Failed a class in Freshmen, still possible to get into a top 10 grad?

Graduate School
1

<p>Well, I messed up and I entirely accept responsibility for it. I’m studying in South Africa and my first year of college is like this:
Computer Science - A(84%) ; A(82%) [2 modules] - First Major
Applied Math - C[60%] ; D[52%] [2 Modules] - Elective
Pure Math - B (72%) - Second Major
Statistics - A (80%) - Elective
Physics - F (35%) - Elective</p>

<p>Here the grades are like this(All marks in %):
A >= 75
70 <= B <= 74
60 <= C <= 69
50 <= D <= 59
F < 50</p>

<p>Also my degree duration is 3 years + 1 year is a honors year(which is separate from the degree)</p>

<p>Now thing is, I aspire to get into a Top 10 grad school for AI/Machine Learning(MIT, CMU, Berkeley, Stanford, UIUC, Oxbridge), but now I feel my life is over :frowning: and it’s my fault. Took too many hardcore classes and eventually burned out and ended up failing and doing badly :(</p>

<p>Do you think it’s still possible to get into a top 10 grad school? I’m majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics. I was thinking of doing computer engineering as well next year but I guess with my Physics grade I won’t be able to.</p>

<p>If I convert my current grade to a US GPA standard, it’s roughly 2.95
I have 2 more years to finish my undergrad and 1 year will be a honors year where I work fully on a sort of project/thesis. But the honors year is separate from the degree, but it’s a pre-requisite for going to masters.</p>

<p>So even if I pull out a 4.0 for the remaining 2 years, I’ll end u with a 3.65 in the end. Then I will have the honors year, and I don’t know how US colleges will factor the honors GPA with my degree GPA but assuming all are counted together, and assuming I get 4.0 for my honors as well, I might end up with a decent ~3.7 GPA.</p>

<p>What are my chances? :'(</p>

2

<p>I failed a class in my junior year and I still got into a top 10 grad school. Your life isn’t over just because you failed one class.</p>

<p>The bigger problem is that your U.S. GPA is a 2.95. You’ll need to pull that up, especially if you want a PhD. Determining to achieve a 4.0 for the rest of college is an unrealistic goal; if your GPA is currently a 2.95, I think it’s more realistic to forecast that your final GPA will be around 3.3-3.5 (depending on how well you do in remaining classes). That would be good for an MS program and a bit lowish for a PhD, but my GPA was a 3.42 when I got into my PhD program.</p>

3

<p>I struggled in English and Writing never getting higher than a C and any of courses and failed two, one in my freshman year and another in my Sophomore year. I still went direct from Undergrad to a PhD program and was accepted to two Ivy League programs and 4 top tier university departments. It all depends on what you’re trying to do. I most certainly would not get into a graduate program in a English and Literature department but had no issues in Physics and Electrical Engineering.</p>

4

<p>Also another thing is they will also heavily look at your undergraduate research. That is a MAJOR thing especially if you’re interested in getting a PhD in the Sciences or Engineering fields. From freshman year to graduation I interned on some graduate school department Physics or Engineering project to get name cited in papers. I actually have a cohort that started his PhD program before completing his Bachelors or even taking the GRE through getting involved and cited on a major Optical Physics paper. Graduate departments especially PhD are really big on your potential to contribute to your field of interest more than anything else. </p>