browngrad

Hi Everyone,

I would highly appreciate it if anyone can give me an idea of how graduate schools view consistent reduced course load semesters. I have taken 4 years of reduced course loads anywhere from 4 units to 12 units. Due to a low course load, I have a 3.9+ GPA and have multiple research experiences. I also did an internship at a top investment bank. My school is considered to one of the top undergraduate schools for going onto graduate school. My major is a field within mathematics. This semester, I anticipate withdrawing due to family difficulties. My GRE quant is 800 and english is 770. Assuming I take a full course load during my last semester (5th year), would top schools or any graduate school block me out on my lack of classes and withdraws?

xraymancs

It all depends on your personal essay and your letters of reference. If you can explain why you have taken 5 years to finish and demonstrate that you are capable of handling a graduate course load then you can get in. Will you be competitive in the very top mathematics programs? Probably not, simply because there are always many outstanding applicants. However, you should be able to find a place in a very good program and the rankings are not the only way to judge a good program.

polarscribe

Highly unlikely that it's going to matter. I have 10 years of college transcripts, stretching from when I started taking community college classes in high school, through a split work-college period, to a couple full-time years at the end.

More and more students are taking longer than the traditional "four-and-out" program, because of internships, work/school/life balance, etc. I wouldn't worry about it - what you need to focus on are the strengths of your application.

orangelogic

I agree with Polar. This isn't an issue at all. I too spent about 9 years getting my B.A. due to having a family and needing to work full-time. My typical semester was 6 credit hours and I ended up with a 3.9 as well. The part-time course load didn't hold me back from getting into a top grad school.

I just don't see why this matters. Far more significant would be a low GRE (for programs that require it) or low GPA (which it looks like doesn't apply in your case).

RacinReaver

The only way I could see it being seen as an issue is if whatever caused you to take longer continuing to be a concern in grad school. At that point your advisor will be supporting you and paying your tuition, so they want to be sure they're going to get their money's worth.

That said, taking 5 years really isn't that big of a deal. There's plenty of reasonable reasons for that to happen.