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BOUGIE

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  1. Upvote
    BOUGIE got a reaction from DLS in University of South Florida   
    If everything workout i will be moving down there in July as well. Keep me updated about your moving!
  2. Upvote
    BOUGIE reacted to DLS in University of South Florida   
    I guess I'm the only one going to USF ?
  3. Upvote
    BOUGIE reacted to lingshan in The sub-3.0 GPAs ACCEPTANCE thread   
    I write my story here today because I was inspired by this forum several month ago.
    My undergraduate GPA 2.93/4, master GPA 3.15/4.  very nasty GPA.
    One year ago, I had several sleepless night after knowing GPA 3.0 is cutoff value for PhD. But I never give up. I wrote more than 500 emailst to professors of physics department and electrical engineering department of all possible/impossible university.  I made good preparation for those give me interviews or just ask a few questions to me.  My heart to become a phycist outweigh anything in my life. I will not let low GPA stop my path to my dream, even if I am a lady at the age of 30 and a  low GPA. 
    It turn out that I was encouraged to apply by lots of university, because of my great academic background( one first-author publication in APL, two second-author publication in APL and RSC).
    I wrote a personal history for Professor of interest, stating my determination and my past life, like why I want to continue my academic career, even I already got a job as software engineer. I spend lots of time to prepare SOP, digging out the past present and future of my POI's research by reading lots of paper. 
    Now I already got two admission, university of Georgia, fellowship + RA, North Carolina State University , RA, both are electrical engineering. (Cornell and Michigan Ann Arbor Applied Physics put me in the waiting list but reject me). UC riverside and Colorado Boulder still waiting. But I already accept NCSU.  The reality is even more beautiful than my wildest dream.
    I want to give a chinese old-saying to encourage everybody here. Sub-3.0 GPA still got PhD admission is like phoenix reborn in a fire.  If you are brave enough, nothing can stop you. What you need to do, is to truly believe in yourself.
    I am internationshal student, female, sub-3.0 GPA, nothing is on my advantage. But I show my POI and the committee the unparallel persistance and passion, which are greatest advantages of being real researcher.
     
     
     
  4. Upvote
    BOUGIE reacted to nicharris90 in The sub-3.0 GPAs ACCEPTANCE thread   
    So I graduated with a degree in history from a small liberal arts university in Georgia in 2012.  My GPA was a mediocre 2.7.  I worked myself to death and prioritized college sports over studying.  No excuses though.  I enlisted in the U.S. Navy after graduation to earn the GI Bill so I could go to grad school on Uncle Sam's dime.  A couple of months ago I started applying to different schools just for the heck of it.  I applied to three schools (for either history, humanities, or international relations) I knew I didn't have a chance at gaining acceptance (University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and NYU).  Three schools that I felt would be a 50-50 shot (Loyola University, UT, FSU), and three schools I felt had a good chance of getting into (DePaul, Auburn, Georgia Southern).  I didn't think I had a snowball's chance of gaining acceptance into almost all of them due to my poor undergraduate performance.  My GRE was also very low, the verbal and quantitative I scored 150 for each.  The essay I scored a 5 though.  I believe the only good thing about my application was my upward improvement from my first two years of my undergrad to my last two years and I had a very strong letter of intent.  My sample essay was decent as well I guess.  I brought my GPA up from a 1.4 to a 2.7.  My letters of recommendation was my dean, a professor, and an old employer.  I was worried about my letter's of rec because most schools want three professors.  I didn't have three because I slacked in school all the way up until my final 3 semesters.
    The problem now is that I have received acceptance letters from every school I mentioned for Fall 2016 admission for M.A. programs.  I have no idea which school to choose. My best advice to anyone applying with a low gpa or gre score is to distance yourself as much as possible from your undergraduate years.  I believe what gave me an advantage was my work experience and my service in the United States Navy.  I believe that helped them overlook my poor undergrad performance, and showed maturity and growth on my part.  Also it was beneficial that I had a very strong letter of intent.  I didn't bother using it to explain my poor undergrad performance, instead I told them awesome stories about my travels and deployments in the Navy, and how I wish to use my degree to become an officer for the military and eventually work for the pentagon.  I focused on only good stuff in my letter of intent, they are already aware of the bad stuff (my low gpa and undergrad performance).  I also proved to them I am capable of critical analysis through my sample essay and talked about disproportionate incarceration rates of African Americans.  Although my letters of recommendation weren't all professors or academia people, they apparently spoke very highly of me.  To anyone applying with a low gpa, just do whatever you can to make up for it in other regards (letters of rec, work experience, sample essay, the GRE even though my scores were pretty bad).  I spent about 4-5 months getting my applications together, waiting on my letters of rec, rewriting and improving my sample essay and letter of intent.  I had all of my friends proofread my stuff so many times.  I even took the time to meet up face to face with some of the faculty and admissions people at a few of the schools.  If you are in close proximity to a school of your choice, I'd advise visiting the faculty.  A positive impression through meeting you in person will definitely go a long way.  Anyway hope this could help put some peoples' mind at ease.  I had the worst anxiety applying to grad school because I had no idea if school's would even want to give me the chance.  A low gpa can be neutralized with solid work experience among other things.  Good luck to everyone.
     
    Here's what the University of Chicago had to say about my application (it sums up pretty much what every school told me): "Dear Mr. XXX,

    On behalf of the Faculty Admissions Committee, I am pleased to offer you admission to the Master of Arts Program in the Humanities (MAPH) at the University of Chicago for the 2016-2017 academic year.

    Our decision to admit you reflects the favorable assessment of your academic record and professional promise by the MAPH Faculty Admissions Committee. It also reflects our belief that you will be a welcome addition to the diverse intellectual community on campus, within both MAPH and the larger University community. The resources and opportunities here at the University of Chicago can contribute significantly to your personal and career development. We hope that you will accept this offer and join us in September.

    As you are a veteran of the United States Armed Forces you should be aware that the Division of the Humanities participates in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Yellow Ribbon 1:1 federal matching program for eligible veterans. More information about this and other services for veterans is available from the University Registrar.

    You may use the online response form to formally accept our offer of admission. We ask for your reply no later than 30 April 2016. The links found below under the heading "The following letters are available for this account" provide additional documentation regarding your offer of admission.

    Michael Beetley, Assistant Dean of Students for Admissions in the Division of the Humanities, can be reached at 773.702.8499 or mrbeetle@uchicago.edu should you have any questions about your offer of admission or the process going forward.

    Congratulations on this achievement; we look forward to welcoming you to campus in the fall.

    Sincerely yours,

    Martina Munsters
    Dean of Students"
  5. Upvote
    BOUGIE reacted to nevermind in The sub-3.0 GPAs ACCEPTANCE thread   
    Compensating for a low undergraduate GPA, you have to remind yourself that graduate admissions is NOT a meritocracy. That is, you can work very hard to "overcome" your stats, but the process is still up to luck, connections, and timing--to a certain extent. I'm very lucky this round to get into a great program and have a POI that I think will help give me valuable feedback to produce my best work. However, getting there was incredibly disheartening, but in the end, I think it's prepared my expectations very well for a lackluster, almost non-existent job market. 
    For my B.A. (I graduated in 2004...so while many of you were in elementary school)...I had a 2.72 degree GPA (a 2.8 something cumulative. I'm a first gen. college student and I was homeschooled throughout high school, left to basically navigate an environment with little help (especially since I worked full-time). During my last 2 years, I had several professors who approached me to think about "graduate school" (I didn't really know it was a thing...few people in my parents' social circle had a college degree, much less an advanced degree), and they were surprised at my lower GPA since I showed "promise."
    I decided to pursue a (self funded) Master's degree program at a non-competitive school (that is, a school where I could get in). I thought I did everything "right" to gain admissions to a Ph.D. program...I published in a grad journal, did a grad conference, taught 2 classes as an adjunct, did some international fieldwork. I was pretty much shut out of PhD programs, even one to work with a professor that I took his class (got an A), who I'd talked to about Ph.D. programs, and he knew my work.
    It was a big blow to me, just emotionally. I felt like I'd put everything on the line and it didn't produce the desired result. When I met with my contact at the school that rejected me, he said it was because my Master's institution wasn't "academically rigorous" enough and that my high Master's GPA wasn't indicative of promising academic performance. I was under the assumption that people would see my potential as a scholar and the hard work I'd invested to prove that I wasn't my undergraduate GPA. I was wrong. 
    Essentially, to me, "the game" felt rigged. I saw a lot of people from higher socio-economic statuses succeed quite easily. Friends of mine had parents who gave them $$$ to sit at Starbucks for a summer and do nothing except study for the GRE (and in return, they got near perfect scores). I didn't have that luxury and felt like I fought for every opportunity I received. And still it wasn't enough. 
    I moved back in with my parents (at this point, I was 25). I balanced some part-time administrative assistant work with adjunct teaching. I re-evaluated and decided to pursue a different field related to my academic interests. I was accepted to another Master's program at Cornell...after being there for a year, I was able to secure TA-ships in two different departments (providing much appreciated funding), take doctoral-level classes in top departments, do additional fieldwork, and pick up the first year of another important research language (in my field). 
    I decided to take a job outside of academia (while also addressing some medical issues) for awhile, so I could gain more perspective, instead of feeling like I had to continue on an academic treadmill of sorts...and prove to myself that I had skills outside the ivory tower. After 3 years, I applied for Ph.D. programs...with 5 years of graduate-level coursework (A to A+ average), 4 years of adjunct teaching / TA-ing, 2 fieldwork experiences, 1 poster, a 95% verbal GRE (let's not talk about the quant.)....and I was still almost virtually shut out from everywhere I applied. 
    This all to say...it takes a hell of a lot of work to overcome a sub-3.0 GPA, especially without the right support system in place (like an academic advisor that can help you select programs that "fit" your interests). It's not insurmountable, but it really takes a lot of dedication and soul-searching to figure out of academia is the right path to pursue or if there is something else out there equally rewarding. Good luck everyone.
  6. Upvote
    BOUGIE reacted to prettyuff1 in 3 departments, 1 university   
    What I was told is that as Long as the research I am doing is relevant to my phd I can go with anyone in any department. So I'm in the pharmacology department but I can do research with someone in the chemistry department with out applying to the chemistry phd program. Things are much more flexible when it comes to who you work with. I agree to pick the best department and apply and you can work with several people
  7. Upvote
    BOUGIE got a reaction from juanmesh in The sub-3.0 GPAs ACCEPTANCE thread   
    I graduated last year  from the Top public University in Pennsylvania in MathOverall Gpa:2.84. Last 2 semesters GPA: 3.75 and 3.65. But prior to that i graduated from a Community college with a 3.65 gap. I did not do any undergrad research but i was involved in a math conference during a summer. I have a tutoring and volunteering experience teaching 5th grad students. I am currently working with a conservation company in california. 
    I applied to  2Phd programs (Corolado and tennesse) and 3 Master( Idaho state University, U south florida and NJIT)
    I received an admission from Idaho state so far. I am waiting on the other impatiently. I check my email like 400 times a day! smh. Wish me luck
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