PhD Biostatistics/Statistics chances after a bad semester abroad

[orientfan23]

Hi guys!

I'm planning on applying to various Biostatistics and Statistics PhD programs in the U.S starting in the Fall of 2017. It is worth noting that I'm from the U.K. and did my undergraduate studies there and I am currently doing my masters in the UK too.

My undergraduate degree was in Mathematics, in which I achieved a First Class Honours degree (I think this roughly translates to a 3.7-4.0 GPA) at King's College London. I am currently doing my Masters degree in Statistics at Imperial College London where I hope to achieve a Merit/Distinction. I am also planning on taking the GRE within the next few months.

However, I studied abroad in the U.S.as part of my Undergraduate degree for a semester in my final year and I only managed to get an overall GPA of around 2.9 (if i remember correctly). However for some reason, once my grades were transferred back their U.K,equivalent they converted to a surprisingly higher average than I thought they would (they translated to an average of 67, which is a high 2:1). The reason for my poor performance was I guess partly due to me being abroad and travelling a lot around the country and not focusing enough on my studies. I was also taking 4 graduate level math classes which was a hell of a lot of work to handle in one semester (but I'll stop making excuses). I guess I'm just worried that since I'm applying to U.S. institutions they'll place more of an emphasis on my U.S. semester abroad and that this will overshadow my overall achievements?

Anyway, I was basically wondering what my chances were? I aim to do really well on the GRE, so if all goes to plan then that should help.I'm aiming on applying to lots of different schools around the U.S, and not just the top schools for Stats/Biostats.

Cheers!

[Karoku_valentine]

You just need to report your overall GPA with your transcript from imperial college. In your transcript it will appear that you took 4 classes and got 2:1 or whatever that number is.