a piece of bread

Hi all, Let's talk about the situation of applicants who have low undegrad grades. As you know, some schools have strict cut off GPA while others state that it is important but not everything. We, this kind of applicants, need to power other parts of our application files such as GRE, TOEFL (for intl stu.), knowing more foreign languages which is important for some departments... bla bla bla. I have a terrible GPA in undergrad study which is 2,92 but I am receiving my master degree this year with a high GPA which is 3,87 in a relevant field with Sociology (Cultural Studies). In addition, GRE scores: V:650 Q:800 My undergrad department was Economics. So, who have low GPA in undergraduate? What did you do to meet this deficiency? How do you see your chances to get in?

Hi all, I am an international applicant from Turkey who is planning a Sociology PhD in the US. However, I have a huge problem that weakens my chance to be admitted, actually even to apply to schools The thing is that most probably next year I will be a married man. This means I have to bring another person with me. Is there any chance for my future wife to work in somewhere (she is an English teacher) because I heard that she can not get work permit? Otherwise, I think monthly stipends are not enough to meet demands of two people. Right? and Is it true that some schools pay extra stipend if you are married? Any opinions? Thanks in advance

Hey, Thank your for your all comments and advices about my application. I will try to say something about them. Firstly, Samoth thank you, I have skimmed over FAQ pages of the departments and seen that relatively low ranked schools want a cutoff GPA. For example, Michigan and Indiana do not although they state that generally they accept students with GPA which is higher than 3,3 and 3,5. In their responses to me, directors said that they are strict but there were some students accepted like me. And they told me to apply and see what happens. Tritonetelephone, do you mention about the Sociology Department of North Texas? I do not know its rank, but if it is too low, I will prefer to stay here instead of going. Misterpat, I will be looking at Duke's Sociology. Thank you for this advice. Duke is one of the best ones in the US but I am not sure about their elasticity against a student with low undergrad scores. And as you guessed and Slothy misunderstood, my cumulative GPA is 2,92. 3,50 is the cumulative of the non-econ courses (History, Sociology, IR) which may be helpful. Slothy, I wish my GPA to be 3.50 (in this case, no reason to be worried =) but it is not, and therefore I am not s strong applicant. And I think you are wrong. Teachers of mine at these two schools are very strong, have backgrounds of top US universities and there is no problem with my letters actually. And Cordelia, as you guessed, undergrad school is Bogazici and now I am at Sabanc? for Cult masters. I also support the idea saying that CEU will be a good choice because of its reputation. I do not think my Econ teachers at BU will not be willing to give a letter for me =) However, two teachers from Sabanci who hold PhD degrees from Yale and SUNY Binghampton Sociology will write for me. Are you graduate of BU or student of CEU? Thanks

Hi all, Nowadays, I am somewhat puzzled since I could not decide on whether I must apply to American Universities or not. I thought getting help from you would be helpful. I can not make a clear decision because I have some deficiencies that weaken my application. Of course, I have some strong sides too. Ok! I explain my background and wait for any comments about my chance to get in. First, I graduated from an Economics department of a well-known Turkish University. I put a disappointing performance since I do not like Economics' quantative side. My GPA was 2.92. However, I got very good grades from the elective and some required courses in Sociology, History and International Relations. To calculate the cumulative of these courses, we can find 3,5. If I decide to apply, most probably I will emphasize this to prove that I am not good in only Economics. Second, I am a second year MA student in Cultural Studies department of a very good university in Turkey and I am writing a thesis regarding rising rate of racist movements in Turkey. That means I am studying on Racism and Ethnicity as well as Migration Studies in some social projects. My GPA is 3,87 until now. The thing I forgot to say is that I will be applying to schools next year. But I can say that I am really experienced in social projects. I attended a summer university of Minority Studies in Hungary and because I was president of Young Authors Club at my former University I arranged some seminars and panels which may help. And what about my scores on TOEFL and GRE? Well, TOEFL: 107 and GRE: Quantitative, 800; Verbal, 650. My plan: I have already applied to some Turkish Universities for PhD in Sociology. But, as I said, I am thinking of being not permanent here. I mean, I will just skip next year in Turkey for preparing applications to the US. Maybe, I can go to Hungary for one-year Nationalism Studies master in Cenral European University. Plus: I am good at German too if it helps. Ok, I did not decide yet. I know, this undergrad GPA is not changeable and a huge deficiency. Do you think I should apply to some schools in the US? Well, what is your recommendations? Should I apply? What do you recommend to strengthen my application? Strong SOP, writing sample (my thesis is strong)? In this deadlock, I appreciate any kind of helps, good or bad. Thanks in advance

hey, i am from Turkey, wants to get a PhD degree from an American University, as you know, first barrier we need to overcome is ibt which consists of four skills for us, international applicants and I believe that sharing our experiences regarding IBT will be a great contribution to all of us, anything about toefl such as studying methods, tips, exam experiences will be appreciated in order to enhance our ibt skills, especially speaking which is a problem for international students, we can share e-mails, and talk on msn, yahoo, even if my aim is to get a score over 100, i don't know whether i can get it, hope i will, but hope is not enough, I need to work harder.

hi, departments of comparative literature generally consists of minor degrees of film studies ...and for this reason I think getting in a complit department would be amazing any who is interested in cinema and film studies should think about it and I will... however it seems difficult due to an irervelant undergrad degree, Economics anyway, still do not lose hope