What if MA grades are worse than BA ones?

[socioeconomist]

Hey guys!

I am almost done with my studies in Europe and this year I am going to apply for PhD in the U.S. So, here is the thing. I completed my BA in Sociology with GPA of 3.95. Then I decided to change the field a bit and got enrolled to an MA program in Political Science. Now I have almost finished the first year, but got a poorer result of something about 3.5 out of 4 (it is not a final grade, but I will probably need to send exactly these preliminary transcripts with my PhD application). So, the questions are as follows:

1) How problematic is it for my application in general? I mean I read that many schools pay most of their attention to an undergraduate degree. At the same time I could imagine that my situation might be comprehended as "a bad trend" or something.

2) If it really could be a problem, I am wondering whether it'd be better to explain this situation in my statement of purpose (I changed my major etc.)

3) All other things being equal (and I really mean it!), do you think that given my situation I am more competitive for a PhD in Sociology or PhD in Political Science? My research interest actually lies in between these fields and I have quite similar experience and knowledge of both of them. On the one hand, I would assume I am more competitive for Sociology, because of the higher grades, but at the same time, it could seem that I didn't succeed in Political Science and decided to return. So, on the other hand, my way to Political Science is more straight-forward and even though I have lower grades in it, I could still catch up completing MA requirements during my PhD.

Thanks!

[brent09]

The people at PSJR are right -- this doesn't belong over there. Don't use PSJR for advice -- learn that lesson now.

You don't need to be getting a Ph.D. if you aren't sure of your field. Spend some time looking at the research done in each and see where you're a better fit. (Political sociology is not the same as sociological political science...)

As far as psci goes, it's hard to say how much the MA GPA hurts b/c it depends on why it's so low. Did you get a couple Bs in your first semester but then improve? Did you do well in substantive courses but flop in methods?

A 3.5 isn't great, and might keep you out of some top programs. Best thing to do it perform well now, and talk it over with your letter writers. Ultimately grades in grad school matter far, far less than your capacity to do good original research. So if your letter writers can vouch for your research abilities and creativity, the GPA shouldn't hold you back too much.

[socioeconomist]

Brent, thank you for the response. I am quite sure of my field, I just really believe that it is more about methods and data you use and questions you ask than about quite artificial disciplinary boundaries. Anyway, it is beyond this discussion.

GPA is lower because of the methods (~B+), substantive classes are fine (A+). I have studied for just two semesters so far, which are quite similar in terms of the result (though, hopefully the grade for advanced methods turn out to be even higher then for the general methods class). Do you think it is possible to mitigate this methods failure by performing well in quantitative summer schools (such as Essex or ICPSR)?

I am quite confident in my writers and I hope that their recommendations will counterbalance by low GPA. Still, do you think that I' d better avoid discussing my low GPA or vice versa try to explain the reasons why it is low and why I am still great at methods no matter what?

[brent09]

I think it might behoove you to explain why your methods grades were lower (different way of thinking, learning curve, etc). Keep the spin positive -- not "My methods grades suck but it's because..." but instead "Coming into XYZ University, I was unsure about quantitative methodology, but after two semesters of excellent methods training, I have become adept at using quantitative methods to shed light on substantive questions in political sociology, even maintaining an A+ in MLE this semester." Or something... you get the point.

Don't spend more ink than that on the grades, though. Let your letter writers handle it (make sure they do!) b/c they're more convincing advocates for your abilities than you.

ICPSR -- meh, could help I suppose, but only if you can get a glowing recommendation from faculty there. The grade itself won't matter too much. Use ICPSR to network, and at the least impress a prof and have him him/her write a letter for your file.

Edited May 18, 2012 by brent09