Board 8 > Why is it that one's GPA is not a huge factor when applying for Grad School?

(+) Yeah! (+)

It sure causes a big enough of a headache in the mean time.

--
I think I found a way home. And this last job, that's how I get there. Stripey
1978 9653 0281. Black/White Friend Code

it matters but not as much as your ability to convince people that this is a field you're interested in and actually have the ability to chase it.

--
The King Wang.
Listen up Urinal Cake. I already have something that tells me if I'm too drunk when I pee on it: My friends. - Colbert.

it matters a good amount if going straight from undergrad to grad school, at least for competitive programs

--
Don't worry guys, I have all the clubs
SuperNiceDog barked up the right tree.

Who told you it doesn't matter? For top programs, GPA and GRE scores are really important. It is true that, unlike law school or some other pre-professional tracks, raw objective measures alone won't get you in, but they will keep your application from getting thrown out.

From there, it's just a matter of strong recommendations and prayer. Lots of prayer.

--
The Many Forms of Kobe:
http://i39.tinypic.com/oqx98z.jpg -- credit to KIRBEH

Depends on what field it is. For law and medicine it matters a ton, for most PhD programs it's not that important.

--
Congratulations to SuperNiceDog, Guru Winner, who was smart enough to pick
your 7 time champion, Link.

C's or worse are going to be red flags, but your recommendation letters and statement are significantly more important.

--
Watch me play games!
http://www.livestream.com/dabu

I'm applying for Grad School to I/O Psychology.

--
I think I found a way home. And this last job, that's how I get there. Stripey
1978 9653 0281. Black/White Friend Code

I'm in a Master's Program for Clinical Psych. I had a pretty good GPA (3.7ish), but people in the same program have stuff like a 3.3. If on some off chance you have a publication already or even a poster, that's pretty much an automatic acceptance at some places. Letters are probably most important after that, then probably GREs or your personal statement/interview. GPA kind of weighs little due to the fact that it's too variable. You could take the minimum for your major and a bunch of easy buffer classes and end up with a higher GPA than someone who actually cared to learn useful stuff, but got more Bs.

--
http://oi44.tinypic.com/juac5w.jpg