Can publications, solid recommendations, etc. bypass a "low" GPA for the top schools?

[orthostice]

Hey all, I'm an undergrad at a decent public school (probably a top 10 public school, but higher when it comes to engineering/science). I'm a chemistry major with a physics minor, and I plan to apply to grad schools in materials science & engineering (one reason I'm taking lots of physics/math is to strengthen my background for that). I will have at least 2 publications by the time I apply to graduate school (one 2nd author, one 1st author and possibly a 3rd author) and solid letters of recommendation from professors I did research with (during the school year + summer REUs), as well as good GRE scores. 

 

My biggest worry is my GPA. I will have a 3.6-3.7 GPA when applying to grad schools, which I've heard is on the low end for the top schools (Berkeley, Stanford, UCSB, Cornell, MIT, Northwestern) that I would really like to go to. Do I still have a shot at the top schools or should I also include some sort of safety school? Thanks! 

[ankurshah]

for you, i think you SOP will make or break your case, plus getting very high GRE is by a default 

[orthostice]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but what is SOP? I am just wondering if my publications/letters of rec could carry me through a lower GPA.

[Miro]

SOP=personal statement or statement of purpose.

you seem to have a sort at those schools however you should still apply to other schools ' safety schools'. I applied to some of the same schoosl you listed and had the same credentials and got in at Duke. I got rejected from Harvard and later learn that it is nearly impossible to get into those schools unless you have somebody from that school write you a letter of recommendation.

[Snoq]

Don't think that you GPA is "low". Well, is not the best but it is ok and will not draw you back. It will all come to wether your SOP and Recomendation Letter are good enough and whether there is a match in your interests with a professor (who has currently enough founding for one more student).

[efh0888]

Are you applying for a MS or PhD? If PhD, you want to look at places that are doing research in what you are interested in doing. If Stanford has no one doing research in XYZ, then don't apply.

 

In any case, if you want to go to grad school, a much safer bet is to apply to a lot of schools (say 6-10) and apply widely (some top 10, some top 30, maybe 1 or 2 top 50). I have not experienced this personally, but I can imagine nothing worse than only applying to the top five programs in the field and getting all rejects. You never know what can happen, you might not get great LORs or your SOP might be weaker than you think, etc. There is no point in taking that chance. Not to mention, you might get in to a school like UCSB with no funding and somewhere like ASU with funding. In such a case, you should probably choose ASU (assuming a research fit).

 

Also, it seems Cornell is not so highly regarded: http://chronicle.com/article/NRC-Rankings-Overview-/124742/

[lionhunter]

Also, it seems Cornell is not so highly regarded: http://chronicle.com/article/NRC-Rankings-Overview-/124742/

I'm sorry, but I would have to disagree with you on that. Cornell has a pretty good MSE program. I would suggest going through a few different rankings, talking to some grad students before coming to such a conclusion.

[efh0888]

I'm sorry, but I would have to disagree with you on that. Cornell has a pretty good MSE program. I would suggest going through a few different rankings, talking to some grad students before coming to such a conclusion.

Perhaps you are correct, but I don't trust US News and their non-scientific ranking scheme nor do I know any grad MSE students from Cornell

[ankurshah]

i might be wrong but i feel ranking are just hogwash and money making gimmicks a stupid propaganda esp by US News by creating a system to fool many young minds. my personal belief is, in the present technologically driven society it is very easy  to understand the kind of research each faculty does. As a potential PhD candidate you should be able to understand the impact of research when you read it. We are not defined as "LAY MAN". If you want to now how good is the dept, try to see the kind of funds they have, how well their labs are developed (ex: a dept having 4 TEM is well funded dept), see the # of post docs, where do they come from, see the graduates where do they go, try looking deep into the university research centres  the kind of interdepartmental research going on, etc etc and based on that and your research interest make a convincing decisions if the dept is good for you or not.

 

and if you dont agree with one form of ranking why do you have to look for other form? everyone follows its own algorithm. Especially the student of the country who get a chance to first hand visit diff prog for multitude of reason and exchange opinion wirh N number of faculties?

 

Also how diff is it if you get any uni if you get to do research you want to do? cant a low ranked uni have a great prof? cant you publish in nature if you are from low rank institute? and i think i am very sure, the uni fall in form of a band, going to Cornell for MSE or GaTech or Penn State or UFL would not make any diff if you find right project to work 

 

and i dont understand why would anyone take an unfunded PhD admit? for internationals its a very bizzare statement to digest

[efh0888]

ankurshah, I somewhat agree with you. *Good* rankings are important in evaluating programs, IMO, especially the NRC rankings - see http://chronicle.com/article/New-Doctoral-Program/124634/%20%3Cview-source:http://chronicle.com/article/New-Doctoral-Program/124634%3E%3C/a%3E for how they come up with the rankings. Equally important, of course, is research fit, and also intangibles like how well you fit personality-wise and philosophy-wise with the department, none of which can be represented in a ranking.

 

Regarding getting an unfunded PhD admit, I don't think any domestic students would take an unfunded admit either, unless, perhaps, they lived in the state before going to the university and thus would only pay the in-state tuition rate (which tends to be 1/3-1/2 the cost of out-of-state tuition).