Publication + low GPA, which universities to apply?

[yyggsjy]

Hi, I am seeking help on which universities should I have a try to apply. My background may be strange:

Bachelor university: top 80 worldwide; top 4 in China; major in medical-related science
Working experience: 1 year in healthcare system
GPA: 3.05/4.00
IELTS:7.0
GRE: 320
Publication: 2 A&HCI (single-author); 2 SCI (single-author; IF ranking 30%)
Target: history of sciecne / medicine; both free-standing MA and PhD are considered
(maybe it is not workable for me to apply to PhD? may be can target free-standing MA in top 15 US universities?)

Thanks a lot!!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Edited May 17, 2020 by yyggsjy

[AfricanusCrowther]

Because you are a history of science applicant, they will definitely be intrigued by your substantial scientific publications and your experience working in healthcare. Your challenge now is to write an effective writing sample and statement of purpose that demonstrate your ability to cross disciplinary and epistemological boundaries and communicate convincingly as a future historian of science. I would read as many classic texts as you can get your hands on, as well as the latest journals in Isis/Osiris/BJHS plus leading history of medicine journals like the Bulletin of the History of Medicine and Social History of Medicine.

What, specifically, are you interested in?

[yyggsjy]

Just now, AfricanusCrowther said:

Because you are a history of science applicant, they will definitely be intrigued by your substantial scientific publications and your experience working in healthcare. Your challenge now is to write an effective writing sample and statement of purpose that demonstrate your ability to cross disciplinary and epistemological boundaries and communicate convincingly as a future historian of science. I would read as many classic texts as you can get your hands on, as well as the latest journals in Isis/Osiris/BJHS plus leading history of medicine journals like the Bulletin of the History of Medicine and Social History of Medicine.

What, specifically, are you interested in?

Hi thanks for the helpful info! My interest lie in medical history (actually my previous publications including one of the journal you mentioned).

But compare to natural science programs, I afraid it is relatively more difficult to apply for humanity PhD without master degree, especially when considering my GPA problem.

Do you have any advice on what programs should I foucs? (may be only focus on master? or also focus on low-tier PhD programs?) Thanks a lot again! 

[AfricanusCrowther]

10 minutes ago, yyggsjy said:

But compare to natural science programs, I afraid it is relatively more difficult to apply for humanity PhD without master degree, especially when considering my GPA problem.

Do you have any advice on what programs should I foucs? (may be only focus on master? or also focus on low-tier PhD programs?) Thanks a lot again! 

If you're going to go for an MA, make sure you do a funded degree; there's a stickied thread listing some programs. Even for the best PhD programs, your GPA probably won't be a problem if you can write a convincing statement of purpose, a writing sample that demonstrates awareness of historical methodology and disciplinary orientation, and you can secure strong letters of recommendation from faculty in the social sciences and humanities. Don't go to a bad PhD program because you can't get into a good one.

Having an article in a major history of science or history of medicine journal like the ones I listed is definitely impressive, especially if you can tie it into a coherent research agenda in your statement of purpose.

Edited May 17, 2020 by AfricanusCrowther

[yyggsjy]

1 minute ago, AfricanusCrowther said:

If you're going to go for an MA, make sure you do a funded degree; there's a stickied thread listing some programs. Even for the best PhD programs, your GPA probably won't be a problem if you can write a convincing statement of purpose, a writing sample that demonstrates awareness of historical methodology and disciplinary orientation, and you can secure strong letters of recommendation from faculty in the social sciences and humanities. Don't go to a bad PhD program because you can't get into a good one.

Having an article in a major history of science or history of medicine journal like the ones I listed is definitely impressive, especially if you can tie it into a coherent research agenda

Thanks you!!!!! The suggestions are really detailed and helpful for me. I just felt helpless on my GPA and your info benefits me a lot!

I will foucs on high-quality MA programs during my application for Fall 2021. Your advices are really beneficial. I appreciated this : )

[OHSP]

An ivy MA does not equal a high quality MA!! Don't think you need to go somewhere prestigious and fancy in order to do the work that will help you to get into top phd programs. Look for good potential MA advisors at low cost or funded MA programs. It's a little "alarm bells" to hear this stuff about top 15 programs blah blah blah--if you're in hist of sci, you need a good hist of sci advisor not an ivy stamp (and debt load). 

Edited May 17, 2020 by OHSP

[yyggsjy]

17 minutes ago, OHSP said:

An ivy MA does not equal a high quality MA!! Don't think you need to go somewhere prestigious and fancy in order to do the work that will help you to get into top phd programs. Look for good potential MA advisors at low cost or funded MA programs

Thanks for the information sharing! (I just hear that US academia values university prestige a lot when hiring postdoctor / assistant professor, so I guess it may be helpful to go to a prestigious institute)?

Actually i am a little confused now. Currently I work for a well-paid hospital. If quiting the job to univeristy, I think the tuition is affordable for me. But if I go to a funded MA in a relatively lower-tier university, even myself do not know what I am doing....give up the good job, to go to a relatively lower-tier university, studying the MA? I am lost...

Edited May 17, 2020 by yyggsjy

[AfricanusCrowther]

58 minutes ago, yyggsjy said:

Actually i am a little confused now. Currently I work for a well-paid hospital. If quiting the job to univeristy, I think the tuition is affordable for me. But if I go to a funded MA in a relatively lower-tier university, even myself do not know what I am doing....give up the good job, to go to a relatively lower-tier university, studying the MA? I am lost...

The main benefits of doing a funded MA would be to convince the faculty you want to work with that you are comfortable in American academia, to conduct additional research and read more historiography that might help you form a persuasive research agenda, and to meet scholars who can write letters of recommendation for you.

Does completing a prestigious MA help you get into prestigious PhD programs? Maybe. There do seem to be a lot of people who get into top PhD programs after paying for degrees at Oxford or Columbia, although this may be selection bias, because those who are willing to spend that kind of money are driven enough to get into graduate school. But it's a ton of money to spend on tuition and living expenses for an uncertain benefit.

As I said earlier, you may be ready to apply for PhD programs directly.

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by AfricanusCrowther

[yyggsjy]

18 minutes ago, AfricanusCrowther said:

The main benefits of doing a funded MA would be to convince the faculty you want to work with that you are comfortable in American academia, to conduct additional research and read more historiography that might help you form a persuasive research agenda, and to meet scholars who can write letters of recommendation for you.

Does completing a prestigious MA help you get into prestigious PhD programs? Maybe. There do seem to be a lot of people who get into top PhD programs after paying for degrees at Oxford or Columbia, although this may be selection bias, because those who are willing to spend that kind of money are driven enough to get into graduate school. But it's a ton of money to spend on tuition and living expenses for an uncertain benefit.

As I said earlier, you may be ready to apply for PhD programs directly.

 

Thanks again for the helpful sharing! Yeah I would consider more about the targeted programs to apply, and may also have a try on PhD programs (through it is too difficult for my background now) Anyway, thanks a lot!!!

[OHSP]

9 hours ago, yyggsjy said:

Thanks for the information sharing! (I just hear that US academia values university prestige a lot when hiring postdoctor / assistant professor, so I guess it may be helpful to go to a prestigious institute)?

Actually i am a little confused now. Currently I work for a well-paid hospital. If quiting the job to univeristy, I think the tuition is affordable for me. But if I go to a funded MA in a relatively lower-tier university, even myself do not know what I am doing....give up the good job, to go to a relatively lower-tier university, studying the MA? I am lost...

What do you understand the "tiers" to mean? If the point of the MA is to get into a good phd program, you are over-estimating how important it is to get your MA from a prestige school. To get a job, it helps, a lot, to get into a top phd program. To get into a phd program is a bit different--sure it might help to go to Columbia, but there is absolutely no way I would recommend paying that amount of $$ to get an MA. Especially in this climate. I would warn everyone to prepare for the real possibility that programs will be cutting cohort sizes enormously (some schools will not be accepting applicants this year). We're not in a normal climate. 

Edited May 17, 2020 by OHSP

[yyggsjy]

4 hours ago, OHSP said:

What do you understand the "tiers" to mean? If the point of the MA is to get into a good phd program, you are over-estimating how important it is to get your MA from a prestige school. To get a job, it helps, a lot, to get into a top phd program. To get into a phd program is a bit different--sure it might help to go to Columbia, but there is absolutely no way I would recommend paying that amount of $$ to get an MA. Especially in this climate. I would warn everyone to prepare for the real possibility that programs will be cutting cohort sizes enormously (some schools will not be accepting applicants this year). We're not in a normal climate. 

Thanks!! Yeah you are right. Previously I just heard that somebody deleted their low-tier MA education (just list Phd + bachelor educations in CV) when applying for job, which makes me over-estimate the importance of geting my MA from a prestige school.

For me, I am definitely not a top candidate. So in this climate, i just thought it would be more difficult for me to apply for Phd directly, but in return it may be easier to apply for a free-standing MA. That is my initial planning?

[OHSP]

10 hours ago, yyggsjy said:

For me, I am definitely not a top candidate. So in this climate, i just thought it would be more difficult for me to apply for Phd directly, but in return it may be easier to apply for a free-standing MA. That is my initial planning?

I wouldn't rule yourself out based on your GPA -- people understand that non-US systems grade differently, and grade inflation in wild in the US. I'd email advisors you might like to work with and ask for their thoughts--your experience and publications might speak louder than a gpa number (in general put less emphasis on stats, the phd application process can be much more personal if you make the right connections). 

[yyggsjy]

1 minute ago, OHSP said:

I wouldn't rule yourself out based on your GPA -- people understand that non-US systems grade differently, and grade inflation in wild in the US. I'd email advisors you might like to work with and ask for their thoughts--your experience and publications might speak louder than a gpa number (in general put less emphasis on stats, the phd application process can be much more personal if you make the right connections). 

Year this info is especially helpful. Thanks again for the advice. I would have a try based on what you have suggested. 

[psstein]

I would concern yourself less with things you can't change much (i.e. GPA) and more with your own research interests and questions. If you have a good grasp of you what you want to study, it's much easier to identify programs.

For example, if you wanted to do post-WW2 physics, I'd tell you to look into MIT/Princeton/Berkeley.

[TMP]

What do you want to do when you're finished with the PhD?  Wh

[yyggsjy]

6 hours ago, psstein said:

I would concern yourself less with things you can't change much (i.e. GPA) and more with your own research interests and questions. If you have a good grasp of you what you want to study, it's much easier to identify programs.

For example, if you wanted to do post-WW2 physics, I'd tell you to look into MIT/Princeton/Berkeley.

Thank you  specifically I want to study medical history in both China and US. I think maybe JHU/UCSF/Mcgill can be a potential choice for me?

[yyggsjy]

4 hours ago, TMP said:

What do you want to do when you're finished with the PhD?  Wh

I target going back to universities in China. This universities may not be so prestigious, but can be easier to offer a job opening

[psstein]

6 minutes ago, yyggsjy said:

Thank you  specifically I want to study medical history in both China and US. I think maybe JHU/UCSF/Mcgill can be a potential choice for me?

I don't know anything about UCSF or McGill, but I know that Hopkins has a very good, though very small program.

[yyggsjy]

On 5/19/2020 at 7:43 AM, psstein said:

I don't know anything about UCSF or McGill, but I know that Hopkins has a very good, though very small program.

Got it, thanks a lot for the info!