I’m a little worried because I received a C- and a D last semester and I’m worried graduate schools will see this and reject me. I have never received anything lower than a B-, and I thought that was bad, but my GPA was a 3.5 and now it’s down to 3.2. I am currently a Sophomore, soon to start my second semester.
Is there still a chance that graduate schools will consider me if I do better in the upcoming semester?
Thank you!
Your dreams of graduate school are not dashed, unless you are talking about the top schools in your field. For instance, a C- and a D would probably give Yale or Northwestern or U of Chicago pause (but so would your GPA even if you were a straight B+ student in all your classes).
First, you still have time. Second, much like the search for undergrad schools, the search for a graduate school might include hundreds of places. If, say, you’re hoping for a career in academia, admittance to a “top” school is key if one wants a position at a well-regarded R1 university or an elite LAC. Otherwise, whether your goals are inside or outside of academia, there are lots of graduate schools that will forgive early slip-ups, especially if the overall profile is solid from then on.
Honestly, even though grad school is a different beast, there are–as with undergrad admissions–lot of different levels. Top-ranked programs will want high GPAs, high GRE (and perhaps subject test) scores, samples of your work, amazing letters of recommendation, and a stellar statement of purpose. And then there’s the next level of schools, then the next, and so on. In fact, there are plenty of graduate programs that will take just about anyone with a 3.0 GPA and decent peripherals.
It would help to know what your area of study is and what sorts of graduate schools you had hoped to get into. But to answer your general question, no, graduate school is not an impossibility.
Thank you for the reply!
I hope to become a Speech Pathologist and go to graduate school for it. My college doesn’t offer a major in Speech so I’m currently a Linguistics major with a minor in Speech. I was thinking of applying to Montclair State University’s Speech program, Northeastern U, which is a reach I think and Boston U, also a reach, but I’d still like to apply just for the heck of it.
You should look at Saint Rose for Speech Pathologist
I’ll check it out!
Thank you!
My D is in a speech program currently and was not a speech major undergrad. Speech pathology programs are very competitive especially in the Northeast. You will need to get your GPA up, do well on the GREs, have strong recommendations, good ECs etc.
When you look at programs consider the following:
– Many websites give a sense of the necessary GPA/GRE score of admitted candidates so you need to get your academics to those levels.
– Carefully check to see if there are prerequisite courses you need to be considered for admission. They are typically laid out on the school website. We found two types of programs:
a) Some Masters in speech programs require applicants to have either an undergraduate speech major or to complete a set of 8 or so courses (exact coursework varies a bit from program to program) to be completed before a candidate will be considered for admission. Students without a speech undergraduate degree can do a post-bac and take those prerequisites so they can apply to a wider range of programs. You may have some or all of the prerequisite coursework through your speech minor, but check the requirements carefully for each program.
b) Some programs do accept students without a background in the field and those programs add the courses usually taken as an undergrad or in a postbac to the Master’s program often making it an extra two semesters.
Things that I think helped my D included:
Strong GPA (especially in last two years of college) from a very good LAC, solid GREs, excellent recommendations (did research with one professor and worked with another on an EC activity), and demonstrated interest in the field.
Good luck. The program is intense but my D is really enjoying it.
Thank you so much for all your help and the information !
If you don’t mind me asking, what was your daughter’s GPA when she applied to Speech programs? Because one woman I spoke to from a university’s Speech Pathology dept. said applicants should have at least a 3.7.
I don’t give my kids stats out over the internet, but that is a good GPA to aim for.
Gotcha!
Thank you so much!