Start Date and Summer Classes

[spillsomepaint]

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I'm kind of in a tight spot as I might not be able to take a class I need to graduate from undergrad until the summer. (My schools registration sucks) Is this a realistic idea if I get accepted into grad school for fall 08- taking a summer class until mid july? Any pointers would be much appreciated.

 

[LosingMyMind]

I would say you'd more than likely be fine taking the summer class. Speaking for my program only, classes don't start until late September (although I know this isn't the norm). Also, I was one of the only people in my cohort asked to move here early in order to get acclimated into my lab. Most of my classmates moved within a week or two of orientation. If the summer class ends in July, it seems like you would be done with more than enough time to get to your new location.

Again, I only attend one program 🙂 I can't speak to any more than that really. But I would bet that no one would hold it against you if you were still in class until July.

 

[joetro]

My program started late September, but we are on the quarter semester. Even if you were on a semester it would probably start in late August, so I'm sure you'd be fine.

 

[spillsomepaint]

Wow I had no idea that programs started in late september. I guess I assumed it would be late august with move in's done through the month of august. Would it be okay to assume late september is the norm for most programs?

 

[psychanon]

Wow I had no idea that programs started in late september. I guess I assumed it would be late august with move in's done through the month of august. Would it be okay to assume late september is the norm for most programs?

No. The norm is late August, and the others are exceptions. Grad schools follow the same schedule as undergrad in terms of classes (although sometimes labs want you to arrive early to begin training, etc.). But a class ending in July would probably be OK, although allow yourself some time to relax.

 

[scienceisbeauty]

SO. I heard somewhere that summer classes don't count towards GPA for grad school or that grad prgms don't look at summer classes...is that true?

E.G. I took 9 half credits last year --> so that's 4.5 full credits
I am going to take 8 credits this year (fight with an advisor had me withdraw from 2 classses that totaled 1.5 credits) --> so that'll be 4 full credits
Total = 8.5

But some schools said that they look at ones last 10 credits. Does that mean that they are going to look at scores before my junior year?? Or if I take classess in the summer can I make up those extra 2 full credits? Because I know yes, they look at one's overall GPA, but a lot of schools said they place more emphasis on one's last two years or last 10 full credits.

GAH.

 

[psychwanabe]

SO. I heard somewhere that summer classes don't count towards GPA for grad school or that grad prgms don't look at summer classes...is that true?

E.G. I took 9 half credits last year --> so that's 4.5 full credits
I am going to take 8 credits this year (fight with an advisor had me withdraw from 2 classses that totaled 1.5 credits) --> so that'll be 4 full credits
Total = 8.5

But some schools said that they look at ones last 10 credits. Does that mean that they are going to look at scores before my junior year?? Or if I take classess in the summer can I make up those extra 2 full credits? Because I know yes, they look at one's overall GPA, but a lot of schools said they place more emphasis on one's last two years or last 10 full credits.

GAH.

Any classes taken during UG count toward your GPA, whether summer or not. Graduate programs look at your whole transcript, but do pay more attention to your Junior and Senior years since many UG's tend to screw around some the first two years of college before they get serious about their grades/studies. They want to see an upward trend. If you started tanking classes your Junior or Senior year, they would be more concerned about that than if you tanked classes in your Freshman or Sophomore years.

Does that answer your question?

 

[scienceisbeauty]

Any classes taken during UG count toward your GPA, whether summer or not. Graduate programs look at your whole transcript, but do pay more attention to your Junior and Senior years since many UG's tend to screw around some the first two years of college before they get serious about their grades/studies. They want to see an upward trend. If you started tanking classes your Junior or Senior year, they would be more concerned about that than if you tanked classes in your Freshman or Sophomore years.

Does that answer your question?

Yeah it does; the reason I was wondering was because I heard that grad schools subtract your summer school marks from your GPA (?) and/or if they look at your transcript and see that you got a 4.0 in a summer class; they discount it....someone said this is "because it's easy to get good marks in summer classess" Then when they look at your last 2 years, they'll just look at your GPA annual for your 3rd/GPA annusal for your 4th year such that they won't bother to add the summer mark.

 

[paramour]

I'm kind of in a tight spot as I might not be able to take a class I need to graduate from undergrad until the summer. (My schools registration sucks) Is this a realistic idea if I get accepted into grad school for fall 08- taking a summer class until mid july? Any pointers would be much appreciated.

You should be fine. My acceptance into a doctoral program was contingent upon the submission of proof of my completion of a master's degree by 'x' date, with 'x' being a week or two after classes started at the new program. I believe that those entering with a bachelor's had the same stipulation in their letters.

However, you may want to keep in mind that some institutions may take 4-6 weeks after graduation before they have your records/transcripts verified to indicate that you have indeed graduated. This could potentially affect when you can submit your final transcripts if you do not technically graduate until July/August. Find out the timeframe for your institution so you know what to expect and you can relay that information to your future program if (and when) needed. As long as you keep them informed, you should be safe.

SO. I heard somewhere that summer classes don't count towards GPA for grad school or that grad prgms don't look at summer classes...is that true?

E.G. I took 9 half credits last year --> so that's 4.5 full credits
I am going to take 8 credits this year (fight with an advisor had me withdraw from 2 classses that totaled 1.5 credits) --> so that'll be 4 full credits
Total = 8.5

But some schools said that they look at ones last 10 credits. Does that mean that they are going to look at scores before my junior year?? Or if I take classess in the summer can I make up those extra 2 full credits? Because I know yes, they look at one's overall GPA, but a lot of schools said they place more emphasis on one's last two years or last 10 full credits.

GAH.

Yeah it does; the reason I was wondering was because I heard that grad schools subtract your summer school marks from your GPA (?) and/or if they look at your transcript and see that you got a 4.0 in a summer class; they discount it....someone said this is "because it's easy to get good marks in summer classess" Then when they look at your last 2 years, they'll just look at your GPA annual for your 3rd/GPA annusal for your 4th year such that they won't bother to add the summer mark.

Summer courses have counted at every grad program I ever applied to during both of my application cycles. (And, yes, I had summer courses on my transcripts.) I've never heard of the last 10 credits, that's not even a full semester, but I have certainly seen last 20-something, 30-something, or 60 credits requested by programs. I find it odd that anyone would consider it easier to get "good marks" in summer courses over the fall/spring semesters, although I suppose that might definitely depend on the university and the course.

 

[scienceisbeauty]

Summer courses have counted at every grad program I ever applied to during both of my application cycles. (And, yes, I had summer courses on my transcripts.) I've never heard of the last 10 credits, that's not even a full semester, but I have certainly seen last 20-something, 30-something, or 60 credits requested by programs. I find it odd that anyone would consider it easier to get "good marks" in summer courses over the fall/spring semesters, although I suppose that might definitely depend on the university and the course.

Last 10 credits = last 2 years --> normally 5 credits per year (same thing as 20 half credits)
But I'm pretty happy that they will count.

But when they say last 2 years and say last 20 half credits (10 full) is it ok if you have LESS than those in one's last 2 years? Would it look strange? Would they take credits from previous years to make up those 10? Or does it depend on the school?

 

[psychwanabe]

Last 10 credits = last 2 years --> normally 5 credits per year (same thing as 20 half credits)
But I'm pretty happy that they will count.

But when they say last 2 years and say last 20 half credits (10 full) is it ok if you have LESS than those in one's last 2 years? Would it look strange? Would they take credits from previous years to make up those 10? Or does it depend on the school?

Again, the graduate programs look at your whole transcript. The only time they *might* weight their decision based on the last two years is when the applicant's grades weren't great during Freshman-Sophomore years. Then they will look for an upward trend, but they will still be taking the whole transcript into consideration.

As long as you meet your UG program's graduation requirements, I don't think you should have any issues unless you don't graduate in time to start your graduate program.

FYI, my graduate program did not require an official transcript (showing graduation) until I started at the end of August. Even then some students took a month to get it in. I matriculated in June and had my transcript about 6 weeks later. If you graduate in July, you ought to be okay. Just let them know what's going on.