Worth it to apply? ... Honesty appreciated,

[jande48]

Hey Grad Cafers,

Thanks for the great threads you've posted in the past!

I'm a master candidate in geology at Boston College, and plan to pursue a PhD in geochemistry. My GPS is 3.6, and my GRE is 163 Q (780) and 162 V (640) and haven't yet received my AW score yet. My master's thesis is similar to what I want to study for a PhD thesis, and I'm assuming that my LOR & SOP will be good.

My question is whether or not it's worth it to apply to top 10 programs (Harvard, Stanford, Texas, Wisconsin, Penn State)? ... ... I have a feeling that profs at these schools may encourage me to apply, even though they know that I will likely be rejected.

Do these schools accept ppl with a 3.6? Thanks for the honest feedback!

[Usmivka]

The percentages, rather than the scores would help us give you better feedback. A 163/780 Q could mean 90% or 70% depending on the specific test.

My impression is that 3.6 (I assume out of 4, not 5) is OK for masters work--not extraordinary, but definitely not bad. Every program is different in what they expect, but in my head a 3.5-3.8 is an A- average, and at least in my program you are doing fine unless you drop to Bs. So I don't think the GPA is really that big a deal.

What will be more important by far is your publication output and letters of recc speaking to your ability to do research, since you are already doing graduate work. If you don't have these down, it probably isn't worth the applications, since that is what you would have been doing at an equivalent point in these other programs. I think submitted manuscripts are fine at this stage if nothing has been accepted or published yet, though clearly that would be ideal.

And just like your MS work, things will ultimately come down to what potential advisers have money and want to take you on as a student. Applications are expensive, so I wouldn't apply anywhere that I hadn't confirmed with a prospective PI that they would be interested in working with me if I made the program's cut.

Things to keep in mind:

1. Not all programs will accept MS students to a PhD with any class standing--in some of these you would be treated like any other incoming student and still expected to take their required classes.

2. Outside funding makes you a much more desirable admit. If you are still eligible, apply for the NSF GRFP or DoD NDSEG.

3. You say top 10, and while all the schools you listed have strong departments, they are strong in some ways and weak in others. For example, you list would probably be very different if you were doing solid earth geochemistry vs biogeochemistry vs aqueous chemistry vs atmospheric chemistry, all of which may fall under the geochemistry heading depending on how the department decides to divvy things up. And a strong geology school may have made its name (and its ranking in one of the many, and multiply flawed, ranking lists) based on unrelated topics that won't help your quality of education. Decide what is important to you in a program, whether quality of research, paper output, adviser interactions, or program "rank"--I think this latter is trivial compared to the other aspects, but you brought it up so it may be something important to you for family or employment reasons.

Good luck!

Edited September 10, 2012 by Usmivka

[jande48]

Thanks so much for the feedback! appreciate it