BigThomason51

Reach out to every single program coordinator and generate some type of rapport with them. Although they usually do not have a say in whether you are accepted or not, the programs I ended up getting into were the ones where I contacted the coordinator EARLY and assessed my competitiveness for the program. Secondly, I would prepare 3X harder for my interview. I botched my first interview because I got super nervous and couldn't accurately describe my research (they ended up rejecting me two weeks ago.) Do not make this mistake, and practice even if you feel like you know your research on the back of your hand. Third, I would have taken the GRE again. I came into the process with a low GPA, and a good GRE, however, it could have been better. A lot of schools have filters for people who do not have a certain GPA or GRE.

One of my friends heard back today from a Ph.D. program she interviewed at a while ago, letting her know she was accepted. There's hope. If you can, shoot the program coordinators for the programs you are waiting for an email.

Solid advice. I went the creative route, but I had more than five people review it including a professional writer. I had the professional writer review it first, and she helped me avoid some pitfalls and structure it better. It's possible, but make sure you get it reviewed A LOT. So try your best to get the first draft done as soon as possible, and then have as many people as you can review it and provide feedback. The original draft of my personal statement took a complete 360 after all my reviews, so I think it's imperative you get fresh eyes to view it. I know it's going to be harder with your one-month deadline, but you said it yourself; you're a great writer. So work extremely hard to get the first draft and then find people to look it over.

Thanks! I really appreciate it! After my first two rejections in a row, I was getting worried, but luckily things turned out! And super congrats on getting accepted into UIC once again! Let's kick some ass in our programs!

I told outright to one of my PIs during my interview that I wanted to do a rotation with them if I were to be accepted into their program. I then followed up with a thank you email, and they reiterated that they'd love to have me as a rotation student in the future. I'll be sending a follow-up email around maybe June-July to confirm a spot. I don't think it's too early to at least tell them you are interested.

Hi everyone, I just wanted to update everybody. I posted earlier in this thread! I came from a poor uGPA (~2.7), that was not reflective of who I could be. However, it happened, and there was nothing I could do. I was very lucky to find a Masters Program in my field that was willing to take a chance on me. During my ~two years, I was able to excel and achieve close to a 3.9 GPA. I took the GRE and was only able to do slightly above average (my combined percentiles were 70th.) I went ahead and applied to 6 schools and was rejected by 3, accepted by one outright, and had two interviews. I was informed last Friday that I was accepted to a program that I had my hopes for us, that was very highly ranked in the field! I want to give some advice for people who are in the same predicament reading this thread. If you want to go Ph.D. and have a super low GPA, a Masters is the way to go. You will read online people say that a uGPA will also trump a Masters GPA, but for a Ph.D., I have found this not to be the case. Sure, some universities will reject you off the bat, but I got generally good responses from schools. In fact, out of the three schools, I applied, NONE mentioned my undergraduate GPA. That's right. NONE OF THEM DID! That tells you something. In fact, I didn't even mention my low GPA in my SOP (however, that doesn't mean you shouldn't even mention it, but I'm just letting you know that I did not.) Furthermore, make sure to apply broadly. One thing that worried me was when I got two rejections in a row and thought that I was on the path of having to reapply. If you have a low GPA, apply to as many schools as you can afford. I wish I would've applied to around 10, but was lucky that I found acceptances. A low undergraduate GPA is NOT the end! You can overcome it!

Happy to say I just accepted an offer of admission from one of my top choices and a top 20 school in my field. For all of those with low-GPAs, there is hope! Find a masters that will accept you... do extremely well and the door will open for Ph.D programs! EDIT: Also, thank you to this community for the great advice and support along the way!

You nailed down the weaknesses in your app yourself; your letters and your GRE score. Everything else looks phenomenal. Also, you applied to some competitive schools. Had you opened up and applied more broadly, you probably would have gotten an acceptance. Fingers crossed you hear something back from those last two schools, but if you don't, retake the GRE, get better letters and apply to a much larger pool of schools. The schools won't tell you anything different than what you have figured out for what was weak.

Epigenetics, I feel for you. I was in the same boat, I had an interview at my "dream" school, and ultimately it seems like I will be getting rejected. However, I had an interview at another program, and I completely feel in love with them. I just received an acceptance, and I'm so happy that things turned out the way they did because I might have missed out on this opportunity. Let yourself grieve for a couple of days, but then get things together and kill your next interview!

Strange. Normally I would say it's a bad sign, but so many people haven't heard from Case. It's pretty strange. Perhaps they got an influx of people apply extremely early, and already have filled their class?

Same here. However, I applied on January 15th. Honestly, I don't think it's too good that we've gone silent. :/ Anyone want to be brave and email the program coordinator?

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Yep! First interview. I might be being too hard on myself here, but it just sucks knowing you could've done better on your answers, and now you're stuck waiting for follow up answers.

Is more like I explained my research, then they asked some questions about the process, and my answers were very fiddled and sounded a bit unsure. This happened for almost all of my research questions, besides 1 or 2. Perhaps I am being hard on myself, but it just sucks because these are questions I absolutely knew the answer to and I had rehearsed. (And obviously, this is my research so I should know it.)

For those who applied to schools with a January 15th deadline, when should we expect responses? I obviously understand every school is different, but any ideas?

Hey guys, I had a phone interview the other day to a very good research institute. I came prepared with my research, made sure I had studied well, however, nerves got the best of me and I wasn't able to answer some basic follow up questions for my research. The guy was very nice, and he didn't seem like it was a big deal, but man I feel really bad about it. The worst part is, I'm already coming into the app process with a very low undergraduate gpa, so it seems like this was the final straw. Has anybody else experienced something similar?

I'm really sorry to hear this. You sound like a really great candidate and a lot of programs would be privileged to have you aboard. May I ask which programs you applied to? This could help assess things better.

I wouldn't flat out say "top choice." Just thank them for the invite, but you unfortunately must decline the interview. They'll read between the lines, but it's less awkward than telling them about your acceptance to your "top choice."

Any word from case western btsp?

Anybody have word on Case Western BTSP?

If you don't have any school debt, I know people who have taken some loans out using FAFSA. They took out about ~20,000 total for 5.5 years. Although it sucks having loans, federal loans allow you to be on a plan where you only pay amounts proportional to your future wages. Both of them have assistant professor status now and have paid off a good amount of their loans. I would strongly recommend against any private loans. Those can really add up and put you in a bind. Likewise, if you already have undergraduate debt, then adding on 20,000 or 10,000 or whichever isn't the smartest idea.

Thank you so much for posting this. You're stats are almost identical to mine! Glad that you found success!

Just dropping here to post! Very low uGPA (less than 2.7), but was able to get accepted into a Masters, and now have around the 3.7ish range. Currently applying to PhD programs in the same field as my masters. I have slightly above average GRE scores (50-60th.) Applied to 6 schools. Hoping for an acceptance!

Really happy for you! That's amazing! I'm also coming from a lower uGPA side, but hoping my Masters helps with admissions!

Rooting for ya man. I think you're deserving of an acceptance. Sucks that not many schools had be exact program you wanted. But keep us updated!