I am looking for advice on how to present myself in the best light to future PhD programs in the humanities.
I currently am completing my MA from a respectable state school in the subject that I wish to get a PhD in. I expect to graduate with a GPA of 3.98. I have good GRE scores, letters of recommendations, statement of purpose, and writing sample.
My concern is my undergraduate GPA. I transferred from a top liberal arts college after two years to an Ivy League institution. My GPA from my first two years of college is high (3.8). However, the last two years of my college, my GPA dropped significantly (3.1). Combined, I have a respectable GPA of 3.45. However, most applications to the PhD programs make the applicant fill out the GPA boxes of the institutions attended separately (i.e. "was your GPA on a 4.0 scale?" - "If yes: enter GPA"). I do not have a good excuse for this decline. Furthermore, the PhD applications make you choose which was your "primary institution." To exacerbate my issue even more, some have a cut off of 3.3 GPA, which would make my application seem to be automatically rejected even though it is not reflective of my whole time as an undergraduate.
My questions are:
How much does undergraduate GPA matter compared to a master's degree GPA? Do I even have to report my undergraduate GPA given that I have an MA degree? (It seems that I do, but it's worth asking here.)
Is there any way to list my college GPA as "combined" given the very specific constraints of the application? Or would any efforts to show a holistic grade appear dishonest? I would not like to draw more attention to my low GPA if possible.
Is it prudent to list my liberal arts college as my "primary institution" even though my degree was conferred by the Ivy League one? Which would make my application stronger?
I am applying to extremely competitive programs and I really hope to get into one. Any and all suggestions on how to handle this is appreciated. Thank you for advice on the matter, I really would be grateful for it.
