What to do with a not so high GPA if I wanna pursue IE PhD after Master

[illousion]

Hi everyone

 

I am currently in first year master student in Industrial Engineering in states. I wanna apply PhD in the incoming December, but...my GPA right now is not very high, only 3.56....

 

I messed up some courses, does anyone know how committee evaluate GPA when it comes to PhD application? Some professor say if you don't have 3.8 or higher GPA don't even think about to get in some TOP 20 Industrial Engineering Program, so I am kinda upset after hearing this. 

 

This summer I will work with a faculty in my school to do a MIP related research, does this help?

 

And my previous GRE is not very high as well, only 145 in the verbal part and 3.0 in the analytical writing, math is 170 but I think everyone gets that score.

 

If anyone would like to share their experience or give me some constructive/insightful comments and suggestions I will be much appreciate it. Thank you!

 

[nubswitstubs]

what are you previous research experiences? where are you currently pursuing your masters?

[illousion]

I am currently working on a mixed integer programming application and heuristics, it's alo related to supply chain optimization

 

I am pursuing my master in Arizona State University, does it matter?

 

Many people will think it's easy to get 4.0 GPA but that's not true...at least not in my case. Thanks for your suggestion if you have any 

[Atticus1984]

Hello,

I have the same issue. My GPA for masters is even worse (3.3, with 2 Cs). However, I would like to pursue Ph.D in MSE (2015) and  I am interested in energy and biomaterials. 

My masters is a non-thesis in Material Science&Engg. from U Arizona  and BA in Physics and Math(GPA 3.43; 1C, 1D) from a top 100 liberal arts college. 3.5 years industry experience in medical device industry. 2 publications in glass science from my undergraduate research. Good extracurricular activities--president of a non-profit.

 

What should I shoot for my GRE?

 

What are my chances in UIUC, UC-Berkeley, UCD, UCLA, UCSB, UCI?

Thanks
Biswas.

[nubswitstubs]

I am currently working on a mixed integer programming application and heuristics, it's alo related to supply chain optimization

 

I am pursuing my master in Arizona State University, does it matter?

 

Many people will think it's easy to get 4.0 GPA but that's not true...at least not in my case. Thanks for your suggestion if you have any 

 

Do you have any publications from your research? Evidence of strong research capabilities can often make up for weaker GPAs.

 

The reason I asked what school you're currently at is that it does somewhat play a role in how your application is evaluated. A weaker GPA from a school like Cornell or Stanford is easier to overlook than the same GPA from a less rigorous school. To be brutally honest, I think it is extremely unlikely that you'll get in to any of the top ~10 IEOR programs. Having gone through the application process myself this past year, the vast majority of admitted students that I met had high GPAs from fairly prestigious universities. Having said all that, though, there are a ton of programs outside of the top ~10 and a 3.56 is not a terrible GPA, so I think you still have a shot of gaining admissions to some PhD programs.

[illousion]

Thanks for the comments, my target is not top 10 universities, what I care more is whether the faculty's research fit my interest...

 

So I will try to do something to minimize the damage of my GPA...