<p>I am currently a senior at top 3 engineering school with cumulative GPA of 3.2, and major GPA of 3.1 (good mixture of A, B, and 3 C's)</p>
<p>I was wondering if I had ANY chance at top 20 school for MS in EE. I do realize that my GPA is horrible, which makes me even more sad, because I did NOT goof up during college. The kids in my department in general were just miles ahead of me. I studied 24/7 withouth having any social life for the past four years, but my grades do not reflect this. I will be graduating next semester, so me bringing up my GPA is nil (since I have NEVER gotten over 3.4, I don't see that happening now). I think my LOR will be decent (I do realize professors have to comment on how intelligent the student is, and I don't think I have shown any signs of intelligence to professors I have worked with. They probably do know though that I am a very diligent worker, so I hope that negates it). </p>
<p>Do I have any chance at grad school? I've been looking at various forums, and it seems like EVERYONE has 3.9 with bunch of publications. Will me graduating from top 3 engineering school have some advantage compared to kids applying from Podunk University with 3.9 GPA?</p>
<p>I hate to be blunt about this, but success is a combination of effort and ability. Just because you lacked ability and not effort isn’t a good excuse for a low GPA - in fact it’s worse. Someone with high ability but low effort can work harder, but a person with high effort and low ability can never improve.</p>
<p>GP Burdell - I know that its not a good excuse, which makes me sad. I wish I had the ability to be good in my field, but I just don’t I guess. </p>
<p>Is grad school pretty much a no go for me? Do I have no chance at all at top 20 engineering school with my GPA?
Honest opinions are well appreciated.</p>
<p>Hey, a 3.2 doesn’t mean you aren’t good in your field! A 2.8ish is average, so a 3.2 is significantly above average! Also, you went to a top school, witch shows you are even more competent than an average engineer. Don’t be too hard on yourself!</p>
<p>I would think that with a 3.2 from a top school, you could almost definatly get into a top 20 masters program, if not a top 10 masters program if you have good research experience and recs. Masters programs are not as difficult to get into as many people think. The people with 3.9’s and publications are probably talking about Ph.D programs, witch are much more difficult to get in to. However, it is probably wiser to consult some kind of acedemic advisor at your school than the random people at college confidential.</p>
<p>Yea a 3.2 isn’t bad at all. I would think you have a pretty good shot at getting into a top program. It might seem low, but that’s because most people on these sites are waay above average.</p>
<p>If you really studied THAT much to not even get an amazing GPA, are you sure you want to spend more time in school? Why do you want to go to graduate school?</p>
<p>You may want to go to graduate school because you believe you’ll get a better salary, which doesn’t always work out so well. If that was the case it would probably be a waste of time. So, knowing your motive for why you want to go to graduate school is somewhat important.</p>
<p>If you have a passion for learning then I can only assume that you will have plenty of research experience when you graduate. While a GPA closer to 4.0 is more ideal, usually, you do have something better than 3.0 so you should not be automatically disqualified from many programs. So, hopefully while your GPA is low you will have plenty of research experience to overcome it.</p>
<p>Also, when you have a user name of “RetardedBear” and make a post “Am I doomed?” full of comments to the tune of “I’m kind of stupid but I work hard to overcome it” it sends a certain message. Based on this, it sounds like school was less than pleasant for you and not something you’d be drawn to experience more of.</p>
<p>You’re probably right. I was not so happy with my achievement in school, and have been going through depression. However, its not like I didn’t enjoy school. I was just disappointed in my abilities.</p>
<p>You say you’re at a top three school. I would imagine that you’re probably not doing as poorly as you’d expect that you are.</p>
<p>Quit talkin’ to the internet and find one of your professors to talk to! They’ll be able to give you a much more valuable opinion of your academic worth because they’ve got a better context to go by, and it’ll serve the secondary objective of letting them know that you’re interested in grad school so that eventually you can hit them up for recommendations. </p>
<p>Seriously, we’re not in the position to chance you on grad school admissions-- not with ambiguous information that’s clearly clouded by your own biases. We know approximate school caliber, your GPA, and your opinion of your self-worth… There’s a lot more that goes into admissions than that.</p>
<p>If you’re studying 24/7 but still have a low gpa, you’re asking the wrong questions when you study. Whenever I study for an engineering course, there’s always a crap ton of math to sift through. The first thing I do is find the general idea. Then figure out ‘what am I really doing’. The way text books are written make much more sense after you figure out what is going on… which is kind of funny if you think about it. So always try to think about “what am I really doing?” before you attempt to solve problems.</p>
<p>A 3.2 is not a “low GPA”, and as already mentioned, is more impressive since you are at a top 3 engineering school. Don’t be discouraged by these CC elitists. The real question should be: What type of research/intern/co-op experience do you have working in your field? Often times you can get away with your GPA not being stellar by the experience you have working in your field, as PurdueEE has already said. If you have none, why not obtain some and try at this grad school thing in a couple of years?</p>
<p>“Do I have any chance at grad school? I’ve been looking at various forums, and it seems like EVERYONE has 3.9 with bunch of publications. Will me graduating from top 3 engineering school have some advantage compared to kids applying from Podunk University with 3.9 GPA?”</p>
<p>I have a 3.9 GPA with a bunch of publications from ‘Podunk University’. In your posts you make it seem like you have little natural ability but i don’t think thats the case. Here at ‘Podunk’ i a lot of the students are lazy bums who also don’t have much natural ability and one of the reasons why i get good marks is the bell curve. </p>
<p>Since you’re at a top 3 american school i think that the Profs should realize this. </p>
<p>Personally, i think some posters are jealous of you going to a top 3 school.</p>
<p>Thermo 1: I see no reason to assume others are jealous/I’m not sure how you got that impression from ANY of the above posts…?</p>
<p>As aibarr said, talk to your professors; they will be able to give you guidance, and if you are depressed go talk to your school counselor as well.</p>
<p>A 3.2 is not a low GPA, but it is low for top 20 grad school admissions. As has already been mentioned research experience plays an important role in top graduate school admissions along with other extracurricular involvement. If you have done nothing but study for 4 years you will need to get more experience before applying to grad school, especially top graduate schools. </p>
<p>As for your concern about your intellect compared to your level of effort, you obviously got into a top three school. You really should examine how you are studying/you might be studying incorrectly. There are many books that can help with this, as well as your peers.</p>
<p>Again, your best advice will likely come from your professors and academic advisers. Seek out their help, help with your study habits, and counseling for your depression. There is no reason you should sit around moping about your life. Go do something about it!</p>
<p>Research PhD programs are easier to get into than research MS programs because the PhD students generate more valuable research. It’s a known strategy that to earn an MS from a top school, you can apply as a PhD student and “downgrade” before comps or quals (depending on the school).</p>
<p>A top undergrad engineering school does not always mean a top 3 or top 10 undergrad school (see texas,wisconsin, michigan,berkeley), so I wonder when people say top “engineering” school. Whether fair or not, grad schools do not award extra points to a Penn State grad for having gone to a better engineering school vs. Princeton or Duke.</p>
<p>well it doesn’t really matter how good the rest of your school is in terms of ranking to employers. Duke and Princeton are probably a better school than UIUC but someone that graduated from their CE dept with the same GPA might get a higher nod all other things equal. So an overall better university might be spectacular at most of their subjects but employers care more about the specific dept I’d imagine.</p>