Do I have a chance of getting into a phd program?

Graduate School
1

<p>I know there are a million threads like this, but I could use some more direct advice. </p>

<p>Stats:
Undergrad Institution: Top 10 Liberal Arts
Undergrad GPA: 2.987 (seriously…)
Research Experience: Several years in undergrad, 1 year post-grad in well-known lab at UCLA (where I am currently)
Publications: none currently but a couple on their way at current research position.
GRE: 159 Q, 161 V, 5.5 AW
Prospective Programs: Neuroscience/Neurobiology/Genetics</p>

<p>Basically same old story a lot of people have… I really struggled with depression and anxiety in undergrad and therefore really struggled to maintain a good GPA. I know it’s not an excuse but during that time it was hard enough just getting out of bed in the morning let alone getting straight A’s. However, while I’m really ■■■■■■ at taking exams (hence bad GPA), I made it up with good lab grades and a good amount of outside the classroom experience. I had several undergrad summer internships in labs, research experience with a prof during the school year, and I even applied for and got my own small grant to do research on zebrafish. Professors were always surprised that I struggled with exams and grades because I really am bright/intellectual but just really struggle with exams. In a way I think I am perfect for academia and research because I am so project oriented and excel with labs/projects.</p>

<p>This undergrad experience landed me a good research job in a well known neurogenetics lab at UCLA. While I feel like I have pretty good research experience and will have some good LOR’s under my belt, I can’t help but feel that my sub-par GPA will haunt me and get me automatic rejections at most places. At this point getting a Master’s first feels like a huge financial burden I’m not sure if I can afford. </p>

<p>I’m hoping to retake the GRE and improve my scores… but again I’m not a great test taker and test anxiety really gets in my way (my practice exams I was getting 165’s but test taking isn’t my forte) </p>

<p>Dream schools: UCLA, UCSD, UCSF, Stanford, Berkeley, Northwestern, University of Washington-Seattle, WASHU-STL, U-Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, Yale… I know the Ivies are a long shot but I can dream, right? </p>

<p>Any advice or help would be really appreciated. </p>

2

<p>It’s going to be murky at best. Some of these schools will weigh more heavily upper-division coursework in assessing GPA.</p>

3

<p>You can probably get into a graduate program but you might have to set your sights a bit lower than those highly selective programs that you named in your post. You might also be best served by going to a Masters-only program and getting your GPA up and writing a thesis. This can be a good stepping stone to one of those schools you are talking about.</p>

4

<p>You might like you look at the career of Bradley Voytek, 32, recently appointed Assistant Professor of Computational Cognitive Science and Neuroscience at UCSD. It may be inspirational to you. He has some informative posts on Quora, like “What advice would Bradley Voytek give to undergraduates on studying neuroscience?”</p>

<p>But he also lost his scholarship and was put on academic probation and almost was kicked out of USC as an undergrad and graduated with a low gpa. Then he got a job at a lab at UCLA.
<a href=“http://www.quora.com/Bradley-Voytek-topic/How-did-Bradley-Voytek-get-a-job-in-a-lab-after-graduating-with-such-a-low-GPA”>http://www.quora.com/Bradley-Voytek-topic/How-did-Bradley-Voytek-get-a-job-in-a-lab-after-graduating-with-such-a-low-GPA&lt;/a&gt; </p>

5

<p>Oh I forgot to mention that Prof Voytek had an undergrad gpa of 2,5
<a href=“http://www.quora.com/How-Difficult-Is-X/How-was-Bradley-Voytek-able-to-get-into-a-neuroscience-PhD-program-with-a-2-5-GPA-if-a-3-0-is-required-to-even-apply-to-graduate-school”>http://www.quora.com/How-Difficult-Is-X/How-was-Bradley-Voytek-able-to-get-into-a-neuroscience-PhD-program-with-a-2-5-GPA-if-a-3-0-is-required-to-even-apply-to-graduate-school&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

6

<p>Well first off, you should not worry too much about the general GRE. People at various schools in my field (physics) basically told me that unless you don’t score well on the quantitative section and get a score on the verbal section which raises doubts about your reading comprehension, you should be fine. Aim for above 160 one the quantitive section, maybe even a little higher. As a science person this shouldn’t be hard to do since the math is very basic. Look at the practice tests online, some are free.</p>

<p>In regards to how a low GPA affects grad school admissions, it depends how you define a low GPA. When you are talking about schools like Harvard and Stanford (my decision), a low GPA means ~3.5-3.6 for the most part. When I applied to grad school, I was worried because I have some issues with anxiety and processing skills that caused me to not do as well as I could have my first three semesters. My grades were in the B range since my midterm performance was very unsteady even though I did very well on the homework</p>

<p>Like you, I had an upward trend (mine was pretty significant actually) since I learned how strategies to deal with the issues I had. During this time, I excelled in several grad classes, did great research which resulted in a first author publication in one of the most prestigious journals in my field.</p>

<p>I did very well in grad school admissions. Since my research and letters were so strong, it might have been clear to people that my grades were affected by something else and may not tell the whole story. However, my grades were well above a 3.0, so I imagine that people may not be as forgiving for a GPA below 3.0 since that could result from really not knowing the material.</p>

7

<p>Correct me if I’m wrong but the general GRE is used on occasion to award financial aid that is awarded to students across multiple fields (think Centennial Fellowship at Princeton or similar)…</p>

8

<p>Yes, sometimes it is. Many university-wide fellowships are based, in part, on GRE scores.</p>