Getting In To Grad School

     An Applicant's Guide to Graduate School Admissions

Can a 3.0 GPA be detrimental?

Submitted by Shields Sonderland on Sun, 2006-08-06 11:32.

The "101 Things (Not) To Do at Your Thesis Defense" was one of the funniest things I've ever read, considering that I've been through an undergraduate thesis oral defense committee already; I was laughing hysterically at my visions of how my board might have reacted had I pulled any of those stunts.

Also, thanks for the advice concerning graduate school admissions. Very sound information.

Question: do you know if an approximately 3.0 GPA, along with mediocre GRE scores, can be detrimental to an application that has a stellar personal statement, writing sample, letter of recommendation from an alum. of the intended graduate school, and common interest(s) with one or more faculty. Specifically, I wrote my thesis on a topic that is very aligned with the interests of one of the professors at my top choice school.

I realize, of course, that it is the entire package that is important when considering the quality and eligibility of an application.

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Global considerations in admissions council

Shields,

I'm glad you enjoyed the site. I particularly enjoy the humor section as well, so be sure to send along any new ones you find when you get to grad school! Grad school may not always be productive or fun, but it's always worth a laugh.

As far as your question, you clearly understand the "total package" concept of admissions. More importantly, you recognize the importance of targeting your efforts and working the interpersonal angle. I think a pretty good but not outstanding GPA & GRE score is likely to be less a factor for you because of this. It will, however, be an issue and you must address this directly, in your interpersonal contacts, recommendations, and "spin" on your record.

Although you're probably well aware of this as well, I would also caution you to be too targeted with that faculty member and program, in that ancillary issues (tenure, departmental funding, previous years' graduate decisions, willingness to take on new students, etc) may cause all your fine efforts to be wholly invalidated.

In any event, best of luck and remember to be tenacious & creative in your efforts!

Submitted by Dave Burrell on Mon, 2006-08-07 09:34.
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