Did I mess up my graduate school chances?

<p>Hey</p>

<p>I am currently an undergraduate at a reputed university, majoring in Aerospace Engg with minors in Phy and Math (math is easy with aero, phy took more classes). My GPA was great(3.8) (finished sophomore year this past spring) but this past spring I screwed up real bad, I made 2 A's 2 B's a C and a D!(now its 3.3) Now the best I can pull is 3.8 or less assuming I don't screw up again! </p>

<p>My main problem was my job, I work full time from 7pm to 10 and that left really less time to do anything else. Additionally I was taking the maximum allowed load. I am hoping this won't be a problem from now on because towards the end I did figure out the schedule i should be on and get my work done. I can't leave the job because I need the money. </p>

<p>Second part, I did research my freshman summer in physics, the paper was submitted to a local academy (TAMS), my partner needed it for some scholarship. This summer I am working on independent research too and this one should spill into next fall and spring, its a graduate level project I am attempting. I am hoping to stay in research all throughout college.</p>

<p>I want to attend graduate school (PhD) in aerospace(space propulsion or astrodynamics) preferably at MIT, Stanford, Caltech etc. My question is did this semester spoil my chances at these schools? How much will a screwed up semester matter to them if I do good from now on? </p>

<p>As a side, can anyone from the field tell me about reputed departments in space propulsion, professor names would be a plus</p>

<p>Thank you</p>

<p>I’m not in the field but my guess is this will be fine.</p>

<p>Many schools have an option for “repeat-delete” and allow you to retake the class. Both grades will show up on the transcript, but your school will calculate your gpa based on the retake. If that is available I’d look into it.</p>

<p>As far as GPA, according to my friends who have graduated with engineering degrees, you don’t need quite as high of a GPA to get into graduate school. A 3.0-3.3 will do for engineering while a higher GPA might be needed for fields in the humanities or more “generic” fields like Biology.</p>

<p>Of course, as my username implies I cannot say this with absolute certainty, I study history. But I do know people in the engineering graduate school with GPA’s lower than a 3.5. </p>

<p>GPA is likely not going to make or break your acceptance. If you continue doing research or perhaps even volunteer with a program like Little Shop of Physics or engineering programs for high school students, this will also help. </p>

<p>I also work two jobs so I understand needing the money, but is it possible to look for a job that may allow you to do homework? I work at a residence hall, and I have friends who work the night shifts at hotels. It may be a little less money than what you make now, but if you have the time to do homework on the clock, this will help alleviate problems.</p>

<p>yeah I understand that 3.3 is good enough GPA in engg. Problem is the schools I was looking at. I wanted to know if they would have a problem. As for repeat-delete, my school does not have that! Thanks for the info though!</p>

<p>I think you’ll be fine. Focus on getting good research experiences and letters of recommendation; those will outweigh a lowish GPA. But a 3.3 is really quite fine. And you have plenty of time to pull it up.</p>

<p>If you have truly figured out how to balance your schedule and do well the rest of the way, have strong GRE scores, and letters of recommendation, you should be OK. A 3.8 in engineering with a strong finish is very good.</p>

<p>wow, that makes me feel better. Just for an idea about grad school admissions(PhD after BS), does it matter if you have a conference publication or a journal publication?</p>

<p>Any publications as an undergrad is great, a bonus. Research is very important, whether or not it results in a paper.</p>

<p>To find good departments, ask your professors in your upper division classes, and your advisor. To find professors, look at authors of research papers that interest you and find out where they are teaching.</p>