<p>My d is a rising junior at Barnard with a major in neuroscience. She hopes to get in to a good phd program after graduation and is trying to work to that end. Her gpa is over 3.7 (higher in major subjects) and she just completed a fairly selective summer fellowship doing research in a lab at Columbia Med Ctr. She is trying to decide whether she should take additional science courses (her major does not require physics and she wants to take additional orgo courses) or try to find a position in a lab. BTW, her college requires that she complete a research project for her senior thesis, so she will have that regardless. She also has work-study responsibilitiesâŠ</p>
<p>Any thoughts on priorities regarding undergrad lab experience vs. expanded science classes taken??</p>
<p>Lab experience is probably more important than classes taken.</p>
<p>Grad programs figure they can remedy any weaknesses in knowledge background via classes, but nobody ever sits you down in graduate school and teaches you how to do research.</p>
<p>She might check the websites for programs that interest her, to see what sorts of background coursework they recommend for applicants. Some schools like to see certain coursework in chemistry and biology, but some schools are really unconcerned.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply, Mollie! I was hoping you wouldâŠ</p>
<p>In fact, the reason she has been considering adding physics and more orgo to her courses is that several of the schools she is thinking about for Grad school listed them as pre-reqs. She also plans to talk to her advisor upon returning to school to ask his advice about this, but she is just trying not to be over-committed with her time (she is also going to be doing grading for the chemistry dept as well as working her other job). </p>
<p>She has the option of continuing to work in the lab where she was this summer, but itâs not very convenient (about 45 minutes each way on the subway) and she wants to gain experience in other areas of researchâŠ</p>
<p>I will pass along your thoughts, though. Thanks!!!</p>
<p>Desp, an M.Arch may indeed be an exception. So too, is a Masters of Landscape Architecture, Masters of Fine Arts, and sometimes even a Masters of Urban Planning or Urban Design (depending on applicantâs background- they know that most Arch students arenât going to have high GPAs). As a loose rule, Iâd say that if a program requires one to submit a portfolio, then portfolio trumps GPA.</p>
<p>any idea how having only a 3.55 GPA would affect someoneâs chances for polisci PhD admissions? iâm interested in going to the best school possible. can anything be done to overcome a GPA like this for top tier schools?</p>
<p>iâve heard varying thoughts on this before, but iâd like to hear what people on this board might think.</p>
<p>As with any application, excellent letters and SOP will help overcome a less-than-perfect GPA. The extent to which it will help really depends on the program, the competition, and a bazillion other small factors.</p>
<p>but wouldnât you say that some GPAs are too low to overcome with other factors, at least for top tier schools? i feel that way with my GPA. </p>
<p>(EDIT: i now see that you pretty much answered this above. my apologies.)</p>
<p>it might also be worth mentioning that i have an âexcuseâ for the GPA. as a result of a serious illness i faced during my second year, i missed school, my grades were poor, and i spent the rest of my undergrad career trying to pull my GPA up. without that year i would have had something like a 3.85. </p>
<p>i wonder if grad schools would care about this. i honestly think it helped me with law school admissions.</p>
<p>I donât think a 3.55 can be considered âtoo lowâ for most schools. It also depends on what you mean by âtop tierâ - top 5? 10? 20? Also, remember that fit is far more important than arbitrary rankings. Say it with me, everyone - fit is more important than rankings! Yeah!</p>
<p>If you have a good fit and the rest of your app is great, I wouldnât worry too much about your 3.55 GPA.</p>
<p>Iâm going to agree with Deepseek here. I canât really think of any graduate programs off the top of my head where a 3.55 GPA would automatically eliminate you from contention. It certainly wouldnât be in the top percentile of applicants you would be competing against, but it could easily be overcome by a strong application.</p>
<p>thank you both for good advice. so what kind of things make up the ideal, strong application? clearly the SOP and excellent letters are key. but anything else? what about publications, research experience, relevant work experience, etc.? i just often have a hard time believing that excellent SOPs and letters will carry the application very far. donât most applicants to the top schools have excellent SOPs and letters?</p>
<p>also, i understand how important fit is. but is it always more important than rankings. for example, would it really be better to go to a program ranked #25 rather than #5 (this is, of course, purely hypothetical) because you fit in better at the #25 school? iâm not saying itâs not true or not possible; itâs just rather difficult for me to swallow.</p>
<p>Fit is almost always more important. Your advisor is going to be the one to get you those jobs after dissertation by writing recs and helping you network. The best scholarly work on your topic may be coming from a person at an institution ranked well below the top 10 or 20. However, academics understand this, and they will respect you coming from that advisor, as opposed to a program that doesnât fit your interests as well. They will wonder, âWhy did he go there?â</p>
<p>There are so many distinctions when it comes to your PhD work - take a history PhD, for example. Is it European? African? Southern? If itâs Asian, is it East Asia? Southeast Asia? Say itâs east Asia. China? Korea? Japan? What about time period - ancient? medieval? early modern? modern? What type of history - social? religious? political? Maybe itâs a comparative field - poverty? race relations? economic develpment? What about history of science?</p>
<p>The permutations are rather endless. An advisor thatâs doing work close to what you want to do can advise you better, making your dissertation better, and giving you better recs for job hunting. Yes, fit matters - a lot.</p>
<p>Plus, a program that doesnât see a good fit wonât accept you. Period. itâs the single biggest factor in grad admissions.</p>
<p>Is it true that at some schools applicants rejected from PHd programs are automatically considered for the masters program? And if this were true would it be easier to get into a masters program applying directly? My top schools are Berkeley, UIUC, UCSD, and Stanford so does anyone know how these schools handle it.</p>
<p>from my understanding that only happens when those programs also have a terminal MA program (which many top programs donât) AND when those same programs also have a provision to allow rejected PhD applicants into that MA program. </p>
<p>in my opinion, from the little that i know, you might be better off just targeting the schools youâre interested in for PhD programs and simultaneously applying to MA programs in the same field, or related fields (e.g. the uchicago MAAPS).</p>
<p>I donât think theyâre âautomaticallyâ considered in the way you think (as far as I can tell what youâre thinking!). PhD and masters admissions are done at the same time, with the same admissions committee. Sometimes, an applicant does not make the PhD cut. However, if the committee is intrigued and thinks the applicant has potential and just needs further training before the PhD, they may extend and invitation to the masters program.</p>
<p>My impression is that the more selective the university, the less likely this is to happen, but I could be absolutely wrong about that.</p>
<p>As far as applying directly to a masters program, if the program doesnât consider PhD apps for the masters program, then I guess it would matter which degree program you applied to. Your best bet is to call the dept. secretary (they know everything!) and ask if rejected PhD candidates are ever considered for the masters in default. realize, of course, that you should only apply to either the PhD or masters in any single program - not both.</p>
<p>Hello. I am considering taking GRE soon. I have a question - is this test similar to SAT, meaning can I take it as many times as I want and send the highest score?
Thanks</p>
<p>Your GRE score report will contain all of the scores you have earned, so if you take the GRE several times, schools will see all of your scores.</p>