Graduate school admissions 101

Graduate School
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<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>New to the forum here. I’ve a couple of questions about applying for a Masters program. I completed my bachelors in 2009. Unfortunately, due to some family problems, I had a bit of a hard time and my upper-level courses percentage isn’t very good (GPA calculations put me at about 2.6). I’m still waiting for my GRE percentiles but the raw score is 1270 (650 v 620 q). I’m expecting 5+ on the GRE writing section. I’ve also got about 3 years work experience (1 year full time) and a lot of volunteer work in sustainability etc.</p>

<p>I’m interested in doing a masters in sustainable development/environmental policy and regulation…or possibly consider a masters in communications. I’m very worried however that I don’t have the marks to make it into a good program. I’ll appreciate any and all advice!</p>

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<p>Hi, </p>

<p>I am new to this forum as well. I am a senior this year, graduating in Dec. I am looking to start grad school in fall 2012. I will be taking the GRE soon. What other advice do you have for those looking at getting into graduate school for Higher Education? My bachelors will be in Communication/PR. I am worried about finding a good program and being able to get in.</p>

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<p>I am an international student from Nigeria. I did my B.Sc degree in Biochemistry and I have GPA of 3.68 on 5.0 scale in my B.Sc. I do not have GRE and TOEFL. Therefore, I need list of affordable state colleges that admit without the GRE and TOEFL for any biochemistry related fields.</p>

<p>Thanks in anticipation of your reply.</p>

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<p>Applying to graduate school can be thought of as a 4-step process:</p>

<p>(1) First, decide whether grad school is for you – Before jumping into the grad school bandwagon, it’s important to ascertain your reasons and motivations for applying to advanced degree programs. Are you doing it to enter academia? To give your career a boost? Or perhaps to switch career paths? Whatever the reason, your rationale for attending graduate school needs to be crystal clear.</p>

<p>(2) Second, choose your graduate degree – Compare and contrast the different types of graduate degrees. In most cases, your options will be a master’s degree or a postdoctorate degree. Research the pros and cons of each, and take into funding considerations. Do not dismiss the idea of enrolling in a postbac program, too, as this can be excellent preparation for graduate school.</p>

<p>(3) Third, apply to schools – The application process is lengthy and challenging, so start early and work backward from the submission deadline. A strong application demonstrates excellence across all elements of the application, from undergraduate transcripts, to GRE scores, to your personal statement and writing sample.</p>

<p>(4) Fourth, determine how to pay for school – It’s one thing to get accepted to a graduate program, and quite another to get accepted with funding. Research the range of funding sources, from scholarships, fellowships, and grants, to federal and private student loans. Next, ask yourself what sacrifices you’re willing (and not willing) to make. This will inform your choice of graduate schools and programs.</p>

<p>To learn more about graduate schools and the application process, visit Grad School Heaven: [Applying</a> to Grad School? Clear, Complete, and Expert Advice](<a href=“http://www.gradschoolheaven.com%5DApplying”>http://www.gradschoolheaven.com)</p>

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<p>i’m looking at the college student affairs program at the university of south florida. it says here that a requirement is…</p>

<p>““B” average or better in all work attempted while registered as an
undergraduate student working for a degree”</p>

<p>i am transferring out of unc wilmington after my second year with a 2.9. does that mean that even if i get a 3.6 at my new school (rutgers) i wont be eligible, or will they average the two GPAs together?</p>

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<p>It would be easy to call the University of South Florida and ask that question. :)</p>

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<p>The GPA that graduate schools generally consider is either your complete undergraduate cumulative GPA or the cumulative GPA from your junior and senior years. As long as you are above 3.0 for the degree, you should be fine.</p>

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<p>Also, it depends on your school’s grading scale. At my UG a B- was 3.0, but at my Masters a B- is 2.7.</p>

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<p>Do grad schools look at every single grade on your transcript? Im going into my senior yr as a biology major and I have a 3.1 gpa, and honestly, I have made many mistakes while in school, and my gpa has a downward trend. I’m not very good in chemistry as I am in biology, getting a C + twice, and a D.</p>

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<p>A downward trend is the exact opposite of what graduate admissions committees want to see. If you want to be a competitive candidate for admission and funding, you need to pull yourself up in your senior year with strong academic performances.</p>

<p>I would advise you to take a gap year - that is, don’t apply for fall 2012 admission. If you do apply this season, the transcripts you send to schools this fall will show only your downward trend and that’s not going to make a good impression on the gradcoms that read your application.</p>

<p>Realize that graduate admissions are, in general, extremely selective. Admit rates of 5 to 10 percent are the norm, not the exception. Don’t give the committee a good reason to toss you in the “reject” pile on the first skim.</p>

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<p>My experience: On the “strength” of great GRE scores but a terrible through-junior-year GPA, I was admitted to one unfunded history MA program - the one at my undergrad alma mater. No sense paying for grad school, so I declined. Worked my butt off to earn a 3.8 in the spring of my senior year, then took paid internships over the summer and into fall to think about what I wanted to do.</p>

<p>The fall internship inspired me to pursue graduate studies in a totally different field - and I was able to apply with an innovative research proposal PLUS a strong upward trend on my transcript to offset a barely-3.0 overall GPA. I got accepted to a bunch of places, funded at three and will start at Indiana U. in the fall on a full assistantship.</p>

<p>Work your tail off this year, do some research internships next summer and fall, then apply for the 2013 admit cycle. You’ll be a much stronger candidate.</p>

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<p>I’m sure this has been asked already but do I have to submit my transcript at a different institution to graduate admissions for a course that I took but did not transfer credit to?
In other words, I took a class at another university that didn’t count, but do I have to send it anyways?</p>

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<p>Hi, I’m new to CC and just read through this entire discussion. I’ll be applying to grad programs in the social sciences, and I had a couple of general questions.</p>

<p>First, I have a double major and one of my major GPAs is a 3.23 while the other major GPA is a 3.64. The major with the higher GPA is the one I’m applying to PhD programs in for fall 2012. Would admissions committees take this type of difference in GPAs in each major into account?</p>

<p>Second, I saw that someone had asked a question about the prestige of the undergraduate institution you attended. I went to a prestigious liberal arts college which has top ranked programs across the board, especially in my majors. Do admissions committees care about this? And what role does grade inflation play? Do grad school admissions think about/care about grade inflation?</p>

<p>Thanks for your help!</p>

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<p>Hello everyone! I just graduated UCSD with a bachelors in neuroscience. I have a total GPA of a 3.68 and an upper-division GPA of 3.8. I have two years of research experience, and am working on a masters in neuro at UCSD. Since I should have my masters by spring I want to apply to neuroscience PhD programs for Fall 2012. I have great letter writers, and have time to work on my personal statement, but my GRE scores are not stellar by any means: Q: 630 V: 550 AW: 4. I know GRE scores aren’t that important for certain Bio PhD programs since they don’t have an official cut off, but I am aware I am below the average for a lot of the schools I am applying to. I am looking at Columbia, Boston University, and MIT…are they beyond my reach?</p>

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<p>in one word, yes. poor gre scores give them a reason to reject. they have too many great applicants. but, your gpa will not cause an automatic elimination. perhaps you can describe reasons for poor gre scores and strong letters may make you somewhat acceptable at these places. it may also help if you contact a potential research mentor and have him/her bat for you.</p>

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<p>I’d love to hear some feedback, as my situation is slightly unique…:</p>

<p>-Went to Rhode Island School of Design (Illustration major) for 1.5 years, took an ecology course & chem course at Brown while there and decided I would rather do science. Courses taken at RISD were basically worthless in transferring.
-Did 1 semester at my community college, taking a semester’s worth each of chemistry, biology, statistics, technical writing, physics, and microbiology. Got a 4.0. Worked at a vet hospital and a poison control center (got recs from supervisor/doctors there).
-Transferred into Boston University as a Bio major. Had to use my AP exam scores to graduate on time. I have a 4.0 GPA and am doing research this summer under a well-known conservation ecologist/professor here; might get published, yay</p>

<p>-Taking GRE/Bio GRE beginning of fall semester as a senior; slightly worried about this as standardized tests are not my strong suit (got a 2230 on the SATs, not that that’s indicative of anything…)
-Since I’m graduating from BU in basically 2 years, research experience is not a strong point on my application. I am applying to BU’s research masters degree in bio as I would love to stay there and gather more research experience, but I feel like I should apply to some masters/Ph.D programs for good measure.</p>

<p>Should I even bother applying to M.S./Ph.D programs because of my weak research background/2 year transfer thing, or should I just bank it all on getting into BU for a masters? Thank you guys for all your help!</p>

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<p>You have a 4.0 from BU and a 4.0 in community college. Apply.</p>

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<p>You should try talking to the professors that would write your letters of recommendation for your application to BU. They’ll probably be the best judge of your chances since they’ve probably served on admissions committees themselves (as well as seen what happened with many other students before you).</p>

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<p>Thanks for your help :slight_smile: I will be talking to the BU admissions counselor tomorrow.</p>

<p>One more thing, sorry :frowning: I’m only just taking the GRE/Bio GRE now. Luckily I got to schedule the GRE in September, but the earliest I could schedule the Bio GRE at a reasonable location was Nov 12th, meaning that the test scores would be sent out in December to the admissions offices. The Bio GRE is listed as “highly recommended” or not required at all for the colleges I’m looking into, so if I’m getting this right, my application will be forwarded to the committees without it, and then will add the score to my application once it’s received…a week to a few weeks past the deadline…is that alright?</p>

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<p>I don’t remember any schools having a deadline earlier than December 15 or so, and only a handful of fellowships being before then (I think NSF and Hertz were). If there is an issue where the scores won’t arrive in time, then write a note in the “Additional” area of the application saying you took the test on November 12 and they should be arriving promptly.</p>

<p>I’m not familiar with subject tests on the GRE, but do you get your scores instantly like with the general test? If so, you could always fill in your scores on your application, and I imagine they just want the score report for confirmation (that’s how it was for almost all of my applications).</p>