Hello,
I am a BU Undergraduate, Junior and neuroscience major.
My GPA is currently 2.41, with 2 C’s in NE101 and NE203. I also have a 1 D in CH101 and another D in NE202. I only took around 16 classes and will take 49 classes in total that should be 3.2 ideally. Is this okay to be off to a PhD program in Alzheimer’s research? Please help.
-D.Y.
Not a paid PhD program.
I agree with Erin’s Dad. Ph.D. programs, especially funded Ph.D. programs are very competitive. If the classes you are getting C’s and D’s are neuroscience classes, then neuroscience is either not your strength or you are not putting in enough work to do well in the class. Only you know the answer to which it is. Graduate programs may overlook a C in a class unrelated to your major, but C’s and especially D’s in classes in your major are not good. D’s are largely unacceptable.
Frankly, most un-funded PhD programs probably wouldn’t take you. First of all, most good programs offer funding to all of their accepted students. But even when programs offer admission without funding, it is usually to students who are borderline cases or maybe slightly below their threshold of admissibility (let’s say if they like to see a 3.3+, if you have a 3.1ish they might admit you conditionally without funding). A 2.41 is far too low for that.
I’ll also say that if you currently have a 2.41 it will be quite an effort to raise your GPA to a 3.2. If you can at least get it into the 2.7+ range, then you could potentially do an MS in your field, do really well there, and leverage that to get into a PhD program.
I don’t know about other PhD programs, but in the program my D is currently in (top 10 univ.), a grade lower than 3.0/4.0 is considered failing the course, and the PhD student has to maintain a GPA of at least 3.5/4.0.
Ad Com tends to look at the applications that way too.
I don’t know that admissions committees view a C in undergrad the same as failing the course - most are aware that the grading standards for undergrad are different than grad school, especially since many/most of them teach their own undergrad courses. But they’re not viewed favorably either.
What is funded/unfunded phd programs?
By un-funded, that was a typo, right?
yeah, I’m curious, what is a “un-funded” PhD program lol… As if PhD’s were not poor enough.
What’s the confusion? Funded = school pays for it, unfunded = you pay for it, I thought.
and to be clear: un-funded PhD programs are not worth attending.
Realistically, your best bet is to continue/start doing well, try to get a lab rat position with research possibilities, and work for a couple of years. Then apply to a MA program, and ace it. Get more research. Then, and only then, consider a PhD.
Neuro is hot and extremely competitive. Good luck.
By a lab rat… Become a subject in an experiment? Whatever do you mean?
The meaning is to work in a lab as a technician after graduation. Get experience and possibly take some graduate courses to show that you are capable of doing the work at the required level (A’s and B’s in graduate school are the only passing grades).
If you are only about 1/3 of the way through your program then you are not dead in the water, but you are definitely in a rough spot. Your overall GPA is important, since many programs use GPA to winnow down the field of candidates before even looking closer, but if you can get past that round they generally just want to see that you did well in your relevant advanced courses and that your recent history suggests that you can handle grad coursework. So if you can get up to a 3.00+ GPA overall and have a solid last few years, you have a shot.
That having been said, you have two problems.
First is that a person who pulls a 2.41 across 16 classes is not likely to suddenly turn around and start churning out 4.00 semesters. Whatever was hurting your grades previously will likely continue to be a problem unless you can clearly identify and rectify that issue. Most cannot do so.
Second is that grad school is competitive. There are a lot of people competing for very limited slots, so a 3.20 GPA might make you eligible but might not get you in anywhere you actually want to go. Remember that undergrad programs churn out a lot of graduates with high GPA’s, so you’re starting out at a competitive disadvantage. The best way to make up for that is with quality undergrad research, but many professors have GPA expectations for their research teams, so it can be hard to make up that ground.
Push hard, work smart, and remember that whether you have a 2.00 or a 4.00, you should always have backup plans in case you don’t get into grad school. Good luck!