<p>I have a question about GPA. I’m an undergrad transfer student. I spent my first year at UMN and got a 3.6, then I transfered to Davidson and have a 3.1 (that’s for three semesters), and this past semester I’m on leave from Davidson and am a visiting student at William and Mary for a history program they offer. I anticipate a 3.7 for this semester. I will finish my final year at Davidson. </p>
<p>What I’m wondering is how do MA/PhD programs interpret this kind of situation in terms of GPA. Since a Davidson transcript doesn’t include other institutions’ GPA, I have over a year and a half (I also did a summer program at WM) of grades that are simply on an entirely different level than my Davidson grades (it’s true – the rigor and workload is truly on a different playing field than anything I’ve experienced at UMN or WM). Do grad schools average GPAs for transfer students? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>My program would be most interested in your final GPA at Davidson.</p>
<p>We’d look at your transcripts from UMN and W&M, but we’d be much less interested in the UMN freshman year grades. The summer and semester at W&M would be of interest, but more in terms of course titles and research papers produced than in GPA. </p>
<p>I have a pretty naive question, if anyone is still hanging around here: If you’re thinking about going to grad school for math, is it integral to go for a B.S. rather than a B.A.? This is the kind of question I would ask my adviser if I weren’t in between universities at the moment. My first inclination was to go for the B.S. based on my interests in the sciences, but I see now that if I go for the B.A., I will actually have much more leeway to explore in the math department and learn as much math as possible as an undergrad. I’d also be able to take more language courses and potentially become fluent in Russian, which I’ve heard is a good asset (and something I’d like to do anyhow).</p>
<p>Right i have a most general question too. I’m from India and studying my masters in English lit.
I’ve a 64% overall in undergrad, and english was one of my majors there. (my undergrad college did not calculate gpas and i have no idea how this converts into the same)
my gpa in masters so far is about 3.8
My gre score is 1410 (v 650, M 760) - i wasnt well when i took it, so i’m taking it again- will get a much higher score
toefl will be easy, my recos might even be called stellar.
writing samples and sop will be quite good when i’m through.
As you cna see, my only real problem are my gpas. </p>
<p>I want to apply for a Phd program (the 6 year deal) at a good school, i think ivy is rather ‘out my league’. literally. any suggestions will be really helpful.</p>
<p>My d was talking with me yesterday about the different programs she is considering applying to for her PhD in Neuroscience. She will graduate next year from Barnard with a neuroscience degree and a very good gpa. There are some programs which state that they “strongly recommend” that you have taken physics as an undergrad, which was not a required course for her. She is going to try to work that into her schedule this fall, but if that does not work out (as of now the course is full…but that could change), how critical is this?</p>
<p>Help!
Please suggest some colleges/universities in the US where I can get admission without having to take any GRE, GMAT tests.
I did my BE and now I plan to either do ME or MBA.
My college did not calculate GPA.
Still, my academics is not very strong
Please suggest some colleges/universities with high acceptance rates
I am new in this forum.
You could also PM me a comprehensive list.
Thank You everyone.
Help will be most welcome.</p>
<p>I have found that it is not all that critical if the rest of the application is strong. Worst case if the school wants to accept her and is hung up on the fact that she has not had physics, they may ask her to take (and pass) an undergraduate physics course in her first year in that program. After all, “strongly recommend” by definition is not critical. I was accepted to a school that said they required a course I did not technically have, so I can imagine if you can bypass a “requirement” you can bypass a “recommendation”.</p>
<p>miserableguy, most of your questions can be answered with a bit of Googling. For example, you’ll find this site, among others, if you google “engineering not requiring GRE”:</p>
<p>There are almost certainly no comprehensive lists of programs that do NOT require the GRE - perhaps you could do the research and publish it for others like yourself. Simply start with one of the many published program guides and then go to each website to discover their requirements.</p>
<p>Next, be aware that the typical MBA student has several (to many) years of management experience in his or her industry. An interesting article on the GMAT/no GMAT subject is here:</p>
<p>As for your GPA, you will likely have to submit your academic record to one of the evaluation companies if your school does not provide such a service. </p>
<p>Finally, there are MANY good MSE and MBA programs in the US, but relatively few are known outside the country or even outside their own state. If your plan is to live and work in the US, then you can greatly expand your program search, particularly if you’re willing to live in the deep south, or much of the area between the Mississippi river and the Rocky Mountains.</p>
<p>notmythang: Your percentile score is likely quite high when converted to the US system. Google “India percentage to GPA converter” for some starting points. In addition, your graduate work will carry considerable weight. </p>
<p>Your GRE scores are fine - I wouldn’t waste the time and money unless you completely tanked the writing section. In the Humanities, your Quant score is stunning and your Verbal amazing for an ESL (and darn good for a native speaker).</p>
<p>Do not hesitate to apply to the top schools in your field, whether or not they are Ivies, particularly if your intention is to teach at the college level in the US. The job market for all humanities PhD’s is extremely competitive and you’ll need every advantage you can get.</p>
<p>I have been out of school for about 9 years and am wanting to go to graduate school in a slightly different area than my undergrad degrees are in. I took classes in the field I now wich to pursue, but did not spend time getting to know any of my professors because I was not planning on pursuing that as a career field.</p>
<p>As I am looking to applying to grad school I realise that I need letters of recommendation and am flustered because i can not find work, internships or paid, in my new field. I have previously worked in this field, but it has been a number of years and I never kept in touch with any one. </p>
<p>I am a little confused as to who to go to for letter of rec. I was told to contact my old professors in my new career path, but it has been 9 years and I can not see how they can possibly say anything relavant about me. Do graduate schools understand this or do I need to find recs from non-career people who know me very well?? </p>
<p>Also, my undergrad school is about 8 hours away from me and not feasible to drive there. </p>
<p>If your field is an academic one (like English or Classics) as opposed to vocational (like Library Science), you will need all of your LORs to come from former professors. It doesn’t matter that you haven’t been in touch, or that you didn’t “know them” well. Just contact those former professors. </p>
<p>In your first email, remind them of who you are. Provide them with the names and dates of the courses you took with them, as well as the grades you earned. If you still have any assignments (like term papers) from those courses, great. Attach them to the email. Also attach a current resume. Make sure this email is written clearly, grammatically, and professionally.</p>
<p>In this email, ask them if they feel able to write you a supportive recommendation. Tell them which schools you are applying to, and why you’ve chosen those schools. Offer to supply them with a copy of one of the personal statements you have written for your grad school applications. </p>
<p>When you hear back, reply with gratitude, and with directions for submitting said recommendations. (Some might require letterhead, some might be submitted online, etc.)</p>
<p>Some vocational graduate programs (like business or museum studies) will accept one or more letters from former employers, especially if the employment was in the field of intended study. But more strictly academic graduate programs will not.</p>
<p>Hello,
My S will major in music performance for his bachelors. He has almost all of his general ed credits from AP tests, so he will have room to take extra science and math classes. Will he have the option of pursuing science or math for his masters? Does he need to minor or double degree in science or math? He plans on doing some research or internships in a science field during his undergrad time, but is not ready to choose a specific field yet. Of course, he may decide to pursue music for his masters also. He is just trying to keep as many options open as possible.
Thanks.</p>
<p>Hello I am entering the last semester of an honors degree in classics from the University of Calgary in Canada. I figure I will graduate with a 3.6 in my major field and a 3.45 columative. In my 3rd year my brother died in a car accident and my grades were effected, will a prospective Grad school be interested in this? I would like to apply to grad schools in the states, my wife is an American, do I have a competitive GPA</p>
<p>As you may have read, competitive PHD programs usually like 3.5+, masters 3.0 as minimums. There are exceptions tho, outstanding research (many publications), outstanding recommendations, etc, although I’m not too familiar with your field. In any case, your GPA is not low enough to warrant an explanation, especially if its personal and doesn’t necessarily relate to the field. </p>
<p>Also, it depends on the schools you’re applying to. Many top PHD programs just use your acads/GRE as initial cutoffs while others will put more emphasis on them (particular mid-tier unis) due to a lack of applicants in the admission pool.</p>
<p>Faramir – it really depends. Are you applying to master’s or Ph.D programs? At master’s programs I’d say you are just fine. In Ph.D programs, I’ll say it depends on the rest of your portfolio. I had a 3.4 cumulative and a 3.7 major GPA when I applied, and I had high GRE scores, good recommendations and competitive research experience in my field, plus a good essay. I got into a top Ph.D program (my current program) and some top 10 master’s programs. It just depends – the GPA is only one piece of the puzzle, and the admissions are going to put it together with everything else.</p>
<p>bassoonmom: Usually graduate schools will not require a major in a specific field, but they may require a certain number of classes and that number is usually close to or equivalent to a major. My question is, if he thinks he wants a science or math master’s, why is he majoring in music performance? I think it’s easier to switch the other way – it may be more advantageous for him to major in a science or math field and minor in music performance. It’s easier to switch from the sciences to the humanities/fine arts than it is to do it the other way around. Also, if he wants to get research experience in undergrad his advisers will want someone who’s progressing in science and math and shows a real interest in the research, so it may be in his best interests to concentrate on that.</p>
<p>I’ve got a couple questions… I’m getting into the admissions game a little late. I plan on taking the GRE within the next month. When should I begin asking for LORs? Am I late on that too?</p>
<p>I know that most schools start accepting applications at the beginning of October and stop around December. Are your chances of getting accepted better at the beginning of the cycle? How much would it hurt to apply a month in?</p>
<p>Will admissions not look at your application until it is complete? I mean, will they only look at my application once they receive my references’ letters?</p>
<p>If I’m only applying for a master’s, is there any chance at getting funded? How would I go about doing that? </p>
<p>Should I be emailing professors after I apply to help me out?</p>
<p>And finally, I’ve been out school 1.5 years and working as an engineer. I would not feel comfortable having any of my coworkers or managers write me a LOR. The main reasons being that my coworkers have horrible grammar and writing, I don’t want them to know I’m leaving, and I haven’t really done anything worth recommending. With that said, would it looks bad to admissions if I asked 3 professors from my undergrad to write me letters?</p>
<p>Admission cycle - no advantage to early application in most cases. But be aware that there are MANY things that can go wrong in the process, so you want to give yourself as much time as possible. </p>
<p>Incomplete applications - Of the places I applied last year, none forwarded the app. to the department until it was complete.</p>
<p>Masters funding - yes, you can get funding. Each school is a little different. There may be something simple like a checkbox on the application, or there may be a whole separate form to fill out. Each program’s website will have their details.</p>
<p>Emailing - yes. Prepare a package of materials to remind them of who you are.</p>
<p>LORs - don’t even consider anyone other than a professor. LORs address your academic and research skills so letters from anyone other than a professor are pretty much useless. The one exception might be if you’ve been working in a lab and your supervisor is 1) a PhD and 2) can speak to your research skills.</p>