Low GPA does not spell doom for Ph.D. applications

[Reflux the Knaaren]

I know the stress that a low GPA causes when applying to Ph.D. programs. It feels like a millstone around your neck, forever putting paid to your dreams of graduate study, and ultimately a research career. My undergraduate GPA is just above 3,0, and even worse, is below 3.0 across my junior and senior years. However, I have received an offer of admission from my first choice program and am in the midst of interviewing at several other prominent institutions. I just wanted to share my experiences in striving for a biomedical sciences Ph.D. seat to encourage my fellow applicants with low GPAs not to give up hope.

 

I am an intelligent person, but I became incorrigibly lazy in high school. There, I had quickly discovered that I could cruise along at the top of my class with minimal effort, and unfortunately for me, I carried the same work ethic into college, with rather disastrous consequences. As you would have observed, my undergraduate GPA is rather poor, and most unfortunately for me, exhibited a downward trend. Although I had a strong general GRE score, my low GPA, in conjunction with my lack of research experience, caused me to apply mostly to master's programs, as I thought that getting into a quality Ph.D. program would be too much of a long shot. I saw the master's program as an opportunity for a fresh start, and to prove to admissions committees that I was indeed capable of handling graduate-level coursework and research. The few Ph.D. programs I did apply to rejected me. but to my relief, I was able to get admission into an elite master's program (it must have helped that my transcripts had not been updated with my senior year grades).

 

Within a few weeks of matriculating, I meticulously planned out my course schedule for the two years that I would be in the program and joined a lab where I would end up pursuing my thesis research. Perhaps you can guess the remainder of my narrative – I excelled as a master's student, getting a 4.0 GPA and a couple of first author Nature papers, and forced my way into a Ph.D. program. Wrong. The same malaise that afflicted me as an undergraduate was almost my undoing as a master's student. Again I was apathetic towards my coursework, and my first year was littered with C's, culminating in a 2.76 GPA, atrocious by any standards. It wasn't until my DGS threatened to expel me that I started to take things a little more seriously. Over the course of my last year, I performed very strongly in the courses that I took, ultimately raising my cumulative GPA to above 3.0. As you can imagine, a 3.26 GPA is still far from stellar, and I feared that all the C's that I received in my first year would be unpardonable in the eyes of the Ph.D. admissions committees, even though I had done well in most of my biological sciences courses. However, throughout all the up and downs of my coursework, I had worked assiduously on my thesis research – often I would skip classes or postpone exam preparation to work in the lab (though certainly not at the insistence of my PI, who had advised me not to sacrifice my grades at the altar of research). Despite a year of frustration due to negative results, during my second year I made a very interesting observation regarding the regulation of the gene which I had been studying. Finally I had an intriguing story to share and a thesis I could be satisfied with. In the summer of 2012, I successfully defended my thesis and graduated with my master of science.

 

At this point, the application deadlines for Fall 2012 entry into Ph.D. programs had passed months ago. At the time of the deadlines, I had not yet rescued my GPA back to above 3.0, and was unsure if my thesis research would end up being anything of interest, or if I would even finish my degree (the specter of dismissal still loomed over me). As a result, I decided to apply for Fall 2013 entry. Following my graduation, rather than sitting idly, I joined a lab at another university as a research technician and am continuing to build my research credentials. I also took the subject GRE test in Biology and did well (96th percentile). I received strong letters of recommendation from both of my PIs and a former professor, and decided to apply again.

 

It seems that the strength of my recommendations and my research experience was sufficient to overcome my low GPA in the eyes of the admission committees. Well, not all of them. I did get rejected from half of the fourteen schools to which I applied, but seven interview invitations is seven more than I would have anticipated just one year ago. As I said at the beginning of this post, I have gotten admission into my first-choice program, so regardless of how my remaining interviews go, I am secure in the knowledge that I will have somewhere to go this fall, somewhere where I will be glad to be at.

 

My intent in relating my experience is to encourage those who wish to get into a Ph.D. program, but are despondent over a low GPA, not to despair. Yes, a low GPA hurts your chances of admission, and you might have to apply to more programs than most to compensate (as I did), but it is not the end of the world. There are steps that you can take, such as doing a master's degree (don't screw up like I did), or working as a research assistant or research technician following your undergraduate degree, to show your fitness for graduate-level coursework and research. Make sure to have strong letters of recommendation, because those will make all the difference in the world. I hope that reading my account helps; I tried to provide concrete numbers wherever I could, as far as GPA and GRE scores, to give you a standard to compare to. Good luck with your applications.

[EnzymeKinetics]

Same experience. I didn't bother with a masters though. Still getting some good interviews with a less than 3.0 GPA but good research experience. Don't give up hope.

[mpheels]

Same here. Haven't been accepted anywhere yet, but have had several interviews, and near the top of the waitlist for one of the best programs in my field. My undergrad gpa is abyssmal, and my master's program didn't do gpas. My verbal GRE is pretty good, math is good in terms of score but only OK for the percentile. But... I have nearly six years of full time research experience in the field at a well respected university, including multiple publications (one as first author), and more than a million dollars in grant funding awarded to my research group since I joined the grant writing group. I've worked with investigators in all over my university, and at other institutions nationwide, so I have really good recommendations. I really good personal statement goes a long way.

Edited February 13, 2013 by mpheels

[MissMoneyJenny]

I'm seriously hoping for the midway stepping point of a Master's Degree to help me out here, as my undergrad gpa is also pretty bad. I'll have a little over a 3.0 once I graduate, if this semester goes well (but the outlook at the moment is not good). I just worry because getting a Master's degree is so popular here in Canada, and I'm really afraid it's going to go against me here. 

Anyway, thanks for the small perk of confidence. 

[kmast88]

Thank you for the encouragement!  My undergrad GPA was pretty good (3.6), but when I got my MA, I was raising a child on my own and working part-time on the weekends in addition to my TA responsibilities, so I didn't always get the A's I wanted.  My graduate GPA was 3.22.  Now, I'm worried that I won't get into a PhD program.  I've got 12 years of excellent work history, a decent GRE score and good LORs.  Hopefully that will be enough to compensate.

[mpheels]

I think work experience goes a long way. Even if your grades are iffy, the fact that you already have experience doing the work in the real world is an indication that you know what you're talking about. I ended up getting into the health policy program at Johns Hopkins. When I interviewed, it sounded like they hadn't even really looked at my transcript beyond verification of my degrees (the interviewer hadn't even noticed that I don't have a GPA for my masters). When I went to visit campus, every single faculty member I met with wanted to talk about my research experience, especially grant writing. They all talked about how much I've already learned, and how they are really looking to hearing my contributions in class since I've been in the trenches already. No one mentioned my undergraduate GPA at all, and the only mention of my master's coursework was a discussion of which I can place out. When I say my undergrad GPA was abyssmal, I mean it - I graduated with a 2.98.

[NeuroticKnighy]

can you state the universities for which you have gotten admission. So i can know where to pursue harder.

[juilletmercredi]

It's going to be different for every field, and for individual people depending on your application package and circumstances.

[New Applicant]

I know the stress that a low GPA causes when applying to Ph.D. programs. It feels like a millstone around your neck, forever putting paid to your dreams of graduate study, and ultimately a research career. My undergraduate GPA is just above 3,0, and even worse, is below 3.0 across my junior and senior years. However, I have received an offer of admission from my first choice program and am in the midst of interviewing at several other prominent institutions. I just wanted to share my experiences in striving for a biomedical sciences Ph.D. seat to encourage my fellow applicants with low GPAs not to give up hope.

 

I am an intelligent person, but I became incorrigibly lazy in high school. There, I had quickly discovered that I could cruise along at the top of my class with minimal effort, and unfortunately for me, I carried the same work ethic into college, with rather disastrous consequences. As you would have observed, my undergraduate GPA is rather poor, and most unfortunately for me, exhibited a downward trend. Although I had a strong general GRE score, my low GPA, in conjunction with my lack of research experience, caused me to apply mostly to master's programs, as I thought that getting into a quality Ph.D. program would be too much of a long shot. I saw the master's program as an opportunity for a fresh start, and to prove to admissions committees that I was indeed capable of handling graduate-level coursework and research. The few Ph.D. programs I did apply to rejected me. but to my relief, I was able to get admission into an elite master's program (it must have helped that my transcripts had not been updated with my senior year grades).

 

Within a few weeks of matriculating, I meticulously planned out my course schedule for the two years that I would be in the program and joined a lab where I would end up pursuing my thesis research. Perhaps you can guess the remainder of my narrative – I excelled as a master's student, getting a 4.0 GPA and a couple of first author Nature papers, and forced my way into a Ph.D. program. Wrong. The same malaise that afflicted me as an undergraduate was almost my undoing as a master's student. Again I was apathetic towards my coursework, and my first year was littered with C's, culminating in a 2.76 GPA, atrocious by any standards. It wasn't until my DGS threatened to expel me that I started to take things a little more seriously. Over the course of my last year, I performed very strongly in the courses that I took, ultimately raising my cumulative GPA to above 3.0. As you can imagine, a 3.26 GPA is still far from stellar, and I feared that all the C's that I received in my first year would be unpardonable in the eyes of the Ph.D. admissions committees, even though I had done well in most of my biological sciences courses. However, throughout all the up and downs of my coursework, I had worked assiduously on my thesis research – often I would skip classes or postpone exam preparation to work in the lab (though certainly not at the insistence of my PI, who had advised me not to sacrifice my grades at the altar of research). Despite a year of frustration due to negative results, during my second year I made a very interesting observation regarding the regulation of the gene which I had been studying. Finally I had an intriguing story to share and a thesis I could be satisfied with. In the summer of 2012, I successfully defended my thesis and graduated with my master of science.

 

At this point, the application deadlines for Fall 2012 entry into Ph.D. programs had passed months ago. At the time of the deadlines, I had not yet rescued my GPA back to above 3.0, and was unsure if my thesis research would end up being anything of interest, or if I would even finish my degree (the specter of dismissal still loomed over me). As a result, I decided to apply for Fall 2013 entry. Following my graduation, rather than sitting idly, I joined a lab at another university as a research technician and am continuing to build my research credentials. I also took the subject GRE test in Biology and did well (96th percentile). I received strong letters of recommendation from both of my PIs and a former professor, and decided to apply again.

 

It seems that the strength of my recommendations and my research experience was sufficient to overcome my low GPA in the eyes of the admission committees. Well, not all of them. I did get rejected from half of the fourteen schools to which I applied, but seven interview invitations is seven more than I would have anticipated just one year ago. As I said at the beginning of this post, I have gotten admission into my first-choice program, so regardless of how my remaining interviews go, I am secure in the knowledge that I will have somewhere to go this fall, somewhere where I will be glad to be at.

 

My intent in relating my experience is to encourage those who wish to get into a Ph.D. program, but are despondent over a low GPA, not to despair. Yes, a low GPA hurts your chances of admission, and you might have to apply to more programs than most to compensate (as I did), but it is not the end of the world. There are steps that you can take, such as doing a master's degree (don't screw up like I did), or working as a research assistant or research technician following your undergraduate degree, to show your fitness for graduate-level coursework and research. Make sure to have strong letters of recommendation, because those will make all the difference in the world. I hope that reading my account helps; I tried to provide concrete numbers wherever I could, as far as GPA and GRE scores, to give you a standard to compare to. Good luck with your applications.

Thank you so much for sharing! So encouraging