<p>Hi everyone! I've been a lurker on collegeconfidential for too long and I thought it's about time I made a post. Regardless, I've learned a lot from numerous threads and hope many of you can give me your input or share some wisdom.</p>
<p>I spent my undergraduate years at 2 different universities (transferred at some point) but I graduated in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering (top 10 program) & mechanical engineering. My cumulative undergraduate GPA is a dismal 3.17 (engineering GPA = 3.08) with no undergraduate research experience. I was very involved in extracurriculars (dancing has been a passionate hobby of mine) and I'll admit it got carried away at times. Consequently, my grades did suffer and I do regret not investing as much time into my studies. After struggling to find a job for about a year, I was fortunate to land a research technician position at a leading orthopedic research lab in Boston. I'm currently doing cutting-edge polymer research. After doing some soul searching, I've realized that I enjoy the excitment and innovation with developing new techologies that comes with doing research. Hence, I'd like to pursue a doctorate degree in either chemical engineering or materials science & engineering. I'm currently first author on 2 abstracts and hope to have a few publications by the time I leave.</p>
<p>I guess that given my background, I have a few questions:
1. My first question concerns my GPA, I computed it factoring in the grades from my other university (state school where I did much better since there was practically nothing else to do upstate) along with a community college where I took two engineering courses. Without factoring this, my undergraduate GPA is a lowly 3.02. Just to reconfirm, graduate programs look at grades that I received at every institution right?
2. Do I have any shot at any reputable graduate programs? I am in the process of studying for my GRE's and am confident that I can score very well on the quantitative section. I am well aware that my GPA is not stellar. I plan to receive recommendations from: (a) my current PI; (b) director of the entire lab (my lab group does work with polyethylene; there are other research groups with ongoing projects, e.g. hydrogels, computational biomechanics) who oversees all the projects and is well renowned in his field; (c) a professor from college who advised me throughout my undergraduate career - I took an undergraduate class with her, I worked on ME senior design project for her (being the customer) by building a bioreactor for tissue engineering research
3. I'm debating if it's worthwhile for me to take graduate engineering courses in hopes of acing them to enhance my graduate application. Do graduate programs favor this? I'm well aware that tuition is expensive and that I'd be paying out of my pocket (unless I move onto another research technician position at university to take advantage of tuition reimbursement). Is this a worthwhile option?
4. Should I just excel in a master's program (whichever will take me) and reapply? I understand that master's programs will most likely be unfunded (I'm contemplating an industry job that will pay for part-time).
5. Do connections/networks have any significance in the admissions process? I've been told by a co-worker that my director has some ties to labs at top institutions (e.g. UCLA, MIT). I know I should not count on it, but I can't help but wonder if he would have the power to pull some strings or at least talk to some people. Just curious what your thoughts are on this.</p>
<p>I would appreciate any input you guys can provide. Even words of encouragement or success stories would be great! In regards to my undergraduate years, I understand what's done is done. I guess I'm just hoping that there's still some hope for me to turn things around since I know I am capable of succeeding in a top graduate program if given the opportunity to do so. I've definitely matured after college and reestablished my priorities. I just need to know what I can do to maximize my chances of getting into a top (or at least reputable) program.</p>
<p>Bump once again. Any input would be greatly appreciated, please?</p>
<p>Wow, except for the fields, you parallel my brother.</p>
<p>He got his chemistry and microbiology bachelors degrees from a large public university. His grades were NOT good. After graduation, he worked 2 years as a research technician at a biotech organization, where he co-authored a couple of papers. He then took the GRE and got high scores. Berkeley accepted him into their Molecular/Cell Biology Ph.D program. He was told specifically that his research got him in. He completed the program a while back, and is now enjoying his life as a research scientist.</p>
<p>So what do I think about your chances for getting into a good Ph.D program in your field? Excellent. Ph.D programs want people who have experience in real research, above everything else. You have accomplished that…</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply nwcrazy, I really appreciate it! If you don’t mind me asking, what were his stats? I try to be optimistic but at the same time realistic. I’m not sure if I can use that as a similar case comparison to my situation. I’m really worried I won’t be able to get into a reputable program. At the same time, Berkeley is a remarkable institution to gain admission to (so much respect to your brother!). It’d be amazing if I could pull off something of that calibur. I’m not sure about the life sciences realm, but in regards to engineering graduate admissions, can excellent quality research (along with excellent recommendations) really trump a low 3.0 GPA as in my situation?</p>
<p>-His undergrad GPA was 3.0</p>
<p>-His GRE scores were 680 Verbal and 740 Quantitative. He only spent 1.5 hours preparing for it. I do remember going over some of the questions with him, the night before the test; we were just trying to see what type of questions were going to be asked.</p>
<p>It was his research and the excellent LOR from his boss that opened the door to Berkeley. I remember high fivin’ him several times after the acceptance phone call.</p>
<p>BTW, I also have a first cousin who has a Ph.D in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California. He’s a research scientist too.</p>
<p>He would also tell you that RESEARCH, not grades or GRE scores is the most important factor for getting into a Ph.D program. Get a great LOR from your boss and the doors will open for you. Obviously if your GRE is 400V/400Q or your GPA is 2.0 that would be a problem.</p>
<p>Having spent plenty of time around engineers and research scientists, I feel absolutely sure that you won’t have a problem getting into a decent graduate school. Just keep kicking azz in your research and get your boss to give you a stellar LOR.</p>
<p>Stop worrying:)</p>
<p>And YES, excellent research (with LOR) will trump a 3.0 gpa.</p>
<p>GPA definitely becomes less important with time, but even right out of an undergraduate institution, it’s never as important as research. </p>
<p>As for whether the ties will help, it will depend on how strong and recent they are.</p>
<p>Well, one of my intended recommenders is a professor involved in cardiovascular tissue engineering at BU. I believe she happens to be on the graduate admissions committee. I am confident my current director will write me a strong letter of recommendation since he knows that I work my butt off. I even met him to discuss my career endeavors, and he said how he’ll help me prepare good material for the applications. He is an MIT alumnus (Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering), I believe his ties are with: (a.) one colleague who is currently a faculty member in Mechanical Engineering at MIT; (b.) a colleague who graduated from Chemical Engineering and is currently director of Cambridge Polymer Group (though this would probably be a more suitable connection for landing a job there). I understand that GPA is never as important as research , but I can’t help but wonder if it’s even worth a shot (in the dark) to even consider sending an application to schools like UC Berkeley or even MIT, given superb research.</p>
<p>Just to rebump my thread, I’m aware of the statistics regarding applicants admitted to top 10 institutions like MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley, etc. What I’m wondering is have there been successful applications with a GPA similar to my mine that have able to gain admissions to such said programs? I know the odds are stacked against me, but I’m curious to know if there’s still any shot in the dark to even apply to those type of highly ranked programs. If not, what sort of things would I need to accomplish in order to be given serious consideration? I’m definitely the determined and hard-working type of individual just trying to look ahead and make up for my missed opportunities (grade-wise) back in college.</p>