Should I Avoid T-20 PhD Schools Because UnderGrad GPA?

[Yaya IR PhD]

Hi all! Thanks in advance for reading and responding.

 

I graduated in 2010 from a T-20 LA school in the northeast with an International Studies degree. My GPA - 2.8 - i.e., total and utter garbage. I did write a 60pg thesis to graduate which received an A-.

 

The reason for the bad grades, I started my own company in healthcare databasing and got an excellent job in big pharma. 

 

Two years later I shifted my focus, went to get my M.A. in Government at a very reputable school in Israel (because my interest was in conflict) and will graduate with the highest GPA possible and recommendations that are insanely strong from impressive professors. I have a blog affiliated with two world-class research institutions. I was also hired as a research assistant for one of these institutions. GRE scores will be 85%+ on both. SoP has been reviewed by many academics and was well received by all. I am presenting on a panel at a very prestigious conference in a month (before apps are due). I am also co-authoring an article with a renowned professor but it won't be submitted by the time of most of my applications (she is writing one of my recommendations). 

 

I'm thinking of applying to Princeton, Cornell, and Northwestern (I figured Harvard and Yale would be too far out).

 

I have a few "more reasonable" schools I am applying to as well, but these programs are small. And I've seen that sometimes they only accept 2-4 people - i.e., Brandeis. 

 

Thoughts on my chances? Advice is much appreciated.

[TheGnome]

"Should I Avoid T-20 PhD Schools Because UnderGrad GPA?"

 

Absolutely not. If the rest of the application - especially the MA GPA - is as good as you say, you should be competitive anywhere.

 

I'm thinking of applying to Princeton, Cornell, and Northwestern (I figured Harvard and Yale would be too far out).

 

I have a few "more reasonable" schools I am applying to as well, but these programs are small. And I've seen that sometimes they only accept 2-4 people - i.e., Brandeis. 

 

Thoughts on my chances? Advice is much appreciated.

 

Honestly I don't see how Harvard and Yale is too far out yet Princeton isn't - but then again, I don't think think you should shy away from applying to top programs.

 

That said - while it is important to have a good profile (including a good fit) to get into top schools, a non-trivial part of the process is governed by luck. Therefore it would be a good strategy to spread out your applications.

[Yaya IR PhD]

Thanks for the advice Gnome. With Princeton I found a few professors that had very similar interests and from the research I've done it seems they get about 100-200 less applicants than Harvard. But as you point out, it is probably trivial. 

 

Some people suggest that top schools, to limit the pile from 500+ applicants to 100-200 (something manageable for these top programs), you are simply plugged into an algorithm. I just figured that if this is true, even the highest M.A. GPA and better than decent GRE score would not be able to save me from this initial cut. If there is any truth to this, do you think I should send an email to the graduate chair asking them to review my app holistically (obviously it will be more professionally written)? I do address my undergrad GPA in two sentences in my SoP but I feel an additional email might be harking too much on my baggage. Then again, if they never even read my SoP cause of application overload, what is the point...

[socioeconomist]

It seems that you are totally competitive not just for the top 20, but for CHYMPS in particular. Just make sure to apply to at least 10-15 different programs. It is the most general advice for everyone, but in your case it is especially important. Good luck!

 

PS. It is indeed weird that you mentioned Princeton as 'a less competitive school'. LOL

[TheGnome]

Some people suggest that top schools, to limit the pile from 500+ applicants to 100-200 (something manageable for these top programs), you are simply plugged into an algorithm. I just figured that if this is true, even the highest M.A. GPA and better than decent GRE score would not be able to save me from this initial cut. 

 

Faculty members who read this forum have consistently pointed out that a good GPA in a graduate program significantly alleviates the concerns regarding low undergrad GPAs, if not eliminates them completely. There are also numerous examples of people who got into some of the best programs in the country with undergrad GPAs similar to, and even lower than, yours. The algorithm issue may or may not be correct, I do not know. Even if it is, given what we have been told by the faculty who has ad-com experience at the top schools, including at CHYMPS departments (such an ugly acronym, this is), this should not be something to worry about too much based on your MA performance. 

 

Again, I am just trying to say that there is no need for someone with your profile to shy away from applying to top schools - not that you should apply exclusively to them. Applying broadly is a good strategy.  

 

Regarding the email issue, I can't see that it will have an impact on anything. I can imagine the reply will something like - "We encourage you to apply. Committee evaluates the application materials as a whole, so weaknesses in one part of the application can be compensated by the strengths in other parts etc.." You can still try though

[Yaya IR PhD]

Thanks so much guys. I really appreciate all the helpful responses. I think I will expand the top-tier schools I am applying to based on your suggestions. I guess I'm still stuck in the undergraduate mindset that Harvard and Yale are their own animals (but I'm definitely feeling silly about thinking Princeton doesn't fit into that category). 

 

Lastly, the top-tier schools all explicitly say not to contact their professors with emails. This prompt however is insufficiently broad. Obviously I wouldn't reach out to a renowned professor at a top school to ask them trivial stuff about the application process. I would however like to share information with them about my upcoming publication submission and my blog affiliated with the research institutions I work with in order to help convince them I'd be a great fit for them specifically.

 

So many people advise that having a personal connection with a professor in the program your applying to is enough to clear the admissions hurdle - i.e., if someone important wants to work with you, you are in. I don't yet have, and don't know if it is possible, or too late in the game, to try to develop such relationships. Worse, I don't want such an email to be indicative of my inability to "follow application directions"...

 

Thoughts? Advice?

 

Also thanks again for your past and future responses - I really needed the help. 

[silver_lining]

Thanks so much guys. I really appreciate all the helpful responses. I think I will expand the top-tier schools I am applying to based on your suggestions. I guess I'm still stuck in the undergraduate mindset that Harvard and Yale are their own animals (but I'm definitely feeling silly about thinking Princeton doesn't fit into that category). 

 

Lastly, the top-tier schools all explicitly say not to contact their professors with emails. This prompt however is insufficiently broad. Obviously I wouldn't reach out to a renowned professor at a top school to ask them trivial stuff about the application process. I would however like to share information with them about my upcoming publication submission and my blog affiliated with the research institutions I work with in order to help convince them I'd be a great fit for them specifically.

 

So many people advise that having a personal connection with a professor in the program your applying to is enough to clear the admissions hurdle - i.e., if someone important wants to work with you, you are in. I don't yet have, and don't know if it is possible, or too late in the game, to try to develop such relationships. Worse, I don't want such an email to be indicative of my inability to "follow application directions"...

 

Thoughts? Advice?

 

Also thanks again for your past and future responses - I really needed the help. 

1. If you are getting advice from non-US based Professors, I warn you that admissions outside of the US are not the same, so you shouldn't base your admissions strategy on their advice. One of the lovely resident Professors on this forum has stated that having a personal connection with one Professor will not help you gain admissions as you are joining a department not studying under one Professor. 

2. Professors are interested in Research/Publications. I cannot see how a blog would matter that much to them, but I guess that is up for debate. 

3. In other threads where people have posted their statement of purpose and advice, it is clear contacting faculty does not help. 

[HK2004]

I'm a little late to this. 

 

I had a really low GPA (about the same as yours) and got into a solid enough program even without doing a Masters afterward. So with the combination of an undergraduate thesis and good performance in an MA program, I'm willing to bet that you won't face too much of a problem with your grades alone. 

 

Graduate admissions chairs don't help with squat. The only thing they might be able to do is give you insight about "minimums": I know some schools post that they "require" a 3.0 undergrad average, so an admissions chair may be able to give you perspective on how stringent that is, and what that means for your application. But everyone says they do "holistic" readings of applications. Based on my experience applying, I actually have to say I do believe it. 

 

So about contacting POI's.

 

Some profs are open to it, but it's really only best to do that if it is absolutely clear that this is a person you'll want to keep in touch with. That is, don't just email some prof who you think is gonna be on the AdCom and remember your name. So you're presumably IR/Conflict, right? If you're interested in a certain topic (e.g. civil wars), maybe email a prof whose work has really influenced yours and introduce yourself/tell them you're applying to their school/thank them for being a positive influence/briefly make a general mention of your interests, and that you hope to be in touch over the years.

 

That's really all you can do, and chances are you'll at least get a sentence or two in response if you're a decent enough human being in your message. Worst case scenario, you've just networked with a good scholar, and if you keep in touch with them, it can help your professional acumen. 

 

At the end of the day, when it comes to contacting profs, it really just is about being genuine. Believe me, they can tell the difference between someone who's genuinely interested in their work who happens to also be applying to their school, and the person who wants to get into their school and read their CV to butter them up as a potential "in." There's no magic formula, really: in this field, everyone's really interested in their research, so naturally it only makes sense that the more relevant they are to your research (as opposed to their relevance to your dream school), the more likely it is that they'll respond positively to you reaching out. I've cold-emailed really big names at really big schools and have gotten nothing but warm replies from all of them, so just in my anecdotal experience I've never had any reason to feel like profs aren't open to being contacted so long as you're genuinely interested in what they do.