<p>Hi,
i really like caltech, but i feel afraid of going there next year. the primary concern is...</p>
<p>1) if my graduating gpa is mediocre, will i be able to go to a school like caltech for grad school, even if i do research? the majors i am considering are
applied physics, applied math, geophysics, and ee.</p>
<p>i don't know, but maybe a little background about myself would help:
5s in: bio, chem, physics c (mech and e&m), calc bc, learning mv calc on my own right now.
even though i've done well in math and science throughout high school, i've had to work really really hard, but i've worked hard because i enjoyed it. is having to work really hard in those classes a sign that things are not going to go well at caltech?</p>
<p>i don't want to misrepresent what i'm about, but i'm not hyper-concerned about gpa, but i'm concerned in terms of it hurting me when i apply to grad school. i love working hard in science and math classes, but i also understand that sometimes working hard does not equal to success necessarily. i think i definitely want to go onto grad school. how much should grad school pressures influence my decision about to college decision? </p>
<p>Caltech accept students they believe will succeed at tech. No guarantees of whether what you consider "working hard"in high school APs will be reflected in your college gpa. Remember you will be competing with students from Caltech and other notably rigorous schools for spots in grad school. While you may have a perfect gpa from another college your less than perfect gpa from Caltech and like schools may impress the adcoms more.</p>
<p>You definitely get a home field advantage because you get so many opportunities to interact with the professors here. By your senior year, some of the professors should be comfortable taking you on as a grad student. Some departments may forbid you from staying for grad school, but you can actually just apply to a related program instead of staying in the same exact thing (there are actually lots more options for the grad students than the UGs).</p>
<p>For grad school, research trumps GPA considerably. If you really want to go to grad school, Caltech is definitely the place to be since you are exposed to math & science all day, every day.</p>
<p>As long as you feel you are sufficiently intelligent, your GPA is mostly a function of effort spent studying. Occasionally being really smart lets you get away with studying less, but it's much safer to assume that you'll be working nonstop.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses so far!
does it matter if you're rec letter for grad school
comes from a professor in a different department from the one you're applying for?</p>
<p>One of the undergrads currently in my lab was worried the only grad school that would accept him due to his low GPA would be Caltech. The reason? He's already done a bunch of the required classes for a PhD here, has a reputation in our lab as a solid worker with some great ideas, and we'd be happy to have him. However, elsewhere, his qualifications might not be known as well, and his low GPA might be an overriding concern even with the solid time he's spent in my lab.</p>
<p>For whatever reason, GPA's are considered very private information at Caltech. No one else at Tech knows my GPA, minus possibly someone who helped me look over my resume. If anyone asked me, I don't think I would tell them. It's just part of the culture.</p>