<p>Please don't make fun of me or put me down although I may deserve it. I'm really hoping to get some constructive advice on a particular issue I have.</p>
<p>I go to one of the best schools in the country (top 10) but my grades are probably the lowest in my class. Perhaps I don't deserve to be here but I assure you I'm not an AA admit nor an athlete nor a rich developmental admit. I was so used to getting by HS without having to lift a finger that when I came to college, it took me a long time just to realize how much work it would take to succeed and even longer to adapt and make significant adjustments in my work ethic.</p>
<p>I'm in my 5th semester of college and I have a C+ gpa. This is primarily because I compounded a terrible work ethic with the most competitive course load my first three semesters (calculus, economics, premed courses). I just got over a 3.0 my fourth semester of college.</p>
<p>What would it take for me to get into a competitive grad school given my situation? I'll do anything (pursue a master's at a non-competitive college, volunteer, fellowships, etc.). Does anyone have any constructive advice?</p>
<p>What is your major? What do you want to study in grad school? The good news is that you still have a number of semesters to go before you graduate, so you have ample opportunity to bring up your GPA.</p>
<p>@ doubletrouble</p>
<p>Make sure you do extremely well in your last two years of college. Demonstrate that you are showing a gradual improvement in your grades. Grad school committees will understand if you took some hard core courses in your first two years of college. Make sure you take electives to boost your GPA.</p>
<p>Yep- doubletrouble you are... j/k couldn't resist your username.</p>
<p>I would not plan on going straight to PhD after college b/c of your GPA and lack of focus. You can either wait a year before applying so you can present the strongest credentials that you have or go straight to MA program (which generally require 3.0 GPA). Upward trends are always good.</p>
<p>But grad schools these days are more than just the GRE and GPA- they care a lot about LORs, SOP, and research experience (labwork, writing sample, etc). So these last two years are really about developing relationships with your professors who can (probably) give you guidance on pursuing graduate level work. So I'd start by stopping by in their office hours...</p>
<p>1) Buy "How to get straight A's in college" by Cal Newport.</p>
<p>2) Do as well as you can in your last few semesters. You STILL go to a top 10 school. . . it counts for a lot. Get involved in a research lab if possible, and befriend teachers in your field -- LOR are HUGE! Also, on the way to graduate school, it is a BIG plus to work in a lab, publishing, while applying to grad school.</p>
<p>3) Get a masters degree and have a strong gpa. This, a demonstrated interest (w/ leadership), and great LOR's / GRE scores should get you back in the ball game. . .</p>
<p>doubletrouble,</p>
<p>First of all, tenisghs is absolutely right. If you do extremely well from now on, you can write one of those personal statements that talk about how you discovered your potential later on in life (read a personal statement book and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about).</p>
<p>But your only way out is if you do well from NOW ON. Since you've struggled for 5 semesters now, that task is probably your biggest challenge. My personal opinion is that you need to take some time off, find a research job, work full time, and figure out what you want to do in life. Figure out why you're in school. I have a hard time imagining that anyone with a passion for science and learning, anyone with a drive to succeed, could possibly get C+s. Looking at your grades, I am wondering why you even want to go to grad school in the first place, or if that's just a path that's been imposed on you by your parents, by society, etc. This, ofcourse, is what the admissions committee would be wondering also.</p>
<p>So the point is, yes, there is hope. But the road will not come easy. You have to think about what it'll take, and you'll have to be ready to do all that it will take.</p>