[GhostUser]

so i'm studying hydrogeology (hard science)...<br><br><br><br>
every grad school i've looked at requires a 3.0 undergrad GPA...but if i make an A in every class until i graduate...i'd have a 2.9905<br><br><br><br>
does anyone have any experience with not meeting the explicit requirements but still getting into grad school? i know that grad school admissions seem to be a lot more subjective...<br><br><br><br>
i guess no one can answer my question here probably but i'm just looking for a little hope guys...

 

[Rotting]

Can you not take another an extra class, get an A, and boost your GPA.

 

[synergy]

I can hold out a little glimmer of hope for you...<br><br>
My step mom was admitted into the Masters of Teaching program at the University of Calgary without the required grades. She was able to do this by having employers and professors vouch for her. The only stipulation is that if she gets lower than an -A in a class, she is expelled from the program, and cannot re-apply ever. No pressure there, huh.<br><br><br><br>
So some schools, and some faculties are willing to make exceptions, but I suppose this is a rarity.<br><br><br><br>
Often times, your publishing/research background can make a difference in Grad school applications, so if you have the opportunity to get something published, DO IT!

 

[remilard]

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>Azygous</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
so i'm studying hydrogeology (hard science)...<br><br><br><br>
every grad school i've looked at requires a 3.0 undergrad GPA...but if i make an A in every class until i graduate...i'd have a 2.9905<br><br><br><br>
does anyone have any experience with not meeting the explicit requirements but still getting into grad school? i know that grad school admissions seem to be a lot more subjective...<br><br><br><br>
i guess no one can answer my question here probably but i'm just looking for a little hope guys...</div>
</div>
<br><br><br>
Unfortunately that GPA is pretty good evidence that you cannot handle a graduate program. If it was really low your first year or two and has been stellar since that would be good. If you have consistently done slightly worse than B work what makes you think you are a candidate for a graduate degree?<br><br><br><br>
I would take the extra class and get it to a 3.0 and apply to several third tier schools, that is your best shot.

 

[Dirty Martini]

It depends on the school, it depends on the program, it depends on your experience, it depends on the trend of your grades. If you got very poor grades in your first two years but scored high marks in your last two years, that shows a change in direction and commitment to hard work.<br><br><br><br>
As synergy suggested, if you can get letters of recommendation from your professors or a business reference, that can help. You can also appeal to the admissions board if the school provides that option for you.<br><br><br><br>
Go talk to (or call) an admissions counselor at the school(s) you're interested in and see what they say.

 

[GhostUser]

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>remilard</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
Unfortunately that GPA is pretty good evidence that you cannot handle a graduate program. If it was really low your first year or two and has been stellar since that would be good. If you have consistently done slightly worse than B work what makes you think you are a candidate for a graduate degree?<br><br><br><br>
I would take the extra class and get it to a 3.0 and apply to several third tier schools, that is your best shot.</div>
</div>
<br><br><br>
Is it your intention to sound patronizing, or are you testing my commitment?<br><br><br><br>
I believe I am a candidate for a graduate degree because I believe I am entirely capable of performing legitimate, meaningful research and making a contribution to our knowledge and understanding of my chosen field of study, hydrogeology.<br><br><br><br>
I disagree with you that a GPA is any good indicator of future academic capability. Rather, a GPA is a reflection of various aspects of the past, including financial support, emotional health, ambition, motivation, etc. Anyone is capable of doing anything in the right environment, this has been proven time and time again in the course of history.<br><br><br><br>
If I am unable to get into a graduate program immediately I will keep trying until I do, and I will continue to study and research until it is my decision to move on to other pursuits, and not anyone else's.<br><br><br><br>
Anyway, I did indeed overlook one more spot for a class in my schedule next spring, so it is possible for me to boost my GPA one one-hundredth of a point over this ridiculously arbitrary 3.0 line which is unfortunately a reality of this imperfect world we live in.<br><br><br><br>
Thank you for the hope and guidance. Hopefully in a year I'll be on my way to graduate school <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">

 

[remilard]

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>Azygous</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
Is it your intention to sound patronizing, or are you testing my commitment?<br></div>
</div>
<br><br><br>
I'm questioning you about reasons why you think you will perform at a higher level in graduate school than you did as an undergraduate. A good answer to that question, at a minimum, will be required to get the GPA requirement relaxed.<br><br><br><br>
As for the value of GPA in determining future performance, unfortunately you are in the minority opinion as evidenced by admissions standards.

 

[gaya]

Azygous,<br><br>
If you haven't already, visit the reg office and see if they have any kind of grade replacement options. For example, my univeristy allows up to 12-15 credits to be withdrawn and replaced so if you do poorly in a class you can retake it and have the new grade replace the old one. The class will still be on your transcript but the poor grade will be replaced with the new grade for your cum gpa. I didn't know my school even offered this till my senior year and I took advantage of it with a physics class...had a C replaced with a B and it helped (an A would have been nice but I'm not a math person).<br><br><br><br>
eta: even if you have to postpone graduation it's worth it imo.

 

[slp2b]

All I know is that one girl that applied to our program last semester had a similar gpa and she did not get accepted. The good news for her is that they only look at the last 60 units before applying to grad school. She did really bad the first semester of the 60 units, so all she has to do is take a couple of classes next semster and then reapply. Is it possible that your school only looks at the most recent units instead of your whole academic career? It couldn't hurt to ask. Good luck to you.

 

[Gnome Chomsky]

Yeah...the question which no one has answered (and it is likely that no one here can) is whether the 3.0 gpa thing is a hard limit or not for the departments to which you're applying.<br><br><br><br>
ebola

 

[remilard]

Here is how I see it. If you apply to a school most of the time someone's admin is going to trash pile your application because of the GPA. If she passes it on you have to have a good reason for your GPA in there somewhere because the faculty members won't call you and ask for it. You need to be able to tell them why you are better than someone with a higher GPA, because plenty of those people applied. If you have extenuating circumstances that will help a lot. Like I said before, dramatically better grades in the last year or two will help a lot. Blowing the GRE out of the water will help a lot. Having recommendations from faculty at your school who are well known will help a lot.<br><br><br><br>
Forget about top 20 schools. No matter how special you are they have their pick of people just as special with high GPAs. Apply to as many schools as you can afford to and I would go so far as to contact admissions ahead of time and ask if they consider applications with slightly low GPAs if there are explained extenuating circumstances.<br><br><br><br>
If you, in fact, get your GPA above 3 then most of this is moot. However 3.01 isn't a flaming good GPA so you still need a compelling explanation in your application packet because, again, the faculty members aren't going to call you and ask for the explanation. Nothing makes someone reviewing applications or resumes happier than an excuse to put on in the trash pile. Your GPA is that excuse and you have to make the reason they should overlook that glaringly obvious.

 

[GhostUser]

yeah you are totally right. i'll just have to ace the GRE and try to get into some research. also, i wonder if they look at the GPA of all the universities i went to combined or only the gpa at the last university i went to.

 

[rabid_child]

I am currently getting my MSW and I work in the department as a GA and hold info sessions and what not and we often talk to prospectives about admissions criteria and what helps boost your application. And so, I have a few things to say on this topic...<br><br><br><br>
First of all, I strongly recommend taking a year or two (or three...) off BEFORE you apply to graduate school. Having a job, especially in your field, will boost your application, show that you can handle yourself in the adult world, and also be a good learning experience for you to get out of the sheltered schooling world that you've been in for 16+ yrs. Even if you aren't working in your field you're proving that you can handle a full time job and adult responsibilities. Evaluate why you want to go to graduate school. I'm not saying this is you, but a lot of people go right out of college because school is all they know and they're afraid to stop going and facing reality.<br><br><br><br>
Second, while you're taking a few years off, see if you can take Masters classes non-matriculated at a local university. Having a transcript from a Masters program, even non-degree, showing that you are capable of performing graduate level work is very helpful with your application. You can also then get a letter of recommendation from professors you worked with at a graduate level who feel you would do well in a program full time. Do not continue to take undergrad classes. High grades in non-matriculated graduate courses in your field look better than continuing to take undergrad courses to raise a mediocre GPA.<br><br><br><br>
Third, take the GRE or a GRE subject test or the MCAT or whatever standardized test would help show that you are capable of working on a graduate level. I personally don't believe in standardized testing, but some schools do.<br><br><br><br>
Finally, when you write your statement of purpose/personal statement, EXPLAIN why your GPA is lower than desired by the school. DO NOT make excuses for yourself, but explain why it was so low, and why you are confident that you could succeed as a grad student despite it, what you've learned from your mistakes, etc...<br><br><br><br>
I have a book on getting into grad school without good grades if you're interested in buying it off of me (Y'know, cause I'm already in. I didn't actually have an undergraduate GPA either, so I figured with NO grades, it wouldn't hurt to read it. Turns out the Uni I go to calculated a GPA for me, which was something like a 3.5... which was fine anyway. My MSW GPA is 4.0) Or if you'd like to chat more about grad school/admissions, feel free to drop me a PM or send me an IM.. my info is in my profile.

 

[Gnome Chomsky]

>>yeah you are totally right. i'll just have to ace the GRE and try to get into some research.>><br><br><br><br>
You should also consider doing an undergrad thesis and getting chummy enough with a subset of factulty to get badass reccomendations. Well, it worked for me at least.<br><br><br><br>
ebola

 

[gaya]

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>Gnome Chomsky</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
>>yeah you are totally right. i'll just have to ace the GRE and try to get into some research.>><br><br><br><br>
You should also consider doing an undergrad thesis and getting chummy enough with a subset of factulty to get badass reccomendations. Well, it worked for me at least.<br><br><br><br>
ebola</div>
</div>
<br>
I have a hard time believing that you left undergrad with anything less than a 3.999999 <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">

 

[catswym]

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>Azygous</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br><br><br><br>
I disagree with you that a GPA is any good indicator of future academic capability. Rather, a GPA is a reflection of various aspects of the past, including financial support, emotional health, ambition, motivation, etc. Anyone is capable of doing anything in the right environment, this has been proven time and time again in the course of history.<br></div>
</div>
<br><br><br>
what makes you think those things will be better in grad school?<br><br><br><br>
do you get automatic financial support for the programs you are applying to?<br><br><br><br>
i would also say, grad school is not the most emotionally supportive place in the world. far from it. similarly, your ambition and motivation will be tested and will be entirely your responsibility.<br><br><br><br>
i agree with rabid--if your gpa is so low, you really need to take time off to work/ do research for several years before applying to grad school.

 

[Gnome Chomsky]

>>I have a hard time believing that you left undergrad with anything less than a 3.999999>><br><br><br><br>
I'm not gonna say.<br><br><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/blush.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""><br><br>
However, I have spoken to one of the students on the admissions panel for my cohort, and she said that faculty reccomendations and statements of purpose were THE MOST important criteria and that GRE scores and GPA weren't used as first-pass elimination tools.<br><br><br><br>
ebola

 

[gaya]

You're at berkely (sp?) right? must be nice. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">

 

[Gnome Chomsky]

It's intensive (I've never read this much in my life)...but, yes, it's quite cool...<br><br><br><br>
ebola

 

[gaya]

I wish I wasn't so worried about my nutty family. They live on the east coast and I'm afraid to go too far other wise...i would love to be in n. cali!