<p>I am currently a 3rd year undergraduate Biology BS major with Statistics minor. Right now I have an overall gpa of 2.79 and science/major gpa of 2.98. Last two quarters, which is fall 2008 and winter 2009, my gpa was around 3.05. I wanted to go to grad school of Statistics. Is this impossible for me?</p>
<p>Well, it’s certainly not going to be EASY for you. With a GPA that low you’d have to score magnificently on your GRE, write a kick-ass SOP and have recommendations from Nobel prize winners.</p>
<p>That being said there are schools for all types of students - you can prolly get in somewhere - it may just not be the greatest school.</p>
<p>Just knowing that I will at least have a chance of getting into somewhere is good. which schools would i have a chance in getting in for MS stats program.</p>
<p>My suggestion (as someone who’s been overcoming a low undergrad GPA, lower than yours, and has gained admission to an MS program):</p>
<p>Apply to some decent MS stats programs, with the mindset that you probably won’t get in anywhere (but if you do, and you might, hey, awesome!). Also apply for field-relevant jobs. If you get rejected across the board, take a job. Spend a year or two gaining work experience in the field, and in the meantime, take a few grad-level classes somewhere as a special student and do well. Then apply again.</p>
<p>Dude unless you go to CalTech (where school is actually difficult) your GPA is a good indication that grad school isn’t a good idea. I’m not saying you aren’t smart. I know plenty of brilliant people with low GPAs. But should you enroll in a graduate program? I would say… no. Go find something you’re good at (obviously not school) and apply your talents there. It will pay off more in the long run. Since you are so bad at school, it sounds to me like you are just trying to avoid entering the workforce…</p>
<p>Mitmitten has a point although it was very harshly worded.</p>
<p>A 2.98 gpa really indicates you did not understand the material taught in your courses at a level that would be sufficient for grad school.</p>
<p>Maybe that field is not for you. If you don’t think the subject matter was the issue, then that def indicates this isn’t for you.</p>
<p>You also haven’t mentioned research experience. Is that not available where you go to school? </p>
<p>A masters and work experience in statistics or something of that nature would definitely prove useful.</p>
<p>Harsh??? me? … lol</p>
<p>But seriously, it’s not hard to get above a 3.0 and if you can’t do it (this is not a question of ability, only motivation), I can’t fathom why you would want to go to grad school (in statistics, no less). I think anybody with an inclination to go to grad school is at least pretty smart, so you’ve gotta have some other talents besides schoolwork. Go pursue those. In my experience, successful people are successful because they love what they do. I don’t think you’re going to find any new ‘love’ for school, but maybe you already like doing a few other things. Well, guess what -now’s your chance to get good at them!</p>
<p>there are plenty of state universities (at least in texas) that are meant to be remedial in nature…</p>
<p>also in texas a lot of state unis only look at your last 60 credits GPA…</p>
<p>A low GPA can be an indication of a million different things- I didn’t care about my coursework, I had family trouble, I changed my major and took classes without the appropriate prereqs, I started smoking pot, I didn’t realize the final had a page printed on the back and flunked it, I had something else important in my life at the time. A low GPA does not indicate a lack of understanding of the course material.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t pay for a masters program when you can just get a job as a lab tech and take graduate courses for free while potentially even publishing. Don’t worry about your GPA too much, after a few years out of college it is pretty much meaningless.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t listen to many people on this board if I were you. You can do anything if you really want to, and there are many different ways to do grad school. You can re-take a couple classes (if your university lets you), especially ones that pertain directly to your grad major. Also, if you can just get that overall up above 3.0, and kill it on the gmat or gre you will find a grad school that will except you.
A 3.0 does not mean you did not understand the material, that is narrow minded. There are so many things that go on in peoples lives… as the poster above stated.
Many of the elitists on this board are quick to trash people for not having a 3.5+ gpa or not going to HYP etc.etc… It is nonsense.</p>
<p>And mitmitten, talking down at people is usually and indication of your own shortcomings as a human being. I am not going to judge you, like you so quickly judge the original poster, but you should lighten up a little.</p>
<p>I don’t see graduate school as much of a numbers game as undergraduate, but you do have to show strong motivation and have some supporters. My brother was able to get accepted at a top university for study in a completely different field (English -> geophysics) with a lackluster GPA. Why? Strong recommendations and he can write a hell of an SOP, I’d wager. If you can convince yourself and a department that you’re destined for their program, I wouldn’t write anything off based on grades.</p>
<p>If your UG GPA is lacking but you feel that something has changes such that you are now ready to focus on schooling and that you have discovered a passion for your field, maybe you can find your way to grad school.</p>
<p>Aim for a 4.0 for the rest of your time in UG. This will go a long way toward showing you the prior GPA is not really representative of your potential.</p>
<p>Find a stats person on campus and start doing whatever they do, research, lab, however it works for stats, find a mentor prof and impress the socks of them so you have a great LOR from him or her.</p>
<p>Then you can start applying for grad school. You probably need at last a year of UG 4.0 to make up for the prior work, so don’t apply in the fall for school, instead apply yourself to your studies and look for an opportunity in the year you will have off to complete research or stats related work.</p>
<p>This time you’re wrong belevitt.</p>
<p>This person is a 3rd yr undergrad and didn’t indicate any of those problems. Most of the issues you stated may explain a few courses one bombed (admittedly personal issues sorta ruined one of my grades and dropped my cgpa by 0.1) but a poor gpa like that after 3yrs of undergrad? </p>
<p>I’ll assume a lack of understanding unless anythin is stated to the contrary.</p>
<p>There are any number of reasons why a bright student could have a 3.0 average even after 2-3 years. A B is not horrid, it speaks to a less than ideal understanding or a less than intense focus.</p>
<p>If something has happened in life to allow this person to now be focused, then they ought to be able to make a case for grad school. But only if something has changed dramatically.</p>
<p>I think most on here are too quick to ‘chance’ the OP based on his GPA alone and based on the assumption that the OP is only interested in the ‘top’ programs. Is grad school ‘impossible’ for the OP? Definitely not, I’d think, unless the OP is only interested in the ‘top’ programs. Further, the fact that the OP is interested in a MS program also mitigates in her/his favor, as MS programs are generally easier to get into than their PhD counterparts.</p>
<p>Also, grad programs consider a whole range of factors besides the GPA, including such important factors as research experience, motivation for grad school, and subject GRE scores. Excellence in any of these factors can go a long way toward offsetting a poorer GPA. So as others have said, try to get that research experience, study hard and do well on the subject GRE and the general GRE, try to bring your final year major GPA up, and consider the possibility of getting some post-bac work experience. And write a really convincing SoP. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Aceflyer is right. Graduate school is not impossible for the OP - there have been many successful graduate students who have sub-3.0 GPAs. That’s because the graduate admissions process is about more than just GPA – it is about grades in your major, about research experiences, about GRE scores, about recommendations as well as grades.</p>
<p>So yes, graduate school is definitely a possibility for the OP, but he or she may need to do a few things to bolster his or her application – get involved in some more research experiences, take another 2 years to earn more research experiences, take graduate classes as a special student, explain mitigating factors for the 2.98, etc. Especially if the OP’s goal is MS programs in statistics, that’s certainly doable especially with your GPA being so close to a 3.0.</p>
<p>Mittmitten is correct but he could have phrased it a little more gently. A GPA that low is not at all positive for indicating aptitude in one’s chosen field - but as I said in the first posting there are all kinds of schools for all kinds of people. The poster could get into some lower-tier state school, do really well, and then possibly transfer to a better program if he/she is interested in doing so. Or just stay at the so-so school. Lots of people are so-so, not everyone has to be the best in their field.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies. Right now my main focus is to raise my gpa before anything else. Do graduate school look at overall gpa more or major/minor gpa more?</p>
<p>They are chiefly (by far) concerned with your major GPA.</p>
<p>ooOo i see</p>