<p>I recently graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in Cognitive Science, but did so with a just below 3.0 GPA. I want to get into graduate school and would like to know my chances and maybe get some help.</p>
<p>I have a years worth of research experience in one CogSci lab, a quarter's worth in another, and I have done a poster presentation at the Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference (PURC). I also spent half a year getting clinical experience with an autism intervention company. My GRE scores are 161Q/158V and am expecting to get above 90% on the Psych GRE. </p>
<p>Because of my low GPA, I'm not expecting to get into any top tier schools, but I would like to know if anyone has any similar experience or if someone could suggest CogSci programs that would accept me. Thanks!</p>
<p>You don’t want to just get into any cognitive science program that will take you. Presumably if you want a PhD in cognitive science, you want some kind of academic or research career in cognitive science. Given the tight academic market, your best chances are if you go to a well-reputed, good fit department for your needs, not just any school that will take you. So you need to spend an investment of time improving your record.</p>
<p>-Get some more research experience by working as a research coordinator/lab manager in cognitive science or a related field (psychiatry, psychology, neurology, neuroscience, public health, etc.) for a few years. 2-3 should be good. That will put some distance between you and your GPA; you may also be able to take graduate-level classes for no cost, and can prove that you are able to do graduate-level work.</p>
<p>-Get an MS in cognitive science first. There actually aren’t that many schools that offer a master’s in cognitive science, so you may have to do one in a related field (experimental psychology, for example, or linguistics if that’s your interest). I think working as a lab manager and taking graduate classes for free is preferable to paying for a degree, but the master’s degree will help prove that your undergrad days are behind you and you can achieve high grades in classes.</p>