Where do I stand?

[Vdoshi]

Hello everyone!

I am a senior in a Biomedical Engineering and I am currently trying to figure out my options post-graduation.

Here is my issue: I suffered from major bad luck during my first 3 years at college and hence my gpa is screwed up to the extent that its a 2.2 cumulative now.

My ultimate career goal is to get a doctorate in Genetics/bioinformatics. I dont know if I can get into a decent program with a <3.0 gpa

What would be my options at this point? I am yet to take the GREs.

[NsciApp]

Can you explain what you mean by "major bad luck?" It's hard to believe that a 2.2 GPA would be due only to luck. If you really can explain it (and you did well in your final year) then maybe you could explain it on an application? If not, you might need extra research experience or classes to make up for the poor GPA.

[a fragrant plant]

2.2 is a bit too low for top programs in any field. my advice is to apply to a less competitive graduate program for a master and work very hard to ace at every single course you take. earning straight As at graduate level will dramatically enhance your admissibility to the top graduate programs.

[Vdoshi]

2.2 is a bit too low for top programs in any field. my advice is to apply to a less competitive graduate program for a master and work very hard to ace at every single course you take. earning straight As at graduate level will dramatically enhance your admissibility to the top graduate programs.

What do you mean by less competitive graduate program? like a less competitive school, or are there easier grad program that I can transfer out from? Would master program for Computer Science be a comparatively easy program to get in with 2 years of IT experience, 1 year of programming experience? Thanks

[a fragrant plant]

What do you mean by less competitive graduate program? like a less competitive school, or are there easier grad program that I can transfer out from? Would master program for Computer Science be a comparatively easy program to get in with 2 years of IT experience, 1 year of programming experience? Thanks

i'm in social science so i can't really comment or advise on programs in your field. i think you should talk to your academic advisor or a professor in your discipline to see what they think. after all they'll be the people who write you letters of recommendation. generally speaking it's easier to get into a master program in comparison to a PhD track. the benefit of doing a master before applying to a master+phd program is that you have the opportunity to gain hands-on research experience. when you have sound research experiences, gpa becomes less important.