Can I get into grad school with low GPA?

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm considering applying to Mechanical Engineering, Biomechanical Engineering or Computer Science programs for graduate school.<br>
I graduated last year from a top 5 school with a B.S. Mechanical Engineering, I'm female and Native American (I won't specify since I don't want to give away my identity). I graduated with a 3.0 cumulative GPA as both my overall and departmental GPA. </p>

<p>I've had one relevant summer internship, did research for about 6 months during my sophomore year, and served as a student staff member (which dominated my junior year). My senior year my financial aid got messed up, so I had to spend most of my free time working as a tutor/other random jobs, so I didn't get to continue doing research. </p>

<p>I'm currently working for a contractor in the aerospace industry, and am trying to get ideas of how to make myself a more attractive candidate for graduate schools, slash am wondering altogether what my chances would be considering my mediocre credentials. I've been thinking of taking a few classes to improve my record/I've gotten involved in relevant (tech related) service projects in my free time/increasing my Engineering skill set as far as computer applications/machine shop skills. I'm mostly looking outside the workplace for advancement since my current job is pretty dead end and I'm pretty much just a work horse data cruncher and there is little opportunity for me to learn new applicable skills (I'm looking for a change in career, but thats a different story).</p>

<p>What are my chances/does anyone have recommendations for how to advance, and what schools could I aim for
Much Love</p>

2

<p>Don’t worry about your GPA. It’s not that bad, and your work experience is much more important. Don’t give up!</p>

3

<p>Have you researched any of the jobs you would get with a MS in any of those fields? Do you feel that it would actually change what a company uses you for?</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the encouragement =).</p>

<p>I had gotten really into robotics during my senior year and wanted to pursue a career in that field, but my experience was limited to a few classes and TAing a high school robotics program this past summer. Also, a lot of the robotics related jobs I’ve been looking into (and am more interested in than my current job) ask for an M.S./PhD. And I also realized I liked the research atmosphere a lot more, and have been generally yearning to be taking classes and advancing my skills full time.</p>

5

<p>You also should open up this conversation with the professors who might be writing your LORs in a year or so. They will be able to give you a sense of where you can get in now, and where you would need more work experience/better grades/better GRE, etc.</p>