To those who attend/went to grad school

[invidia]

I just want your opinions/suggestions/advice from grad or former grad students about my chances in going to a decent grad school.

Right now I'm a 4th year senior majoring in physics. My current GPA is a 2.35. It's a 2.35 because I goofed off my first 3.5 years as a chemistry major. I had 2 failing grades in my chem classes and was forced to switch majors. Now I am majoring in physics.

As of now, I have a 3.2 GPA in my major physics courses. I figure I'll have a 3.5 by the time I graduate in my physics work and a a 2.6 overall GPA. I took the GRE and got a 800 Q and a 760 V. I also took the physics GRE and got a 970 out of 990.

I have goals to go to physics grad school for a doctoral and wonder if I stand a chance against others for grad school. Were any of you grads have a <2.5 GPA in ur undergrad =P?

 

[Heisenberg]

I'm in grad school for physics now. A 2.35 isn't good, but schools do look at more than just grades. With your GRE scores and a 3.5 physics average, and assuming you have good references and/or internship experience, you can most likely get into a decent school. Probably not MIT or CalTech, but a good state school.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Is there any physics research done at your school that you could be a part of? Are there any independent study opportunities? The idea is to get to know (and be known by) at least one faculty member so they can write a letter of recommendation from personal knowledge instead of just from glancing at your transcript.

Studying papers instead of textbooks and joining a research project would also give you a much better idea of what grad school will be like.

 

[CollectiveUnconscious]

Most graduate departments have a minimum GPA requirement, usually 2.7-3.0 cumulative.

 

[postmortemIA]

at my school, 3.3 GPA is required, 3.5 desired...at university level, 3.0 is minimum. You are going to look much worse than the competition.

 

[invidia]

I'm doing research with one of my professors. I also have a physics mentor that's helping me with some individual research. Also I go to a large top 25 public university. It's the low overall GPA that I'm afraid will deny me from being accepted to a grad school, even though I am or trying to excel at other things.

 

[aka1nas]

I don't know about other school systems, but CSUs only look at your last 60 units to determine your GPA. You will need a pretty high GRE score to have a chance. I was in a similar situation(screwed up 3 semesters due to work/personal issues) and even with getting all As and Bs my last year or so, I only had a 2.6 GPA.

What ultimately saved me was a good GRE score coupled with the fact that my department was having a lull in graduate enrollment and was willing to allow me in.

 

[chambersc]

Originally posted by: CollectiveUnconscious
Most graduate departments have a minimum GPA requirement, usually 2.7-3.0 cumulative.

I'd agree.

Good luck, OP.

 

[LS20]

half of the schools i was looking at stated they consider the gpa figure for either your last 60 hours or your upper-division courses or your last 2 years... (all of which is roughly the same)... so if youve done extremely well lately then its no big deal

 

[tmc]

looks like u got very good marks in GRE and phy-GRE. all the best in your endeavors. hopefully u get admission in a good school.

 

[IronWing]

How did you do in calculus?

 

[vtqanh]

your GRE subject physics is pretty impressive. Too bad the GPA will hurt you. How about try applying and if it doesnt work, stay one year and retake some of the courses?

 

[dethman]

Originally posted by: invidia
My current GPA is a 2.35.

eep.

 

[Whisper]

A 2.60 cumulative is definitely going to hurt you since--as others have said--many graduate programs have minimum required GPAs. Some will look at your final two years/final XX credit hours and major GPA as well, but generally these aren't used in relation to GPA requirements.

However, your GRE scores are definitely a strength, and might get you some consideration in instances where your grades would all but disqualify you. At that point, it's all about your research experience, essays, letters of recommendation, and fit with the faculty/department.

I'd suggest giving the whole application process a go; apply to a few reach schools, a few lower-tier "sure things," and a few in-betweeners. If you aren't accepted to any programs to which you'd honestly like to go, then take a few years off, get a Master's (earning a higher GPA), and re-apply.

 

[bonkers325]

grad schools look at more than just your grades. good rec letters help... they help a lot

 

[EagleKeeper]

If possible take some Grad level courses in your field.

By doing good on them will carry more wieght against a sloppy GPA.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

There are three indicators available to people screening on applications:

GPA
Letters
Standardized Test Scores

You'll want to be competitive in at least 2 of the 3. That means if your GPA is weak, then you better have outstanding letters and great test scores.

GPA howe3ver can be tweeked. You could report your majorGPA, or the GPA for the last 60 credits. Of course, this depends in part on the school's application process, but you can always use these kinder GPAs in your cover letter.

Also keep in mind that grad school is a crap shoot. You have to be attractive to the professors as someone who will fit into their agendas and research programs. They also have to have slots open.

A guide in physics grad programs might be helpful in identifying what program usually looks for... not sure if one is published though.

 

[CountZero]

Ouch, thats a pretty low GPA for grad school. At some schools they might not even look any further than that before rejecting you. I'd say you got good test scores, and you are doing some research stuff so letters should be pretty easy but getting past initial screening is going to be difficult.

If you know what you want to study contact professors doing the work you want to be a part of and explain your situation and ask for advice, if the prof. you are working for is well known perhaps see if he is ok endorsind you to other profs. At some schools if a prof. likes you and wants you nothing else will matter and in any case if they gamble on you and you suck the quals will knock you out .

A potentially riskier move would be do a thesis based MS program and apply to PhD programs from there. This could backfire since some schools really want you to do MS and PhD work with them exclusively but if you do some good work and co-author a paper or two it could prove your worth to bigger better schools.

Good luck!

 

[invidia]

Well, my low GPA was due to 2 failing low tier chemistry classes and a couple of general education classes. Even though I switched to physics, how bad will my chem classes during my sophomore/junior year hurt? I'm pretty much acing all my upper level physics courses.


Also, thanks for the advice guys.

 

[CollectiveUnconscious]

Originally posted by: invidia
Well, my low GPA was due to 2 failing low tier chemistry classes and a couple of general education classes. Even though I switched to physics, how bad will my chem classes during my sophomore/junior year hurt? I'm pretty much acing all my upper level physics courses.


Also, thanks for the advice guys.

As I stated before, before you even get past the general graduate office, you must meet their minimum GPA. That is all they look at. If you don't meet it, you don't move forward. After you get past that minimum, then, and only then, do they forward you to the departmental graduate committee which reviews all other application materials. This is standard AFAIK.