Hello Everyone,
I am a political science major and an English minor. I have a 4.0 GPA in my major and a 3.9 GPA cumulative. I would like to get into a PhD program in political science at the University of Michigan, Princeton, or Columbia University. Based SOLELY on my GPA (I know there are other confounds), do you think that I have a good chance of getting into one of these programs?
I have done research with a professor and will be writing a senior thesis.
Thanks
Well, we can’t determine your chances based solely on your GPA because graduate admissions are holistic. I can say with confidence that a 3.9 won’t keep you out of any top PhD programs, and will go a long way towards helping you get in. But - as you note - that’s not the sole factor for admissions, so it’s impossible to predict your chances with any certainty.
Based SOLELY on your GPA, I don’t think that you have a good chance of getting into one of these programs… because no one does. There are probably at least 3-4 applicants with a 3.9+ GPA for every spot you are considering (plus a bunch of other still great candidates with a 3.5+), so if you apply to all of those programs you might (again, considering GPA only) get into one.
This is not to upset you or tease you, but GPA only gets them to look at the rest of your application, it doesn’t trump your other achievements, research, recommendations, and awards… or lack thereof.