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I have an undergrad engineering degree and I am interested in going to graduate school for a Masters and may be even a PhD. One problem is that my undergrad GPA (2.0) was so-so and just average being below the customary 3.0 required by many grad programs. About the only positive, if it can be considered that, is that I worked for several profs in their labs as an undergrad. As an undergrad, I had paying lab jobs and also got course credit. I don't know what my profs' impression of me is/was and I wonder if they would write me a letter of recommendation at all or a good one. I have been wondering if it would be realistic for me to think of being able to get into grad school and get an assistantship (teaching or research) as I cannot afford to pay for it myself. Is the game over for me? What should I do? I would be grateful for any help. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Thousands of Stores.  Millions of Products.  All in one place. Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com

Is the game over for me? What should I do? I would be grateful for any help. Never give up! Apply to many schools.  Take any opportunity you find to explain the lower gpa

I have an undergrad engineering degree and I am interested in going to graduate school for a Masters and may be even a PhD. One problem is that my undergrad GPA (2.0) was so-so and just average being below the customary 3.0 required by many grad programs. About the only positive, if it can be considered that, is that I worked for several profs in their labs as an undergrad. As an undergrad, I had paying lab jobs and also got course credit. I don't know what my profs' impression of me is/was and I wonder if they would write me a letter of recommendation at all or a good one. I have been wondering if it would be realistic for me to think of being able to get into grad school and get an assistantship (teaching or research) as I cannot afford to pay for it myself. Is the game over for me? What should I do? I would be grateful for any help. Your low GPA is going to make things significantly harder, but maybe not impossible.  Grad admissions usually go through a triage process where GPA's and test scores are used to sort applicants into piles: definitely admit , definitely reject and look hard at the rest of the package .  If your GPA is significantly lower than the other applicants', your recommendation letters may not even get read.  One saving grace is if your GPA in your major field is much higher than your overall GPA.  Very high GRE scores may help mitigate this, but be realistic.  Low test scores and low GPA may be perceived to mean that you aren't cut out for advanced study.  High test scores and low GPA may be perceived as a lazy attitude toward your education.  It won't be easy to get past these perceptions. I do know one person who was able to appeal his rejection  to a Ph.D. program with the support (i.e. networking) of his UG advisor.  Basically some phone calls were made on his behalf.  He was admitted on probationary status, and had to maintain at least a B grade in every graduate class. (Not a B average).  He had to bust his butt for two years to stay in the program but he is doing really well on his thesis research.   Good luck. Becky

I have an undergrad engineering degree and I am interested in going to graduate school for a Masters and may be even a PhD. One problem is that my undergrad GPA (2.0) was so-so and just average being below the customary 3.0 required by many grad programs. About the only positive, if it can be considered that, is that I worked for several profs in their labs as an undergrad. As an undergrad, I had paying lab jobs and also got course credit. I don't know what my profs' impression of me is/was and I wonder if they would write me a letter of recommendation at all or a good one. I have been wondering if it would be realistic for me to think of being able to get into grad school and get an assistantship (teaching or research) as I cannot afford to pay for it myself. Is the game over for me? What should I do? I would be grateful for any help. Your low GPA is going to make things significantly harder, but maybe not impossible.  Grad admissions usually go through a triage process where GPA's and test scores are used to sort applicants into piles: definitely admit , definitely reject and look hard at the rest of the package .  If your GPA is significantly lower than the other applicants', your recommendation letters may not even get read.  One saving grace is if your GPA in your major field is much higher than your overall GPA.  Very high GRE scores may help mitigate this, but be realistic.  Low test scores and low GPA may be perceived to mean that you aren't cut out for advanced study.  High test scores and low GPA may be perceived as a lazy attitude toward your education.  It won't be easy to get past these perceptions. This is pretty much what my impression of the process is, also.  In addition, don't put to much weight on the recommendation letters.  Just about everyone will get good recommendation letters and they are fairly generic (you certainly wouldn't ask someone who was going to write a bad letter, would you ? ). They seem to be more of a formality to point out trouble, like you thought you were a great mad scientist while in your advisor's eyes you blew up the lab and ruined his life's work.  Things like that. I had a friend with ~3.0 GPA apply for grad schools.  She made the mistake of going after fist tier schools (like MIT) and didn't get accepted anywhere. You have a much greater chance of getting into a tier 2 or tier 3 school, where you'll probably get a fine education, but won't get the big name on your diploma.  The strong economy will also work in your favor. Employment is low and some grad schools are having a tough time getting as many students as they would like. Good luck,         Jeff

I have been wondering if it would be realistic for me to think of being able to get into grad school and get an assistantship (teaching or research) as I cannot afford to pay for it myself. Is the game over for me? What should I do? I would be grateful for any help. The cards are stacked against you. But, if you really want to pursue that route, you may be able to find some people you can work for and get letters of recommendation that might make up for less than superlative grades. The research career is not all that it is cracked up to be. You actually sound a lot like i was at the end of my undergraduate days and now, after about three decades, can tell you that you might be better off in some other pursuit. I strongly recommend that you look at either of my mirror websites about the PhD career for a large amount of information, including references to other sources, URLs, and in printed matter. I have book reviews on some very good sci career books and you don't have to read my reviews...... get the books and read for yourself what lays ahead of you.   Arthur E. Sowers, PhD  

Your low GPA is going to make things significantly harder, but maybe not impossible.  Grad admissions usually go through a triage process where GPA's and test scores are used to sort applicants into piles: definitely admit , definitely reject and look hard at the rest of the package .  If your GPA is significantly lower than the other applicants', your recommendation letters may not even get read.  One saving grace is if your GPA in your major field is much higher than your overall GPA.  Very high GRE scores may help mitigate this, but be realistic.  Low test scores and low GPA may be perceived to mean that you aren't cut out for advanced study.  High test scores and low GPA may be perceived as a lazy attitude toward your education.  It won't be easy to get past these perceptions. ... I agree with Becky's comments but you should also keep another fact in mind.   For many schools and programs it is significantly easier to get in as a grad. student than as an undergrad.  (When you combine that with the fact that they are actually *paying* you not bad money to go to school, those two facts should be telling you something about the relative worths of the graduate vs. the undergraduate degree.)