Lilac13

I was talking to the OP, but good for you. It's the best thing to do if you have low scores.

The stories on this board are incredible! I am compelled to also share my story as it may give some applicants additional hope.
 
Like emg28, I am a first generation college graduate. I majored in psychology. I finished undergrad with a 3.0. I had a few failing grades on my transcript (Ds and Fs). I've never been one to make excuses, but I struggled financially, mentally, and emotionally in college due to some serious family health issues.
 
I attended a school that did not have the best resources to give me the exposure and skills I needed. Realizing this, I sought opportunities elsewhere. I spent two summers as a research intern at two major research universities.
 
During my senior year I decided to apply to PhD programs in clinical and developmental psychology. Everything I heard from people around me was that students with a degree in psychology go on to get PhDs, so i figured it was what I was supposed to do. I took the GRE and didn't do well at all. The only score I can say I was AW. I had one great letter of recommendation from my research mentor and two average letters from professors in my department. I got rejected from nearly every program I applied to because I did not meet "basic cutoffs". Teachers College rejected me from their PhD program, but accepted me to their masters program. I was completely surprised. I ended up declining the offer though because it did not come with funding, I couldn't find housing, and I could not afford to live in NYC.
 
A month after graduating, I made the decision to move nearly 2,000 miles away from home and it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. I landed a job as a research assistant at a major university. The research I have been doing shifted my area of focus and sparked my interest in education policy. I applied to and got accepted to a masters program in public policy. I finished with a 3.9 GPA and made great connections with students and professors. Nearly 5 years after starting as a research assistant, I received several promotions in my current department, lots of great research experience, presentations, and publications. During summer 2012, I decided to apply for PhD programs in Education Policy. I studied my butt off for the GRE and improved my verbal and AW scores, but my already crappy quantitative score actually went down  . I was extremely nervous about my chances of being accepted due to my quantitative score and my undergraduate grades, but I took the risk and applied.
 
Long story short, I am proud to say I got accepted to STANFORD out of over 500+ applicants. My POI and the admissions committee had some questions about my undergraduate GPA and quantitative GRE score, but they gave me a chance to explain it. From what I was told, having a great GPA in a masters program showed a remarkable upward trajectory. Having 4+ years of solid research experience and three glowing letters of recommendation also really worked in my favor. I also did everything I could to try to make myself stand out from the other applicants (a great personal statement and meeting with my POI to discuss research interests). I am still waiting for responses from the other three schools I applied to, but I think getting admitted to my very competitive top choice is remarkable!
 
I say all of this to say, there are certainly ways you can compensate for having a "low" GPA. Best of luck!

I could have posted this in the general Decisions forum, but I didn't want this thread to be filled with responses from other disciplines (not that their responses don't matter, but because I think it would be more helpful to discuss this among people entering the same field and programs). As we all know, decisions have started rolling in. I know there's still a little over six weeks before the April 15th date, but I figured why not start a thread for the decision process. While I am sure everyone has not received all of their decisions, I am quite certain we have all started to think about where we will decide to start the next chapter of our lives. 
 
With that being said, what factors are you considering in your decision making process? Have you already decided where you will attend school?
 
I'll start....I applied to four doctoral programs. I originally only wanted to apply to one program, but was advised to consider a few other options. I reached out to POIs at the four schools, but only heard back from and had in-depth conversations with POIs from two of the schools. It just so happens that those were the two schools I was accepted to. I was rejected from the other two. My first acceptance was from my top choice, Stanford. I am happy to say, I recently accepted my offer from SGSE. The biggest factors that went into my decision were (these are not in rank order):
 
My fit with my adviser- research interests, personality, and mentoring style. I was able to gauge this from meeting with him several times and talking to a number of the students he advises. Flexibility to tailor my studies to meet my needs and interests. I believe in an interdisciplinary approach to tackling my the issues I am interested in researching. SGSE requires students to earn a masters or a minor outside of the school of education. I've heard taking courses and earning degrees from other departments is not easy to do at some universities. Guaranteed funding (tuition, stipend, and support for health insurance) - I didn't want to stress about whether or not I would be funded year to year and where the funding would could from. I've heard environments where funding is not guaranteed can often times be quite competitive and not necessarily in a good way. Location- I am married to someone who works in technology, so it was important that we live in an area where he has a variety of career opportunities. 

I got accepted to my top choice yesterday! To celebrate I went out with my husband and had a nice dinner. I am rewarding myself by taking lessons to learn to play my new alto saxophone! I start on Monday

The stories on this board are incredible! I am compelled to also share my story as it may give some applicants additional hope.
 
Like emg28, I am a first generation college graduate. I majored in psychology. I finished undergrad with a 3.0. I had a few failing grades on my transcript (Ds and Fs). I've never been one to make excuses, but I struggled financially, mentally, and emotionally in college due to some serious family health issues.
 
I attended a school that did not have the best resources to give me the exposure and skills I needed. Realizing this, I sought opportunities elsewhere. I spent two summers as a research intern at two major research universities.
 
During my senior year I decided to apply to PhD programs in clinical and developmental psychology. Everything I heard from people around me was that students with a degree in psychology go on to get PhDs, so i figured it was what I was supposed to do. I took the GRE and didn't do well at all. The only score I can say I was AW. I had one great letter of recommendation from my research mentor and two average letters from professors in my department. I got rejected from nearly every program I applied to because I did not meet "basic cutoffs". Teachers College rejected me from their PhD program, but accepted me to their masters program. I was completely surprised. I ended up declining the offer though because it did not come with funding, I couldn't find housing, and I could not afford to live in NYC.
 
A month after graduating, I made the decision to move nearly 2,000 miles away from home and it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. I landed a job as a research assistant at a major university. The research I have been doing shifted my area of focus and sparked my interest in education policy. I applied to and got accepted to a masters program in public policy. I finished with a 3.9 GPA and made great connections with students and professors. Nearly 5 years after starting as a research assistant, I received several promotions in my current department, lots of great research experience, presentations, and publications. During summer 2012, I decided to apply for PhD programs in Education Policy. I studied my butt off for the GRE and improved my verbal and AW scores, but my already crappy quantitative score actually went down  . I was extremely nervous about my chances of being accepted due to my quantitative score and my undergraduate grades, but I took the risk and applied.
 
Long story short, I am proud to say I got accepted to STANFORD out of over 500+ applicants. My POI and the admissions committee had some questions about my undergraduate GPA and quantitative GRE score, but they gave me a chance to explain it. From what I was told, having a great GPA in a masters program showed a remarkable upward trajectory. Having 4+ years of solid research experience and three glowing letters of recommendation also really worked in my favor. I also did everything I could to try to make myself stand out from the other applicants (a great personal statement and meeting with my POI to discuss research interests). I am still waiting for responses from the other three schools I applied to, but I think getting admitted to my very competitive top choice is remarkable!
 
I say all of this to say, there are certainly ways you can compensate for having a "low" GPA. Best of luck!

To break to trend of the acceptance/rejection topics in here, how about some soul searching while waiting it out?
 
I posed think question to myself and I thought it would be good for anyone to seriously think about it: Why? Why put yourself through writing all these essays, taking GREs, spending hundreds of dollars, stalking grad-cafe, go on tough interviews, etc... All to spend 5-6 years of your life to putting even more pressure on yourself until you finally get through it? Most people do fine without a PhD... why do you need to do it?
 
Don't answer like you're telling me, or like you're writing a SOP... what's the reason you used to convince yourself that this is right? Imagine you're trying to convince yourself from 9th grade that this is what you need to do. Have you ever put these feelings/ambitions into words? Think about it even if you're a lurker, or you don't want to share for everyone to see. You might learn something about yourself. 
 
I'll tell you why I'm doing it. Because statistically, I can't do it. Statistically, I'm supposed to want to grow up to play in the NBA and sell 1M records as a rapper, not to win a Nobel Prize in physics. I should just settle for working at Walmart and have a few kids I won't take care of, and probably end up in jail before I turn 25, not rock the boat and dare to dream different. I only know of one person from my HS actually got to the NFL, and all he does is sit on the bench, the rest... some are doing okay, but 90% completely lack ambition; they're so complacent with... "mediocracy" for lack of a better word. I'm not trying to say I'm better than them for going to grad school, but I'm disappointed that all these people that are still young are wasting their potential. You can't become the next Einstein unless you try to become Einstein. I'm doing it to prove I can do it. Why live your whole life and not aim high? You only get one chance... Even if your first path was misconstrued, you ain't dead yet.
 
That's something to consider even if you don't get into the grad school you like or even any at all... you ain't dead yet, so don't act like you can't get higher.

FYI to PhD applicants, I emailed the contact for the department and she said letters were to go out "very shortly." She also told me that I was rejected (no surprise) as she assumed I needed that information to make other decisions (I did).

Anyway, FWIW, all PhD applicants should receive letters very soon!

The stories on this board are incredible! I am compelled to also share my story as it may give some applicants additional hope.
 
Like emg28, I am a first generation college graduate. I majored in psychology. I finished undergrad with a 3.0. I had a few failing grades on my transcript (Ds and Fs). I've never been one to make excuses, but I struggled financially, mentally, and emotionally in college due to some serious family health issues.
 
I attended a school that did not have the best resources to give me the exposure and skills I needed. Realizing this, I sought opportunities elsewhere. I spent two summers as a research intern at two major research universities.
 
During my senior year I decided to apply to PhD programs in clinical and developmental psychology. Everything I heard from people around me was that students with a degree in psychology go on to get PhDs, so i figured it was what I was supposed to do. I took the GRE and didn't do well at all. The only score I can say I was AW. I had one great letter of recommendation from my research mentor and two average letters from professors in my department. I got rejected from nearly every program I applied to because I did not meet "basic cutoffs". Teachers College rejected me from their PhD program, but accepted me to their masters program. I was completely surprised. I ended up declining the offer though because it did not come with funding, I couldn't find housing, and I could not afford to live in NYC.
 
A month after graduating, I made the decision to move nearly 2,000 miles away from home and it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. I landed a job as a research assistant at a major university. The research I have been doing shifted my area of focus and sparked my interest in education policy. I applied to and got accepted to a masters program in public policy. I finished with a 3.9 GPA and made great connections with students and professors. Nearly 5 years after starting as a research assistant, I received several promotions in my current department, lots of great research experience, presentations, and publications. During summer 2012, I decided to apply for PhD programs in Education Policy. I studied my butt off for the GRE and improved my verbal and AW scores, but my already crappy quantitative score actually went down  . I was extremely nervous about my chances of being accepted due to my quantitative score and my undergraduate grades, but I took the risk and applied.
 
Long story short, I am proud to say I got accepted to STANFORD out of over 500+ applicants. My POI and the admissions committee had some questions about my undergraduate GPA and quantitative GRE score, but they gave me a chance to explain it. From what I was told, having a great GPA in a masters program showed a remarkable upward trajectory. Having 4+ years of solid research experience and three glowing letters of recommendation also really worked in my favor. I also did everything I could to try to make myself stand out from the other applicants (a great personal statement and meeting with my POI to discuss research interests). I am still waiting for responses from the other three schools I applied to, but I think getting admitted to my very competitive top choice is remarkable!
 
I say all of this to say, there are certainly ways you can compensate for having a "low" GPA. Best of luck!

You all make me laugh. I took the time to register this account, because I thought that I was looking at a thread of disasters. In-fact, almost all of you have decent GPA's. I dont think I saw anyone with below a 2.6....That's pretty good.
 
This isn't a here's my story, it's better than yours. Rather it's a true disaster which cannot be fixed in any way.
 
I finished my undergrad with a 2.41 in business. I was studying accounting, but if your GPA falls below 2.5 at the University of Colorado then you lose your emphasis. Mine was accounting. I read everywhere that with a 2.4 I can eliminate 98% of grad schools in the U.S.
 
In my entire college tenure, my best semester was a 3.29 and my worst was a 1.6
 
Between those two extremes I fit everywhere probably averaging around a constant 2.5 the entire time. But my backstory is what helped (which I don't encourage you to do). I was in Iraq where I was severely injured to the point where I now have seizures on a weekly basis. I'm a disabled veteran, and I found out that this doesn't play into anything when applying to grad school. Since I had saved money, I decided to take my 2.4 gpa and apply to every top school that I could think of. I don't have good grades, my professors won't write me letters of recommendations because of my grades and my work experience is non-relevant to accounting. Basically I have no help getting into grad school.
 
However, I was wrong. I spent two days creating applications, paying fee's and writing countless essays as to why I would be a good fit. I then picked the six schools that I *knew* wouldn't accept me because of my bad grades and applied to them. I spent over $1000 in application fee's and other items. My top six schools that I applied to for a masters in accounting: Stanford, Michigan, Cornell, Wisconsin,California and Harvard. Then I completed five applications to schools that I thought I had a moderate chance of getting into: Texas A&M, Texas, Ohio State University, Nebraska, and Auburn. After finishing those applications, I tried some other one's that I thought would be sympathetic to my veteran status and applied to five more: North Dakota, Western Michigan, University of Utah, and Boise State University.
 
I didn't think anything of these. At worst, I thought that I may have just submitted 16 applications which would end up in the trash can followed by a degrading rejection email that is sent to the auto rejected students.
 
However here is my current problem:
On my desk I currently have acceptance letters to every single school except Utah because of an application error which is supposed to be resolved soon. The first thought that came to my mind was "wow, I got into Stanford". The first idea was to immediately call/email all of the admissions staff to see what kind of marijuanna they were smoking because my acceptance likely ended the dream of a better qualified student at that particular school. To keep things short, I summed up the responses from all of the universities by displaying what Michigan wrote back. I did this because it generally follows what Stanford, Cornell and just about every other school said. Texas A&M said that my veteran status improved my rankings consideribly. But anyways:

Michigan: "Your undergraduate grades were horrible, and frankly I cannot believe that you are applying knowing that the GPA floor is 3.3 for minimal consideration to the accounting program. After looking through your packet, I saw nothing which indicated that you would have the ability to complete a graduate level degree. Furthermore, after our interview it became very clear to me that you have no relevant experience in accounting outside of academia. I left the interview perplexed because nothing statistically showed my staff or myself that you belong at Michigan. However, I did enjoy reading your essay and listening to your thoughts on the Enron scandal. For having such a low GPA, I am interested in how you learned so much. While I am grateful for your service and terribly sorry for your injury I cannot simply put that in front of your academic performance. You got into Michigan because you can communicate well. It's not too often that a student will present themselves as a problem solver and a situational thinker yet not be able to test well. I think you will bring something profound to our program and that is the ability to hear and speak."

So just so all of you know, having a 2.4 doesn't help but if you can overcome with something else then you can definitely go places.

J_holtz you are my new hero. You and everyone else are why I want to continue my education and pursue higher education. I am a true believer that scores and GPA can not describe the person,how they learn, nor their abilities/perseverance to succeed.
 
A little bit about myself: I'm first gen, went to a semi-crappy high school, got rejected from almost every undergrad I applied to...but by luck and a lot of communication with the Admissions committee...I was admitted to Tufts after being waitlisted. Oh yea- THIS KID- was one of the few who got admitted my year.... (I received my notification moments before submitting my deposit to a state school). While I struggled to succeed in such a academically competitive place, my peers spoke about how easy and boring some classes were. After all the crap I dealt with...getting sick because of so much stress...not graduating on time...ALMOST not finishing my last paper/thesis. I received my degree in 2012 (2 years later) with a gpa of 3.12. Not below 3.0, but not up to par with "what I'm suppose to have". 
 
Needless to say, my GRE isn't stellar either. 150V, 139 Q, and 3W. I didn't have much time to prepare and had a lot of personal things going on. But I've been working in Higher Ed doing work I really can connect with for about a year. This fall I applied to 15 schools; some were reach and others safety schools. SOME HOW....I don't know why or how...I was admitted to the majority of them and have incredible options. I never thought I could say UM and U Penn are my "safety schools" if I don't get into Harvard. Pfffffft! 
 
I just want to say..where there's a will, there's a way. If you want it bad enough, YOU WILL make it happen. That means learn to network, navigate the higher ed system and play on your strengths. It can happen. Best of luck everyone on your applications   (I know I'm definitely going to need a drink after this whole application/decision process is over) 

I posted in this thread earlier in the application season about being a second time applicant. Like some of the other posters, I too am seeing a much better outcome. I got accepted to my top choice. Out of over 500 applicants, they only picked 31 people. It is a great feeling to be amongst the accepted. This is definitely added proof that you can certainly improve your application if you're not admitted the first time around. Good luck to all of you!

Last year I was rejected all the way around.  This year, I have two official offers and yesterday found out another school wants an interview.  Amazing what a year can do.  It's so validating.  It's worth it people, if you really want something, keep trying!  Miracles can happen!  Dreams do come true! Hahaha, cheesy, I know.  The first round of rejections suck, but in a way I'm grateful for it.  I made better choices this year in terms of schools and research goals and it's made me appreciate my acceptances that much more.

I was rejected by 10 programs last year.
EVERYTHING is different this year.
I haven't heard from most of the schools I've applied to, but I've already been accepted to my number one. I should be hearing from the rest soon.
Hard work pays off.

News of the day: I got an official rejection from UPenn (which I expected, b/c no interview) BUT, I also got an email from a POI at UW indicating that my application was "excellent" and I would make "an excellent candidate" for the program.

FINALLY some positive news!

I am no longer losing my mind! I got accepted to my TOP choice program today!!!!!!    I am sooo thrilled!

Last year, I got an email from the department, the graduate college, a letter from each, and a phone call with a FIVE-MINUTE voicemail from the POI outlining the reasons for my rejection (asking me at the end to please call back and discuss further). At first, I was completely filled with hate (), but I did call, and they gave me some advice about presentation that may have helped with my much more positive experience this year. I didn't change much informational content, but I did reduce verbosity. I cut my statement from 1.5 pages to less than one, and poof: 3 interviews, a recruitment event, and two other schools with funding-contingent endorsements by my POIs (out of 7, I've heard back from 5, all positive, but nothing formal).

Accepted at my biggest reach, knowing I at least have somewhere to go next year:
 
1. An iMac. I have one at work, and LOVE it.
2. My Michael Kors dream handbag.
3. If I go to a school in my state, maybe I can convince my parents to buy me a new(er) car.

I am no longer losing my mind! I got accepted to my TOP choice program today!!!!!!    I am sooo thrilled!

I am no longer losing my mind! I got accepted to my TOP choice program today!!!!!!    I am sooo thrilled!

I am no longer losing my mind! I got accepted to my TOP choice program today!!!!!!    I am sooo thrilled!

Thanks!!  Stanford GSE!

I am no longer losing my mind! I got accepted to my TOP choice program today!!!!!!    I am sooo thrilled!

I am no longer losing my mind! I got accepted to my TOP choice program today!!!!!!    I am sooo thrilled!

I am no longer losing my mind! I got accepted to my TOP choice program today!!!!!!    I am sooo thrilled!

I am no longer losing my mind! I got accepted to my TOP choice program today!!!!!!    I am sooo thrilled!