Hey guys,
A friend of mine is a rising senior with a 3.82 GPA who hopes to apply to a top physics graduate program. The one problem: she received an F in differential equations as a freshman because she missed the date for the final exam. She retook it as a sophomore and received an A+.
Do you think this will affect her chances? I say nobody will care, she’s kind of nervous still.
I chair the physics department admissions committee formy university and while I would see that “F”, I would note thta it was replaced by an “A” and followed up by excellent grades afterward. I would also note that the last two years have been outstanding and not worry to much about that poor grade.
That being said, when you apply to the most selective (I object to the term “elite”) graduate programs, you stand a very small chance of getting in and even a small thing like this might have a negative impact when compared to other applicants. Your friend should definitely apply tothose highly selective programs but always ahd a coupleof safeties that she is willing to attend.
I had an F on my transcript in a key course from junior year; I hadn’t finished retaking it when I applied to graduate school, and got into several selective programs. The best thing you can do is have a sympathetic faculty member address it in a letter of recommendation (the F was part of a terrible semester I got sick), but even without that she might be fine.