Question about grad school- how hard is it to get in?

[HamSupLo]

I miss school. I really do. I'm thinking about going after a masters in Econ, Poli Sci, or East Asian studies.....something along those lines. What worries me is that my overall GPA sucks (3.05). Since I can't change that, I'm going to make damn sure that I score as high as I can on the GRE. So, with my sorry GPA, what are my chances of getting accepted?

 

[CichliSuite]

Chances are like a highschooler going for college. Getting in somewhere is easy. However, getting in to a good graduate program is tough.

 

[HamSupLo]

The only schools I really want to go are UCLA or NYU. I think i'm out of the running for the very upper tier.

So to all you current undergrads, study hard while you have a chance and don't graduate without any regrets!!!!

 

[Shaka]

Speaking as an Engineering student who has recently applied to grad schools, the main thing grad schools look at is your Letters of Recommendation. GRE's mean close to nothing if you have a high GPA; so, GRE's aren't really that important in the admissions process. It seems that professors in the department are in charge of graduate admissions, and since they're supposed experts in their field, they can tell if you have a good probability of contributing to their department.

 

[Unsickle]

I'm in the middle of applying in Mechanical Engineering. Crosses fingers!

 

[HamSupLo]

oh man, i haven't contacted my professors in over a year.

 

[vegetation]

Your overall GPA is only needed to get your foot into the door. Most Universities have a central graduate division office that weeds out the low grade applicants (gpa varies by each school) then passes on the list to each respective college. What's more important beyond the grades and test scores though, is how much research experience you have. As an undergraduate, you should have taken some upper division research classes and have a firm idea of what's behind graduate-level work. Recommendations from these professors outlining what you have contributed will be the key to success. If you failed to get any research experience, you might want to go to a lower level university and sign up as an unclassified graduate student. Then take some courses and do some research work in the area you are looking at.

 

[Arschloch]

On the other hand, I personally wouldn't limit myself to only those schools that have a great reputation.

I guess it depends on your motivation for wanting to go to grad school. If you're going mostly because you're trying to advance your career and make more money, then I guess it would be more understandable if you only wanted to go to a very selective school.

However, if you're going just because you have a thirst for knowledge, then I think it would make more sense to just go to the best school that accepts you, even if they don't have a sparkling reputation.

I went to Miami University (Ohio) grad school for Economics last year. I decided to go there because that's where I did my undergraduate work. Even though it doesn't have a national reputation, my purpose for going was just to -learn-. Furthermore, most of the Econ profs at Miami are more than competent. And I felt I learned a huge amount - probably more in my one year of grad school than in my four years in undergrad.

 

[HamSupLo]

I'm in it mainly to learn. I kinda feel something is missing after finishing my BA. At that point, I wasn't even considering going to grad school...i just wanted to a get job. After working for a year, I'm like, "that it!?" Since I wasn't thinking of grad school, I have done zero undergrad research work. As for the program I want to get into, I'm not looking down on the other schools. I did my undergrad at UCLA and I want to continue in an environment like it.

 

[swai]

<< Chances are like a highschooler going for college. Getting in somewhere is easy. However, getting in to a good graduate program is tough. >>


no way... getting in to grad school is much harder than getting into undergrad
if 90% of hich schoolers get into college, then only like 30% of undergrads get into grad school (i made up those numbers, but you get my point)

 

[HamSupLo]

ughhhh.....that's not too encouraging. Hmm...I notice that the graduate Math program at UCLA accepts 70% of its applicants according to their data. I got reamed in Math so i'll pass on that.

 

[dullard]

There are two schools of thought:

(1) Go to a school with a good reputation. Who cares if you learn anything, your future employers will be overwhelmed by the school you attended and ignore your knowledge, your research, and your performace at that school. Take Harvard for example. 90% of all grades given are A's. Well over half of all Harvard graduates will have a perfect 4.0 GPA when they finish. No employer can ever tell one Harvard graduate from another since they all have the same GPA.

(2) Go to any school that you will excel in. Then work your rear end off. Learn as much as you can, do great research, and then impress your future employers with your abilities. Get a near perfect 4.0 from a school with an average GPA around 2.0, then put that statistic on your resume.

Each choice has its ups and downs. Many people will succeed with either option, some will fail with either option.

I personally choose option #2. Why? (A) Higher salary as a grad student. (B) I feel I learn more. (C) I can choose any research I want. (D) More fun as a student. (E) Closer to family.

Feel free to follow either path. To me, getting accepted to any grad school I wanted was the easy part. The hard part was determining which would have the best impact on my overall life.