Two major things combine to increase those entrance GPAs: 1) As the number of applicants increases, the number of openings increases at a much slower rate (if a

Two major things combine to increase those entrance GPAs: 1) As the number of applicants increases, the number of openings increases at a much slower rate (if at all), and GPA is a simple starting point for quickly sorting out a large number of applications. 2) When departments/colleges allow exceptions with lower GPAs, the students are rarely as successful in the program as those that met the minimum GPA requirement. This usually leads to fewer exceptions being granted. No matter how successful we are in professional life, graduate school is still school. The two are very rarely as strongly linked as some would like, and the best measurement admissions staff have for how well you will do in school is how well you have performed in school previously. In my case, it doesn't even matter that the university finds me qualified enough to work for them in my field of study. My grades are a major problem for admission, and I'm better off improving them elsewhere, first.