Is a 3.30 GPA a bad one?

Has any of you guys ever gotten a 3.30 in your Masters Degree?

Have*

It’s good enough to get the degree! What more do you want?

I don’t have a Masters, but no one has ever asked me my undergraduate GPA. And my ex was never asked her Master’s GPA. And my girlfriend has not been asked what her GPA was for the Masters she finished last summer.

Nobody cares about your graduate GPA. Completing it says all that needs to be said.

It basically translates into a ‘B’. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.

And, as stated, no one will care or ever ask.

Reminds me of the old joke:
“What do you call the person who graduated medical school with all Cs??”

“Doctor.”

Only if your mark is out of 9.

The only thing a high GPA is good for is getting you into the next level of school. If you aren’t planning on getting a PhD, then all that matters is that you passed. Your GPA gets you a degree. Your degree gets you a job. The thing to keep in mind is that graduate school has a much narrower definition of success than undergraduate education. A 3.30 is a B+. To an average student, that’s a high grade (or it would be if grade inflation weren’t such a problem). Only graduate students look at a B+ and think poorly of themselves. In other words: you done good, kid!

A Master’s in what?

I am just about to finish a Masters in Education with specialization in Reading and Mathematics.

Congratulations @Eggie!! Good for you.

What are your career plans?

You might be asked about it if you apply for your PhD, but research/publications and GRE scores will come into play as well.

If you’re looking for a job, then you’re fine. No one will care.

And congrats! A masters degree is a big deal.

Wait, you have a Masters in Education, and you’re asking us?

Here’s the official memo you missed on the standard US grading point scale and its meaning:

4 A
3 B
2 C
1 D
0 F

4.0 – Perfect
3.5 – Very Good
3.0 – Good
2.5 – Not Bad
2.0 – Ok
1.5 – Not so good
1.0 – Barely Acceptable, needs improvement but still pass per class

GPA is always lower than your best grade, of course, so except at annoying schools that grade on a 5.0 scale or something, a 4.0 GPA over a degree indicates a very easy school, or a maniac / blessed student.

Some universities require a 2.0 average to avoid academic probation so you can get help.

And the other memo, as others said, is that probably no one will ever ask what your grades were.

And if they do, and they find you have a 3.3, that’s very good, you have nothing to worry about. Especially if you went to a challenging school.

But, again… you have a Masters in Education, and you’re asking us?

@Zaku I doubt that @Eggie needs the different grading scales spelled out for him. Also, your second scale is somewhat inaccurate. It might be representative of how things are at the undergraduate level, but in most graduate schools, anything below a 3.0 is failing (you can’t just be “average” and get an MA or PhD). So 4.0 might still be “excellent” (there’s no such thing as “perfect” when it comes to academic work), and a 3.0 might still be “good” (or “good enough”), but everything below that is “failing/get out.”

Furthermore, having an MA in education doesn’t instantly confer knowledge of how one’s GPA compares to everyone else’s in the field. Nor do most master’s programs in education focus on higher education (let alone graduate student evaluation).

And finally, graduate school tends to be something of a harrowing ordeal for most people. Depression and self-doubt are extremely common among graduate students, including those who have recently graduated. This question is probably more about reassurance than genuine information gathering. So maybe rubbing salt in the wound isn’t exactly the best approach here?

@SavoirFaire I’‘l defer to you on matters of savoir faire.

I see your points.

Good one in particular about graduate schools often having different requirements, although I would still tend to interpret that in the light of the context of a graduate program. That is, you’re trying to master a subject, so you’re expected to do very well in classes in the field your mastering, so while you might fail your masters if you don’t get a 3.0 average in that field, I would say that 3.0 is still considered “good” – it’s just that a masters degree is about mastering something, so “good” is an appropriate expectation. It doesn’t mean that 3.0 is no longer good, it seems to me.

I also expect masters degree survivors to have a certain degree of resilience and even a sense for ironic humor regarding academic expectations, which is how I meant my first & last lines. Eggie sent me a message which leaves me confident he took it in the humorous way I meant it.

@Zaku Fair point regarding the scales. If only good is good enough, then one can be both average and failing at the same time. And I’m glad @Eggie took the comment humorously.

Just an update guys. I am graduating with a 3.20 GPA. I have finished all my core modules.