How important is my overall GPA? Do graduate schools focus primarily on grades in the discipline or field that I am pursuing?
Graduate and professional schools obviously place greatest emphasis on grades in courses related to your field, but they do consider the totality of your academic record. While it is unlikely that a poor grade in a required math class will adversely affect your application to a PhD program in English, for example, a pattern of mediocre or poor grades outside your major field, especially in related disciplines, will likely have an adverse effect. Conversely, outstanding grades in courses removed from your discipline can significantly enhance your chances. Many programs also look favorably upon a candidate who has pursued a particularly challenging course of study (a double major, a number of upper-level electives outside a student’s discipline, and so on), even if it has resulted in a somewhat lower overall GPA. In short, while most schools do have some general GPA scale for evaluating candidates, they almost always place your GPA in the context of your particular undergraduate course o
