<p>Has anyone found it an admittance advantage to apply to the graduate program at their undergraduate school--same overall general major? It just so happens the best fit program is there, the area is great, the cost is good --it makes alot of sense to stay here. His undergraduate GPA is around 2.9 and the avg for the program is quoted at 3.11. No GRE yet, so alot rides on this test score.</p>
<p>In general, has anyone found that the the 'home court advantage' helps override the lower gpa in admittance situations like this?</p>
<p>Every department is different in how they deal with admissions. I have heard that most programs tend not to pick undergrads from their institution because they want a more diverse graduate body. However, if you have a professor you know you'd work great with, vice versa, then you should go for it. Also, I don't think there really exists a "home court advantage" for most programs, though I may be wrong. Best thing to do in this case is to ask the advisor in the dept.</p>
<p>It varies a lot, but I think in general schools want their undergraduates to go somewhere else for grad school. That's not to say that you can't stay if you really want to or if the program is a good fit. I've been told by people that my undergraduate institution would accept me for graduate school as a kind of safety, but I'd be expected to go somewhere else. It's kind of a bad situation for me because I really want to go somewhere else, but at least I think it would involve taking a step down because I don't think I can get into other graduate schools of similar stature.</p>
<p>I think it usually depends on the major in your school your applying to. If its extremely competitive, it is most likely that the top students from other schools will apply to your school, and therefore become more competitive.</p>
<p>However I do think that there is a "homecourt advantage" for all universities. If you really really want to get in, you could always directly talk to the professors and deans.</p>
<p>Most departments do not admit their own undergrads into their PhD programs--MS maybe--but not PhD. It's called "intellectual inbreeding" and they don't like that. From what I've heard, MIT doesn't admit their own undergrads to their phd programs either, unless you're going for a different department.</p>
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Most departments do not admit their own undergrads into their PhD programs--MS maybe--but not PhD. It's called "intellectual inbreeding" and they don't like that. From what I've heard, MIT doesn't admit their own undergrads to their phd programs either, unless you're going for a different department.
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<p>um, no. MIT admits far, far, far more students into their PhD program from MIT undergrad then from any other school. Virtually every MIT student that applies to MIT's grad school is accepted, leaving few slots for outsiders.</p>
<p>A lot of schools do this, the UC's are some of the only ones I know of that WONT allow you to return for grad school. Others may discourage it, but at the top schools, there is SIGNIFICANT inbreeding.</p>
<p>(I'll raise my hand as an MIT undergrad who was admitted to the PhD program in my undergrad department. :))</p>
<p>For the OP, while the exact answer depends on the policies of the department and school, it can help quite a bit to have a professor or two in the department who will fight for him to be accepted. If he has a professor friend who will stick up for him, that will almost certainly override any GPA deficiencies.</p>
<p>well, my department wanted me to stay, but that was for a masters......if i end up doing a phd i'm pretty sure they'd want me to explore other options....i know i would...lol</p>
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well, my department wanted me to stay, but that was for a masters......if i end up doing a phd i'm pretty sure they'd want me to explore other options....i know i would...lol
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<p>so..did they offer great financial aids package?</p>
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A lot of schools do this, the UC's are some of the only ones I know of that WONT allow you to return for grad school. Others may discourage it, but at the top schools, there is SIGNIFICANT inbreeding.