Grad School Chances with low GPA

[leisiko]

I am interested in continuing my education to get a MA in linguistics or applied linguistics. My undergrad GPA is 2.7currently, but I still have 3.5 semesters to improve it. Realistically, I am shooting for at least a 2.85 by the end. My major grades are much better though, A's and B's. I took a break during University in order to figure myself out, and ended up teaching English abroad for 4+ years now while studying some caucuses languages as a hobby. 

What chances do I have getting into a grad program with less than 3.0? Should I consider retaking the math classes that have brought down my GPA?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[fuzzylogician]

No one can give you odds. Much will depend on how the rest of your application will look. There may be schools with official or unofficial cutoffs that your GPA may not meet, and there is not much that we can do about that. Sometimes if a school wants you, they can go to bat for you even if you don't officially meet the requirements, but it's not guaranteed, and they have to really want you. It does mean the rest of your application needs to be strong -- there can only be one thing obviously wrong with it. It will work in your favor that the bad grades came from unrelated classes from several years ago and that you have good grades in your major. If you can keep it up and show how your current performance is different from the past, that will help. The fact that you took a break and did something else will also help. You'll need to spend some time crafting an SOP that puts the past in perspective and showcases your more recent strengths. 

I don't think that retaking these unrelated courses with low grades will help much, unless the new grade will replace the old one on your transcript and you can get your GPA above 3.0. If not, I think you want to concentrate on getting good grades in your major, making connections with the faculty for LORs, getting research experience, and making sure that you have at least one strong paper to serve as a writing sample. When the time comes to apply, you might consider reaching out to faculty ahead of time to get them interested, and also bring up the low GPA so that they can look out for you and fight for you if there are problems. You might also learn about firm cutoffs that would make your application not viable at certain schools and save yourself the time and money. But it sounds like that is far enough in the future that you don't need to worry about it now. For now, concentrate on your grades, connections, and getting some research experience.

[charlemagne88]

On 7/6/2016 at 1:15 AM, leisiko said:

I am interested in continuing my education to get a MA in linguistics or applied linguistics. My undergrad GPA is 2.7currently, but I still have 3.5 semesters to improve it. Realistically, I am shooting for at least a 2.85 by the end. My major grades are much better though, A's and B's. I took a break during University in order to figure myself out, and ended up teaching English abroad for 4+ years now while studying some caucuses languages as a hobby. 

What chances do I have getting into a grad program with less than 3.0? Should I consider retaking the math classes that have brought down my GPA?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grad school is a very competitive endeavor. I had a high GPA 3.61, great LORs, and even ok GRE scores (high verbal and writing scores) and I still only got accepted into 2 programs out of the 8 that I applied to. (however I did lack research experience) I don't want to discourage you, I just want to make sure that you understand that you will need to really apply yourself the next few years to get that research experience and  make connections with professors for LORs. You also want to start figuring out now, what you'll study in grad school. You don't simply apply and get in like for undergrad -you have to have a proposed research interest that you'll be tackling in grad school. 

 

As the cat guy above mentioned, my experience is that most schools have a GPA cut off of 3.0 -there were only a few select schools that would even consider lower GPA's and remember, even with those schools you're competing with anyone else who might've applied to those school as "safety schools." Grad school in linguistics is even more tricky because I think the majority of linguistics majors are trying to go to grad school -simply because there isn't much you can actually do with a linguistics BA in the real world (if you want to stay within your field). You sort of need a higher degree to do anything related to linguistics as a career, and most know it and try to continue their studies in grad school. This means more competition. That, coupled with the fact that most departments are small and only admit a hand full of students per application year means it can be tough. 

I know it's scary, I was terrified. I can say that you're doing all the right things. I only started thinking about grad school 4-5 months before the applications were due. You're way ahead of me, so you have a lot of time to make changes and develop your SOP/personal statement and writing sample.

I wish you the best of luck!

[COGSCI]

On 7/6/2016 at 4:15 PM, leisiko said:

I am interested in continuing my education to get a MA in linguistics or applied linguistics. My undergrad GPA is 2.7currently, but I still have 3.5 semesters to improve it. Realistically, I am shooting for at least a 2.85 by the end. My major grades are much better though, A's and B's. I took a break during University in order to figure myself out, and ended up teaching English abroad for 4+ years now while studying some caucuses languages as a hobby. 

What chances do I have getting into a grad program with less than 3.0? Should I consider retaking the math classes that have brought down my GPA?

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are two things you can do here: 

1) apply to Canadian institutions - most Canadian institutions only look at your senior year GPA (if you are applying during your senior year, they will look at the 3rd year). So if you can manage to get 3.3 ~ 3.5 during your third and fourth, you should be competitive. (Look into schools like McGill and UBC) 

2) apply to U.S. linguistics programs in faculty of education - traditional linguistics programs might be too competitive but you might be able to get into applied linguistics programs that are offered by faculty of education because you have teaching experience. (Look into schools like Teachers College, Columbia) 

In conclusion, you might not be able to get into a doctoral program with below 3.0, but it is definitely possible to get into a master's program! (even with your current GPA) Just focus on getting some research experience that can make your application stronger. 

[humidz]

If you don't need funding: Consider coming to Europe. Tuitiion is often free or close to free, & applications to MA programs are often only competitive in principle, i.e. they let most people in that do qualify as per their field. Of course it varies and would require you to do a fair amount of research on the individual programs.

[vonham]

As usual, Fuzzylogician gives excellent advice. To put things in perspective, I was applying with somewhere around an 85 average (which is somewhere between 3.0-3.3) and was seriously worried that my GPA was not high enough. Thankfully I got into my dream program, though it's worth noting that I was rejected from most of the programs I applied to. Also worth noting that I had excellent recommendations, some research experience, did a lot of research on appropriate programs, spent a hefty amount of time and thought on SOPs, and wrote a good writing sample. Even then I was getting a lot of feedback from people that I was aiming a bit high.

All this to say that in the grand scheme of things the GPA doesn't matter as much as any of these other components, but there is a minimum under which it's unlikely they'll consider your application as seriously. Even if everything else is stellar the committee might question if you're ready for a grad school program, if you consistently have bad grades. On the other hand, if they see that you've been consistently getting good grades after a certain point, they're more likely to understand that something changed and you're serious. 

That being said, you say you have 3.5 semesters to improve your grades? That's great! That's a lot of time, and I don't know how your program is structured, but you could probably improve to a 3.0 given 3.5 semesters, no? In addition, I'd start thinking seriously about what sub fields in linguistics interest you. You mentioned that you are looking at either an MA in linguistics or applied linguistics....those are two very different program, and often time where one is given, the other isn't (ie applied ling MAs aren't always given in the ling department), so it's a decision you'll need to make. Then again, you could always apply for some ling, some applied ling programs. A ling program I can think of off the top of my head with a very strong applied focus is CUNY. It's a great program, and they have a terminal MA!

In addition to thinking about what exactly you want to pursue, become more involved in your current department: engage in conversations with your profs, email them research related questions that you have. Sniff out research opportunities in the department. The more "known" you are to the people around the department (the profs, the TAs, etc) the easier it will be for you to identify these crucial opportunities and be considered for them. In addition, start thinking about your writing sample. Try and see what classes you can take that will give you the opportunity to write such a paper (like a seminar, or senior thesis, or however it works where you are) that way you don't have to do it in addition to all your class work. Ideally the person advising you in this paper will also write your letter of recommendation. 

 

Anyways that's all I can think of for now! Best of luck! 

[historicallinguist]

On July 8, 2016 at 4:17 AM, humidz said:

If you don't need funding: Consider coming to Europe. Tuitiion is often free or close to free, & applications to MA programs are often only competitive in principle, i.e. they let most people in that do qualify as per their field. Of course it varies and would require you to do a fair amount of research on the individual programs.

I guess Europe in this sense concerning free tuition does not include the U.K.