Do i even have a chance...?

[arkm110]

So I basically had a horrible GPA for the first 3 years of my undergrad (1.7) due to major mental health issues. I’m taking 5 years to finish my undergrad and am close to my graduation.

For the last 2 years of my degree I’ve managed to get the help I needed and got my health issues under more control now. During these last 2 years (which have also been mostly my upper division courses) I’ve had about a 3.45 GPA and will be around a 2.5 cumulative when I graduate.

During my first 3 years of undergrad I had lost all hope of pursuing grad school, but now that I’ve got my life stable again and have been doing better in school, I am now considering pursuing a masters degree.

Apart from my improved GPA, I scored a 167 Quant GRE and 4.5 in the writing section.

My undergrad major was in biophysics but I’m looking to shift towards a focus in Data Science.

Some schools (like the University of Washington, UCSD, and University of Wisconsin) I’ve looked into have mentioned their GPA requirements being based upon the last 2 years or last 60 units so that has given me some sense of hope. How much does this weigh in to admission considerations? I worry that given how horrid my first 3 years went, schools still wouldn’t even consider me.

Do you think it’s still worth it for me to try for schools like those? If not, what do you suggest?

I’d greatly appreciate your inputs!

[venus rose]

Master's might be easier than PhD for sure (to get admitted). The Master's program I applied to had a point system (they wrote it on their website) where GPA and GRE were both certain points and the total had to be 5 for them to consider you. 

So I would look into program details, email them directly, tell them about your situation upfront and if they would still consider you. 

[CafeConGabi]

On 1/25/2021 at 3:47 PM, arkm110 said:

So I basically had a horrible GPA for the first 3 years of my undergrad (1.7) due to major mental health issues. I’m taking 5 years to finish my undergrad and am close to my graduation.

For the last 2 years of my degree I’ve managed to get the help I needed and got my health issues under more control now. During these last 2 years (which have also been mostly my upper division courses) I’ve had about a 3.45 GPA and will be around a 2.5 cumulative when I graduate.

During my first 3 years of undergrad I had lost all hope of pursuing grad school, but now that I’ve got my life stable again and have been doing better in school, I am now considering pursuing a masters degree.

Apart from my improved GPA, I scored a 167 Quant GRE and 4.5 in the writing section.

My undergrad major was in biophysics but I’m looking to shift towards a focus in Data Science.

Some schools (like the University of Washington, UCSD, and University of Wisconsin) I’ve looked into have mentioned their GPA requirements being based upon the last 2 years or last 60 units so that has given me some sense of hope. How much does this weigh in to admission considerations? I worry that given how horrid my first 3 years went, schools still wouldn’t even consider me.

Do you think it’s still worth it for me to try for schools like those? If not, what do you suggest?

I’d greatly appreciate your inputs!

I'm not in the biophysics or data science field but I want to offer some hope. 

I started off in the natural sciences (forestry major) right after high school but after 3 semesters I practically failed every course. By then I had a cumulative GPA of 1.909 I got kicked out twice at that point. So, I gave up on school/education all-together. I was going to move to Los Cabos San Lucas and live out the rest of my life. 

But, something in me was telling me that I wasn't done. Like, there was more that I was capable of but had no idea what it was. For the first time in my life I picked up a book just for fun. I was hooked on history. So, I allowed myself to soak up every book I could get. 

I decided to be a high school history teacher. 

So, I started form scratch. Remedial English, remedial math--basically at zero. 

One class turned into two, and then three. Then five and a half. I eventually finished my AA in Social Sciences with a 3.695 GPA.

And decided to transfer to a UC, where I made the Dean's List and the Chancellor's list a handful of times. I graduated cum laude with a BA religious studies and a minor in history, and an academic excellence award in Religious Studies. 

In that last year, I found research and decided to become a researcher/professor. So, I did the little things to make that happen. 

I was also worried that I wouldn't get into grad school having been kicked out, but I still applied. Out of self-sabotage, I only applied to one. 

I was accepted in the Divinity School at Harvard (yes, Harvard-Harvard) on a fellowship. Everything was paid for. 

Now, two years after graduation (and lots of rejection letters), I finally got accepted into a doctoral program at UCLA (in the humanities). I'm so excited to continue my journey! 

All this to say yes. There is definitely hope. Even if nothing happens this round of applications there is still hope. I'm not sure who said it but luck is where preparation meets the moment of opportunity. I sure do wish you luck! : )  

 

 

[AnxiousBeaver]

During my first two years of undergrad I also had a very low GPA because of medical issues (I had several surgeries during my first couple of semesters)... but I've managed to get it up to about a 3.4 and I ended up also getting into several doctoral programs! Don't lose hope or count yourself out! The admissions process is definitely a lot more holistic than most ppl (including myself) expect!