<p>I entered my university five years ago as as an engineering major on a full scholarship, but I quickly realized engineering wasn't for me after my first semester which was a disaster (1.4 GPA) but due to family pressures of wanting anengineer in the family, I stuck it out for another semester which wasn't any better (1.6 GPA) and by that point I lost my scholarship, fell into depression (which I got treated for), and just fell apart essentially. My third semester was the worst (0.7 GPA) and eventually I failed out of school after a fourth semester where my GPA was above a 2.0 but still not enough for them to justify keeping me in school. I took a year off, talked to a therapist, and did some courses at my local community college. Eventually my school gave me a second chance and allowed me to be reinstated. I transferred out of the school of engineering to chemistry (in the physical chemistry track), which was always my real passion. </p>
<p>Since being reinstated, my grades have been good/great (kept a 3.0 or better every semester since I've been back.) In my last 60 credits, my GPA has been at a 2.97 (one of those classes was a summer class I took and got a C in right before being kicked out of engineering). Out of my chemistry classes, my major GPA is a 2.84 (First semester Gen Chem 1 is my only C+). However, the biggest problem is that my cumulative GPA is still a 2.45. I've recently gotten into a research group with my old inorganic chemistry professor who I know will give me a good recommendation (he already said so). </p>
<p>I've really worked to turn my life around, and I have such a passion in chemistry that I want to continue on to graduate school. However, I know grad schools have a minimum 3.0 requirement. Would they take into consideration that I've really improved and maybe look past the first two years where I was in a really bad place? </p>
<p>Yes, they will… somewhat. I was in a somewhat similar situation, and they generally looked past the early problem years. You will still have some problems. Your “bad years” are quite recent, which will make them harder to overlook. Your grades in the “good years” are okay, but not exceptional. You are going to be employable but you will have to contest with applicants who either had higher grades or at least don’t have any shadows of past poor performance, and that will be tough.</p>
<p>How much longer do you have left?</p>
<p>Glad you found your real passion!</p>
<p>Graduate schools can be kind of lenient about low early GPAs when they result from major switches. You usually have the opportunity to write a supplemental essay and explain what happened, and this is your chance to explain how you tried BME, didn’t like it and didn’t do well, but once you hit your stride in chemistry you did much better.</p>
<p>However, your issue is that your upper-division/last 60 credits GPA isn’t that high, either. A 2.97 can’t be explained by the BME stuff, because that’s just the chem (unless I’m misunderstanding). And your major GPA is a 2.84, which pretty much means “Bs and Cs.” If you want to get an MS in chemistry you may be able to squeak by with an otherwise outstanding application; a PhD program may be a tough sell, assuming that’s what you want.</p>
<p>If the PhD is your goal, were I you what I would do is apply selectively to a few “dream” PhD programs but also make sure that you apply to some well-reputed MS programs. Even though your major GPA is quite low, if you have extensive research experience, glowing recommendations and an outstanding statement of purpose you may be able to overcome that in the PhD programs. But if not, an MS program will give you the boost you need to make yourself competitive to a PhD program in the future. If an MS only is your goal in the first place, just apply widely to MS programs that range the gamut - both competitive and prestigious as well as well-reputed but perhaps easier to get into.</p>
<p>The best way, IMO, to override a low GPA is to get really quality research experience and the accompanying glowing recommendation letters for that experience. Another option may be to work as a research technician or research associate in a chem lab, and then take classes as a non-degree student at a nearby university to prove you can handle graduate-level classes.</p>
<p>@cosmicfish: I have this semester and then the summer. My graduation date is this coming up October. So a good semester ahead might maybe get me to a 2.5 cumulative but not much higher.</p>
<p>@juillet: Well in my last sixty credits, there’s a course in there that was done while I was still at the school of engineering. It was done in the summer I got kicked out (my school gave me a chance where if I did well in the course, I could stay) but I failed it and was pretty beaten at that point. But since being reinstated, it’s around a 3.5 or so. I’ve had mostly B+'s but a couple of A’s and two B’s. And as for Chem courses, they’ve all been in the B/B+ range except for Gen Chem 1 freshman year (still Engineering) which was a C. I still have a few more Chemistry courses to take, which will hopefully sort that out above a 3.0. </p>
<p>Right now my aim is a MS program and then work my way up from there. I’m not even looking at prestigious programs and pretty much anything decent would do it for me.</p>