<p>I currently attend SUNY Geneseo as a geography major with a GPA of approx 2.85. My first semester, I took only bio and chem classes and my GPA was approx 1.6. Since then, it has been steadily rising and I’ve taken part in numerous extra-curriculars. If i apply to graduate geography programs (specifically University at Buffalo), will I immediately be turned away due to a low GPA, or will the academic rigor of Geneseo be taken into account? approx 40% of graduates immediately continue to graduate school each year. If i could determine the average GPA of a student at Geneseo, it would help answer my question, but I cannot. Perhaps you could provide insight into my situation.
Thanks!</p>
<p>You should talk with profs familiar with your best work to get their ideas about which grad depts. might be interested in you. You should also visit Buffalo, and gauge their interest in your proposed areas and type of research. Your ECs do not matter for Grad School. A focus on your inquiry and the ability to stick with and successfully complete a grad program with distinction are what Grad depts are considering. The GPAs and GREs are often used as cutoffs, not as predictors of success.</p>
<p>It depends entirely on the graduate program and your own accomplishments. If you publish a paper in Science, you’ll probably get in even with a relatively low GPA. On the other hand, a student with a 4.0 and no research experience can’t get into PhD programs.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars don’t matter for academic graduate programs. They may, however, matter to preprofessional programs like business school, public policy/affairs/administration, public health, law, medicine, etc. - but only if they are related to the field in question (e.g. volunteering at your local community health clinic and working as an EMT if you are a med school hopeful).</p>
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<p>I’m not sure about this. By “research experience” do you mean theses or published research? I know quite a few colleagues (myself included) who got into MA/PhD programs with no published research. The first publications got into the pipeline during the PhD program, and the first conference presentations as well.</p>