<p>I was wondering if it matters or not where you get your bachelors. I was accepted in Suny Old Westbury which is a lower tier school. I already have an associates degree and plan on working on my bachelors. Once finished I plan on pursuing a masters degree. My major is biochemistry. Would it be hard to get into a good graduate program with a decent gpa once I'm finished at OW or would this just be a waste of time? Thanks for your help in advance.</p>
<p>Why SUNY Old Westbury and not SUNY StonyBrook?</p>
<p>You’ll need research experience before applying to grad school. Speak with someone in the dept. at Old Westbury regarding undergrad research opportunities before accepting their offer of admission.</p>
<p>In short, Yes—you can get into grad school from a low tier college. However, it depends on GPA, Research/Work Experience, Professor Recommendations, GRE score, and the courses taken.</p>
<p>Between financial aid and scholarships OW would be free and it is right by my house so there would not be a long commute. I want to avoid any form of student debt if possible. I know they do have undergraduate research there however will going there hinder my chances of getting into a decent school down the road even if I do well? Also I applied to Stony Brook but they will not notify me if I’m accepted for another month so I was wondering if it would really hurt me going to OW or not if I can’t get into SB.</p>
<p>Also would the gpa be weighted differently from a lower tier school? Such as would a 3.5 at old westbury be better than a 3.0 at stony brook on grad school applications?</p>
<p>For Sciences, SUNY Stony Brook significantly trumps Old Westbury.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/</a>
^There is a grad school section on CC. You may want to repost your questions in the Grad School Forum.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/science-majors/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/science-majors/</a>
^There’s also a section on CC that focuses on students majoring in science.</p>
<p>Since you have the specific goal of an advanced degree, you need to make an appointment with the departmental advisor and ask about grad school placement. There may be a specific faculty member who has precisely the contacts and experience that you need.</p>
<p>hamandchees, I have no idea about Old Westbury vs. Stony Brook, or about your intended field. However, you need to find out not only whether students can gain admission to a good grad program, but whether they do well after admission. In my (completely different) field, sometimes kids from low-tier schools, even if they can get in, struggle with the workload in an elite grad program because they aren’t well-prepared for it. Quite a few people in my humanities field who save money on their undergrad education by going to a low-tier school, end up paying for an MA in order to make themselves plausible candidates for a strong PhD program. They don’t really end up saving money, then, and they waste some time. This isn’t to say that you can’t get a good education at a low-tier school; you just have to be more intentional about pursuing every opportunity you can.</p>
<p>“Grad school” can mean either MA or PhD, of course. It’s generally much easier to get into MA programs than PhD programs, but MA programs are typically full pay, whereas the majority of PhD students pay little or no tuition and often get living stipends as well.</p>