<p>Hey guys, I’m a chinese guy and I’d like to aply to an American school for my master’s degree. Since my major is Science of Atomsphere and my GPA is only 3.1/4.0 with no papers. My Gre score is 1350+4, and tofle 100.
Would you like to give me some advices which school is likely to accept me?
Thanks a lot~</p>
<p>Frankly, with a 3.1 and literally no documented research experience, you’re pretty much going to be at the bottom of the pile most places you apply. You need to take the GRE as well and as an internat’l w/ English as a second (or later) language, your chances at a good score there probably aren’t that great (a GREAT score on the GRE – i.e., top 10% on all 3 sections – plus research and applied experience and great letters of recommendation would be what you’d need in order to overcome your very mediocre GPA). Overall, since internat’l applications tend to be extremely competitive to begin with and your stats would be quite low by domestic applicant standards, I doubt you would get into any American program that would be worth the expense of studying internationally. My suggestion would be to finish your studies in China and go from there. Sorry.</p>
<p>is that bad? since we do not have a clear defination of GPA, my score 80/100 is not that bad in China…would you consider more about it?</p>
<p>and is Science of Atomsphere a competive major?</p>
<p>I’m assuming you’re talking about something similar to meteorology? I would start by looking at your options. Do a search for programs that will address your interests because that might be a small list in itself. Good meteorology programs probably aren’t as easy to find as other fields, and there are probably only a few top notch places in the US but many average places. I went to a big meteorology undergrad and we would get students from very different places who would never otherwise move to live in the middle of nowhere for school. I think wanting to do a master’s will help your chances since you’ll have to find funding or pay for it yourself (thus, the economic incentive for the school is less dependent on getting the absolute best students).
I don’t know how TOEFL grades, but your GPA is low/close to an unofficial cut off point and your GREs are solid. If you have experience or will get great letters of recommendation, that will help and then just make sure you write a terrific SOP as well.</p>
<p>PS I don’t know your reasons for wanting to go to an American school or what emphasis China has on the atmospheric sciences, but not everyone can/should/need to go to a top tier school/program. You might be surprised by the feel/personality of the program once you get past the glamor of top US NEWS rankings. Good luck!</p>
<p>^^ Ditto and learn to write and spell correctly. And be more specific on what you want out of US schools before asking vague questions like this that suggest you being more concerned with the prestige than fit.</p>
<p>Convertions between GPA (or CGPA) and a local grading system is very tricky. I have a 8.50 average in my degree (over 10), in engineering, and in my university that is a hell of a grade.
Really, having more than, perhaps, 9 is virtually imposible. That’s why I sometimes wonder how people can have a 4.0 GPA.</p>
<p>According to a canadian page for convertions (McGill University), my CGPA is 3.70. Is canadian CGPA the same as US CGPA?</p>
<p>Letter grading systems and thus US GPA are nowhere near standard, varying between schools, between departments, between upper and lower division classes, etc. It really depends on the grading style of each professor.</p>
<p>At my university, the lower division science classes (general and organic chemistry and life sciences especially) with 300-400 students are usually graded on a curve, giving 10% of the class A-, A and A+ … correlating to a 3.7, 4.0 and 4.0 respectively. I remember one of my classes had only 10 A’s & A+'s out of 300 students. Lab classes are usually not curved and can be extremely difficult or ridiculously easy, depending on the teacher. Upper division lecture and seminar classes in my department tend to be more lenient, setting the class average at a B or B- (3.0 or 2.7). </p>
<p>It’s not impossible to have a 4.0 in the US - you just have to have been a fantastic student relative to the rest of your class (translation: a hell of a lot of studying / pure genius / surrounded by idiots). Alternatively we have the option of retaking a class to achieve a better score, but only if you received a C- or lower previously. At my school students who have less than a 2.0 GPA two consecutive quarters are kicked out.</p>
<p>I might add that completing lower division coursework at a community college where grading is less competitive, then transferring to a 4-year university for upper division coursework usually lends itself well to obtaining a 4.0. I know several international students like this.</p>
<p>GPAs be damned, do you know how competitive atmospheric sciences programs are? Particularly for internationals? Save yourself the application fee, you would have a better shot at applying to be the dean of the school than a graduate student there.</p>
<p>US GPAs can be a tricky thing. There are so many variables involved; the main ones are the school and its grading system. Some use the ± system, which changes things. For example, I went to Ohio State and was in the Honors program. Compare these four things:</p>
<p>Small liberal arts school: 3.9 non-honors student
OSU: 3.7 non-honors business student
OSU: 3.4 honors business student
Harvard: 3.1 non-honors business student</p>
<p>See what I’m getting at? Too many things to take into account with GPAs. The real worry is the lack of research writing. The GRE scores aren’t bad…but they probably aren’t great for competitive science programs. Maybe internship or work experience would bolster this application best?</p>