How much does GPA matter if I have worked for 2 years after BS degree?

Graduate School
1

Hello All,

I graduated from BS BME in Dec 2014.
I am working in a prestigious medical device company and intend to apply for BME or ME PhD this Fall 2016.

My GPA was 3.10, but I had a lot of extracurriculars including 3 years of research, thesis, symposium presentations, president and VP of BME organizations.

My question is:
Will I be treated as a fresh new undergrad applying? and will my GPA have same the consideration as if I didn’t have a job? I realize it is low but I don’t believe I should be held back because of it regardless of my other achievements.

Thanks for your input.

2

You won’t be treated the same as someone who is a senior in college, but your GPA will still come into play to a significant degree.

Simply put, your grades as an undergrad are the best predictor a program has of your academic performance as a PhD student. Working a full-time professional job isn’t really a good indicator of how you will perform in a PhD program unless the job was a full-time research job, so your grades will still be important. And two years is a pretty short period of time, so your grades are still quite relevant.