Low GPA, Super Stressed Out

[speechie510]

Hi! So the past few months for me have filled with endless stress and self doubt about applying to grad school and my future in general. I only applied to two schools because I didn't have much confidence that I would get in anywhere and didn't want to waste the money just to be rejected. I got rejected from University of Rhode Island and am currently waitlisted at LIU Post, which I'm actually shocked I even got waitlisted to be completely honest. As hopeful as I am that I'll get excepted, I know I need to be realistic. I have a 3.3 GPA, but with the way my grades are looking this semester, it's probably going to go down to a 3.2. I wanted to see if I could retake some classes in the summer to raise my GPA but my college doesn't let you retake classes to be factored into your GPA after you graduated. However, I could retake them as a nonmatriculated student, but it would make no difference in my GPA. Would grad schools even care if I did this? I was thinking about retaking anatomy because I got a C and I'm especially nervous about that being a CSD course, but I don't want to spend $1000 retaking it for grad schools not to even care. Anyway, does anyone know any ways I could increase my chances of getting accepted, or am I doomed because of my GPA? Am I even being realistic applying with a 3.2/3.3? And does anyone know of any backup plans/other career options with a bachelor's and CSD? I'm sorry this is so long, I'm so beyond stressed and none of my family or friends understand because to them, "I do have good grades". Thank you so much!!

 

[indecis]

At the school you are waitlist, it probably won't matter if you take extra classes at this point. If you are not accepted this year, I would recommend reading these two books:

https://www.amazon.com/Graduate-School-Winning-Strategies-Getting-ebook/dp/B005DFLJYI/ref=pd_sim_351_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=P262AXW9F3X1WF2QYC5D

https://www.amazon.com/School-Dimwitted-Undergrad-Smashed-Revised-ebook/dp/B0097X0FOM/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524096950&sr=8-1-fkmr2&keywords=grad+school+low+gpa

They give pretty clear strategies for getting in to grad school with low GPAs. They key is to contact potential advisors who share your research interests before applying and find a way to stand out from the crowd. Even if you have a really high GPA, if you are just sending your applications out with no contacts at a school, you are likely to get filtered out of the candidate pool pretty quickly.

I don't know what a CSD is so I can't comment on that aspect of your post...

One last note: Going to grad school because you are not sure what else you can do with your bachelor's degree is not a great reason to go to grad school. Grad school is stressful and expensive in terms of opportunity cost of staying in school versus starting a career and making real money. It also might not get you where you actually want to go in life and will not necessarily lead you to a career that is "better", more fulfilling, higher paying, etc. If you are not sure what you would do with your life if you aren't accepted to grad school this year, it might be time to take a close look at your interests and goals. Determine if you are looking to grad school as continuation of undergrad (which it is not) or if it is truly the next step towards something bigger.

Edited April 19, 2018 by indecis

[DD94]

My friend has a 2.6 GPA at the moment and was admitted into 2 graduate programs. They accepted the one that offered them partial funding, but was put on probationary status meaning that they have to have higher grades than a normal applicant for the first year (ie. can't get below a B+ in all of their classes rather than a B or they will be kicked out of the program). Their GPA didn't hold them back because they applied to programs that were a good fit for them and they also have a little bit of research experience that was relevant to their field. They also applied to 8 programs, which gave them a substantially better chance at getting admitted. Grad school applications are a black hole. The decision to admit someone depends upon a vast number of factors that you can't really predict, so it's best to try to get the best odds by contacting the PI and the department to ask if they're accepting as well as getting a good GPA and GRE. But all of those things only increase your chances, it doesn't guarantee you a spot. Only applying to 2 programs probably wasn't the best idea, either.

Also, I totally agree with indecis's last paragraph. I'd try talking to your professors and career counseling center at your school and start applying to jobs. If you have research experience, getting into a lab as a research assistant can help you build your resume and skills so you can re apply next year.

 

[GrlyFlynn]

My GPA in my undergraduate work was a 2.8. I just got into all the masters programs I applied to. My advice is: get some work experience under your belt in your field, cultivate relationships with people who can write you excellent letters of recommendation, get a good GRE score (a low GPA is really the only reason why a high GRE would mean anything in my opinion), consider taking classes at a community college and maintain a high GPA there. This is what I did and I submitted my transcripts from the community college as well as from the school where I did my bachelors. But I have also been out of school for a few years so this may not be as necessary for you.

I did not do this, but I also agree that reaching out to potential advisors is a good idea.

Make a list of the universities you want to get into and their advisors, dept chairs, professors and alumni. See if you can build a relationship with well connected alumni. This is what I did. I interned with the alumni of one school I wanted to attend and took a class with a professor who graduated from another program. I  asked both to write me letters. I also asked another professor from the community college where I took classes to write me a letter to a program where I knew she had a relationship with the program chair. So, a lot of this takes research. But there is a way but you obviously may need to take a year or two off to get work experience and build up contacts etc. 

Just my 2 cents.

Edited April 21, 2018 by GrlyFlynn

[samman1994]

There is a thread here on sub-3.0 gpas and how they got in. I had a 3.0gpa and average (60 percentile GRE) scores, and as you can see, I did get rejected by some bigger name schools, but also got accepted into 2 out of the 5 programs I applied. However, I did have 3 years of undergrad research experience, and the field I had experience in and wanted to go into was somewhat of a niche, and that is percisely why I got offers from the 2 different schools despite my GPA and GRE scores. At both schools, it was specific faculty members who did this type of research that liked my experience so much, they told the schools to bring me in. At the school I ended up choosing, the school actually waitlisted me initially, but the faculty member themself wanted me so badly they decided to fund me entirely. I did also have a little bit of research experience in the industry as well, but don't think that played much of a factor. 

The thing to keep in mind, while both schools that ended up giving me offers are good schools, I knew where I'd probably get in, and where I probably wouldn't. Schools like Harvard and UNC are very big on academics, and thus I already expected my gpa itself would probably hinder my acceptance there (which it did), but schools like UConn and ISU aren't at the same level of Harvard and don't give as much importance on academics, which is how I got in for those programs. I myself actually went through the same thoughts you initially did and made a lot of posts here discussing whether with my 3.0 gpa I should even apply to a PhD program, let alone asking which schools I should apply to. 

My point in all of this is, keep in mind your level, and understand the field you're going into. There are many factors to the application/acceptance process for grad school, and gpa is only one of them. Your experience is huge, the school you apply to, the faculty members you talk to, your SOP, your letters, etc. So just because your gpa is slightly on the lower side, I don't think you should abandon all hope. And backup plan? Apply again with everything you've learned. I know rejections can be disheartening, but I've known people who applied to 20+ schools and got rejected from all of them, tried again the next year, and ended up getting into 3 different schools. I'd say if grad school is your goal, I wouldn't just give it up because it didn't work out this year. Hopefully you get in on your waitlist!