How much does undergrad GPA really matters?

[larrybirdman]

I'm a undergrad in a state school entering my final year. I currently have a 3.74 GPA with over 140 credit hours. So does my low gpa stand a chance at PhD admission into top tier Stat schools such as Stanford, Harvard, etc?

[Spore]

Umm....is this a joke?

That is not a low GPA.

[Physwimic]

I think the much more pressing question is how your research experience is, what sort of recs you will get, and writing a good SoP. In short, a 3.7 is not going to put you in the definite pile, but it is certainly not going to exclude you from any of those schools. I know plenty of people who got into tier 1 schools with that range of GPA.

[mathgeek282]

Your gpa is weighted by the strength of your ug institution as well as rigor of math classes. Your recs will also matter a lot as stated above.

[wine in coffee cups]

Just for reference, 3.74 overall is going to be a bit below average for PhD admits at top departments like Stanford. That GPA will be viewed differently depending on the undergrad school -- probably not working in larrybirdman's favor unless the state school he attends is UC Berkeley or UVa or the like. I don't consider it a low GPA at all and I doubt it's a dealbreaker, but his math/stat grades will need to be close to 4.0.

Finding reference points where I can (some are PDFs):

• Stanford (admitted students) - average GPA 3.88; average GRE V 83%, Q 91%, W 52%, math subject 82% (yowza)
  
• Duke (enrolled students, most recent data) - average GPA 3.8; average GRE V 598, Q 794
  
• University of Washington (enrolled students, most recent data, non-enrolled also listed with higher GPAs) - average GPA 3.77; average GRE V 651, Q 786
  

Would love to see more data for other statistics departments if anyone can dig it up.

[Pauli]

PhD programs don't accept students because they high GPAs. They only filter students with low GPAs. It's the entire package that determines whether students get in or not.

[mathgeek282]

so Pauli im sorry but that is wrong. wine in coffee cups is completely right...the entire package matters, but GPA matters quite a bit and is not merely a cut off. and if you think about it makes sense. You spent an entire 5 months studying this one subject so your grade is a strong indicator of your mastery of the material. Other things that will matter a whole lot is letters (and who they are from) and your statement (although not as much)...

I would take the math GRE if i were you (if you are keen in top 5 schools like Stanford, Berk, Harvard etc.)...

[larrybirdman]

Thanks for the responses ppl. I will have some research experience, dont know if anything will be published; at least 1 strong rec from a prof who went to one of those top schools; and I def will take the GRE math subject.

Also, would a C+ in an accounting class hurt my chances at all?

[mathgeek282]

That will depend on which other math classes you have taken and which grades you got. It also depends when you took the accounting class. I doubt it will matter that much if you got an A in real analysis and took the class freshman or sophomore year...

Have you taken real analysis or other similar rigorous math classes?

[ANDS!]

So Pauli im sorry but that is wrong. wine in coffee cups is completely right.

I think you miss the point of his response. He was saying people aren't getting accepted based on a cursory look at GPA. Of course the GPA matters, but it is the ticket to Admission into Application Review.

As to the OP, the strength of your GPA will all depend on what classes you've taken. No one on a grad committee s going to give two sh*ts about an Accounting class if you've over excelled in upper division math/stat courses.

[larrybirdman]

I'm taking real analysis this upcoming Fall,and I took the accounting class last Fall. My math classes are multivariate Calc, ODE and all Lin Alg. I took a bunch of stat classes tho