How will messing up my first year in college (2003) affect getting into grad school?

xraymancs
Sun, 20 Oct 2013 15:19:24 +0000

You should go right for a PhD program if that is your ultimate goal. Most schools will pay attention to your most recent academic record but if you apply to highly selective programs, it is always a low probability. Consider some less selective schools which you would bee happy to attend. This usually means a faculty member whose research is interesting to you. Getting a good job after graduation is often most dependent on your thesis advisor. My PhD students have never had a problem getting positions even if my university is not a top 20 program.

Getting in touch with a prospective advisor had to be done carefully. Do your homework by looking carefully at the professor’s Web page and read some of the publications. Is you are very specific in your questions when you make initial email contact, you are more likely to get an answer. Many of us get a lot of emails and we really can’t respond to the generic ones.