xyloneogenesis

literally everyone and their mother asked about my GPA lol i just owned up to it and told them that i made mistakes and that i had no real excuse for the low grades. its better to own up to it and then give them evidence that there is an upward trajectory in your grades than to outright lie because they can smell lies a mile away. give them evidence that you've changed and improved. the important thing isn't to dwell on the mistakes you made and trying to reason through them, the important thing is everything after that and everything that you are now. also during my Hopkins PhD interview, they didn't really inquire about my undergrad GPA when I had a graduate GPA in their department. every department looks for certain credentials and will focus on some more than others (some may like more critical thinking skills, others may prefer raw GPA girth, others may prefer knowledge of the synthesis of data, etc)

TL;DR: do not give up hope if you have seemingly impossible odds like I did with an undergrad GPA of a 2.8, it may take some time, but you'll make it if you stick to it (details how are below) My history in super brief parts: biochemistry major at a decent (science-focused) state school with a 2.8 cumulative GPA, straight C's in all maths and physics classes (withdrew once from calc 2, got C second time), even lower science GPA, roughly 55th percentile GRE scores (81st in essay part) after taking them twice, >1 year of undergrad research (no poster/publications), a bunch of related temporary internships, and a summer lab TA position. Defeated by all my senior year rejections, I networked for a job and got a lab tech position in a relevant field. Then I worked for a year after college. No publications, still. Got my first PhD interview at Lehigh (second time I applied) and I completely bomb it (literally didn't talk about my research once) and they told me not to apply again, and that moment was when I really considered hanging my hat and resigning to a life of subservient lab rat roles for the rest of my life. Then out of desperation I applied to a couple reasonable masters programs and one reach school (masters at Hopkins). Letter of rec writers were my lab tech supervisor, undergrad PI, and senior seminar course professor that knew my analytical/critical thinking skills well. Spurred by the (above) existential fear, I sought out to maximize my odds as much as I could by whatever legal means necessary. That meant going to the department at Hopkins and pitching my story and "voluntarily interviewing myself" to show them that I'm worth their time. And to this day I felt like that pitch was what got me into this program with such abysmally low credentials. [Insert here: long excerpt about attending childhood dream school and being in disbelief for two whole years] I busted my ass and got a 3.45 masters GPA, and by the time I was applying for PhD programs during my masters, I was already incorporated in a lab doing research for a couple months and my PI had me set up for a middle author paper (my first paper) before my PhD applications were sent. Applied to a couple state schools (two acceptance out of like 5), one ivy league (rejected), two Hopkins programs. Everyone in my department at Hopkins knew I was BEYOND determined to get into the PhD program, even with seemingly impossible odds. I networked within my department like my life depended on it (it felt like it did). Then I got that hallowed interview invitation from Hopkins. So of course I took advantage of all my colleagues and got interview help and tips from them. Interview went fine and I got to pitch my research stuff properly in a relatively laid-back environment (I was interviewing with people who I see every day). Then a week or two later, I get an email from the chair of my department asking to see me in-person to share good news, so of course the most logical thing I did was panic and jump to the irrational conclusion that he was gonna serve me my second rejection letter in-person, but of course he just wanted to tell me that I was accepted into the Hopkins biochemistry PhD program. If I could've signed the papers immediately then and there, I would have. Non-academic/work details that may have factored into my crazy acceptance: club sports team captain for 2+ years in undergrad, director of graduate consulting club for a few months, masters student representative (which may have been crucial because I got to attend all the faculty meetings and they got to know me as a person), and captain of club sports team in grad school. I grew from an entitled underperforming undergrad from a regular state school to a determined and confident go-getter (after my failed Lehigh interview), and I won't lie, a confident, determined, and outgoing personality will only get you good points in any graduate-level interview. One of the Hopkins faculty that I interviewed even remarked that he wished more interviewees were as cognizant as I was about communicating properly and professionally in an interview setting. This is largely out of most applicants' control but: the application year can be a huge factor that determines whether a program lets in as few as 2 or as many as 9 incoming PhD students. I think my success is just a culmination of various parts that seem inconsequential on their own, but together can actually make a difference. If your undergrad GPA is too late to be saved (like mine was), then you have to compensate by bolstering every other aspect of your application, which in my case, can sometimes also include your personality/the way you carry yourself. Maybe that means spending extra money and time doing a masters, maybe that means stepping outside your comfort zone and polishing your communication skills, whatever it is, it will require time and dedication but if you want it badly enough, you will find a way. My path is not for everyone, and your mileage will vary, but I just wanted to share my story with everyone in the hopes that those who are on the brink of losing hope will find the fire in themselves to find a way to make their goals happen.