learned something new.
     
  7. gmohdez

    gmohdez New Member

    I did my bachelor's via 100% tests. I had one C (CLEP American Government) that I did not want in my papers, I took a couple of extra tests and asked Excelsior to include one A and delete my C. They complied and I graduated Cum Laude.

    Short answer: Yes
     
  8. CoachTurner

    CoachTurner Member

    I'd caution you not to make your transcript look "too perfect" as this may raise a flag with the admissions committee that your program was too easy and not that you're really smart. Getting it up to summa or magna should be fine but trying to get it to 4.0 might do you harm. (just my opinion)

    Admission committees tend to know what Excelsior College is and is not and you likely won't be able to slide much past. Remember too that the admissions committee is going to want to see all of your undergrad work and not just your Excelsior transcript.
     
  9. Pilot

    Pilot Member

    CoachTurner,
    Do they actually request an original transcript for all colleges attended?
    If yes, is this a standard practice?
    Why not just send excelsior transcript and indicate that all schools are listed in the transcript along with relevant courses?
    Thank you for your answers.
     
  10. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Charter Oak does it too. CLEP tests are pass/fail there, but DANTES and ECE tests are graded.

    -=Steve=-
     
  11. carlosb

    carlosb New Member

    Yes they do. Take a look at:

    http://www.law.ufl.edu/admissions/procedures.shtml

     
  12. carlosb

    carlosb New Member

    Years ago a relative was able to get into a good law school by addressing her couple of weak grades on the personal statement portion of the application. She also studied hard for the LSAT.

    GOOD LUCK!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 16, 2007
  13. traffic777

    traffic777 New Member

    Most ABA-approved law schools nowadays require candidates to register for the Law School Data Assembly Service. To do that "you must have a separate transcript sent to LSAC directly from each undergraduate and graduate institution you attended" http://www.lsac.org/LSAC.asp?url=lsac/lsdas-requesting-transcripts.asp
     
  14. traffic777

    traffic777 New Member

    Just got off the phone with Excelsior and they told me that courses can be removed from the record as long as they don't jeopardize your eligibility for graduation. If they do, you just have to take another course/exam to fullfill whatever requirement it was used for.

    Even Excelsior courses/exams can be removed. There was some exception, but it didn't apply to me, so the advisor didn't even tell me what it was.

    Written request has to be signed. It can be mailed, or scanned and emailed, or faxed.

    Coach, I thought about what you said about "too perfect" of a transcript and I agree. Dropping 3 B's (18cr. worth) and getting 3 A's (9cr.) will give me 3.88 and enough credits to graduate. I should probably just stop there without padding GPA any further.
     
  15. CoachTurner

    CoachTurner Member

    Keep in mind that an Excelsior transcript does not list the GPA on it, it has to be calculated by whoever is receiving it and many won't bother to do the math, they just browse the entries. I think it does list Latin honors if any.

    Also, for grad school admissions that require transcripts of all undergraduate work, the GPA at any one school (such as Excelsior) won't matter because the collegiate cumulative GPA will be calculated.
     
  16. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    I would caution against doing this as well - when attending grad school, the grad school will require all UG transcipts and will calculate the composite GPA.

    It sounds as though your GPA is already credible - you would be better served IMHO by working on the LSAT and your essays for the admission committee.

    Just my two cents worth...

    Shawn
     
  17. Casey

    Casey New Member

    When you apply to law school, you will be required to send ALL of your transcripts to the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC). LSAC will then convert all of your undergrad work into a GPA. The LSAC GPA is the one law schools look at.

    Don't waste your time earning additional undergrad credits. Your time will be better spent preparing for the LSAT. Your LSAT score will count for more than your uGPA.
     
  18. traffic777

    traffic777 New Member

    Hmm, you're right, Casey. Nevertheless, I'll have enough credits to graduate and drop a few B's out of Excelsior transcript. Won't hurt.

    I already got LSAT out of the way. Took me over 6 month to get to 162 from 137. I took a prepcourse, did every question of every test in existence at least twice, so I don't know how to prepare further. The school I'm mostly interested in averages LSAT scores out, so I don't want to risk taking it again. Right now I'm exactly at their 50th percentile and would sure be nice to get an edge. I'm a foreigner, but I think everybody's "our law school values diversity" rhetoric is useless over numbers, grades, and percentiles, unless you're not White.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 18, 2007
  19. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Which DL Law Schools are you considering?

    Dave
     
  20. traffic777

    traffic777 New Member

    None. Only brick and mortar solid, ABA, 1st tier.

    Thanks for helping me to activate this account, Dave!
     

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