<p>A question please,There are certain things i can control in undergrad.1.i can get a 3.9+GPA at my school,2.i can get a 4.0 in both math and CS(as a double major)4.i can get good recommendations from my professors.Now,there are two things i cant control 1.I am in a tier 3 school,and financially,am unlikely to leave2.i cant get top level,quality research in CS or math at my school,but am already doing research in astrophysics with a prof who tapped me after an intro physics course.I would love to get a phD in math at either Harvard,MIT or Berkeley,or a CS phD at either MIT or stanford.What are my chances?Will it be more sensible to go to law school?.We have our opinions about prestige,but now that i know one can acquire knowledge anywhere,i need the other part of the equation:prestige.any views?</p>
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<p>It sounds to me as if you first need to clarify what you want to do. No one here can say anything about your chances, whether it’s to study math, computer science, or law.</p>
<p>I have a passion for math and CS.In an ideal world i want to take a phD in CS at a top research institution.failing that i will take math.Law is just a desperate attempt to replace money with what one truly loves</p>
<p>@mollie
So, in theory, if the GRE has less of a predictive power of grad school completion than the SAT for undergrad, then the GRE has a smaller role in grad admissions than does the SAT in undergrad?
Just making sure :)</p>
<p>I would love to get a phD in math at either Harvard,MIT or Berkeley,or a CS phD at either MIT or stanford.</p>
<p>I have it from a friend who has it from someone he knows that for example, MIT math stated that if you’re coming from a lesser known school, to have even a chance at all, you should probably be the best student they’ve seen in several years, and do things outside of your school’s offerings to have a shot. This also clarifies why the following</p>
<p>So…basically if one is from a tier 3 school,a 4.0 ,high GPA plus non mainstream research cant get one into an MIT phD program?</p>
<p>is probably untrue. </p>
<p>*
So, in theory, if the GRE has less of a predictive power of grad school completion than the SAT for undergrad, then the GRE has a smaller role in grad admissions than does the SAT in undergrad?*</p>
<p>I think this is definitely true, assuming one can demonstrate one speaks English decently somehow, and is quantitatively decent. However, depending on the field of study and the school, the subject test may become a way to weed out some candidates, although glowing letters from top faculty (which are extremely rare and tough to obtain) would override most things - grad schools tend to make sure they don’t put down a “lowest score” cutoff.</p>
<p>I would love to get a phD in math at either Harvard,MIT or Berkeley,</p>
<p>No one here can say anything about your chances, whether it’s to study math, computer science, or law.</p>
<p>I’m just throwing it out there - you’re probably not getting into Harvard for math. Chances: close to 0%. Why do I say it? If you have to ask the question, it’s probably not happening. This is no knock on you at all, by the way, that program is just notoriously hard to get into, and you not only have to be extremely smart, you probably have to be doing lots of things to make your application look ‘insanely’ good from the very start.</p>
<p>====</p>
<p>From my knowledge - to get into a good math program, take plenty of hard classes that train you well, do well in them, figure out some area of interest, try to impress upon some faculty that you are serious. Possibly do undergraduate research and publish, but it’s possible to get into top schools without doing any at all, and indeed, not at all far from common. However, getting into certain notoriously hard to get into top schools may require you to throw everything you have at them. Try to do well on the subject test, don’t blow it off. Letters of recommendation come from a combo of professors teaching advanced classes and ones you did independent work under. Your GPA probably does matter. Some people get into Ivy League schools with pretty low subject test scores.</p>
<p>To get into a good (EE)CS program (check out my username, my advice here might be less trustworthy), do lots of undergrad research, publish, so try to develop research interests early on, take hard classes and do well in them initially, while spending more time on research as time goes by. Letters of recommendation from a research advisor really, really help. If you check around, you’ll come across an article by a CMU prof detailing grad school admissions from the point of view of a CS fellow. He seems to comparatively de-emphasize GPA.</p>
<p>Common advice for both - letters of recommendation rule your success, barring other troubling factors, the more you desire a “top tier” school.</p>
<p>If I major in bioengineering, is it possible to apply to MIT for biology? btw, how hard is it to get into MIT if you come from a top tier state school (UVA, Berkeley, UCLA, Gatech) rather than top private universities. I know lots of ppl who got full fellowships into top grad schools while being undergrad at state schools (even without undergraduate scholarships). For science, does undergraduate school’s prestige substantially improves one’s chance of being admitted?</p>
<p>Tutydau, I view getting a position as a PhD student as <em>kind of</em> a job, because a lot of what you will do is what you will continue doing later on. A combo of good connections and skills that are desirable is what you need.</p>
<p>Hence, coming from top public vs. private shouldn’t matter - rather, coming from a school well known in and with strong resources for you to succeed in the academic area of interest is generally very helpful.</p>
<p>“If I major in bioengineering, is it possible to apply to MIT for biology?”
Hey, I’d like to know this too</p>
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Only in that prestigious schools usually provide their students with easier/better access to the opportunity to gain the experiences that impress graduate school admissions (though public schools like Berkeley and UVA are probably not deficient in this area). If two applicants, one from a prestigious school and the other not, have the exact same qualifications, I don’t think the student from the prestigious school is at any additional advantage.</p>
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Yes, of course. I imagine that, at any school, in any program, it is possible to be admitted if your undergraduate preparation is similar or obviously related to the graduate program of study. During my biology graduate program interviews, I met a lot of students who were chemistry, bioE, or chemE majors.</p>
<p>Only in that prestigious schools usually provide their students with easier/better access to the opportunity to gain the experiences that impress graduate school admissions (though public schools like Berkeley and UVA are probably not deficient in this area).</p>
<p>Also keep in mind, there are different definitions of prestige. Academia’s definition of prestige is the school’s overall strength of department and program. I’ll bet there are some pretty prestigious small LACs out there which may offer less for this issue, even if solid academically.</p>
<p>Other points - from experience, I think CMU’s undergrad program isn’t that hard to get into, relatively speaking. However, doing well with its CS or logic program resources is going to get you really, really far with grad school. Undergrads tend to measure prestige by how hard a school is to get into, and grad schools typically don’t care about a lot of what high school students may have valued. They care about academic prestige more than undergraduate prestige.</p>
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Prestige as defined by name-dropping communities (like the one I grew up in), who unfortunately don’t give a Rattus gluteus about LACs, to mean the top 20 schools in US News’ national universities list.</p>
<p>^ Yah, agreed, though still, my overall point is the same - academia is one of the foremost among name-droppers, and they just have a different version of it from high schoolers :D</p>
<p>I suspect tutydau is operating much closer to high schoolers’ mindset than to academia’s.</p>
<p>^ I would say without a doubt. Sooner that is corrected, the better.</p>
<p>^Yes, by prestige, I mean the quality of the department :P</p>
<p>Hey everybody. I really want nothing more than to get into the Ph.D. program in chemistry at MIT. However, I fear that my relatively low GPA (around 3.4) will hold me back. On the other hand, I am currently conducting some very good research with a very well known professor in the field that I am interested in, and I expect two or three publications prior to my applications. Can anyone give me some advice on what I can do to boost my chances? Also, would it help to spend my next summer doing an internship in industry? Or would I be better off working on my GPA? Thanks.</p>
<p>If you’re happy in the lab you’re in now and enjoying the research, you’re better off staying there than taking an internship in industry. Staying in one place and getting a more independent project/better recommendation letter/publications is better than hopping around.</p>
<p>It’s certainly true that you should always try to have a better GPA, but you should talk with professors at your school about typical profiles for students from your school who have gone on to top graduate programs. It may be that 3.4 is a perfectly normal GPA for students from your school who are admitted to MIT or Berkeley, but it may be that most top students had a higher GPA.</p>
<p>Thank you for your advice, Mollie. I will certainly do just that. I am curious though, does this mean the admissions committees compare applicants to those that were previously accepted from my school? And also, my college is very small. I really doubt that many graduates (if any) from my department have really gone onto top graduate schools, at least not recently. If this is true, will it hurt my chances?</p>
<p>Graduate schools don’t care what undergrad institution you attended, nor do they care about your undergrad school’s applicant history. All they care about is YOU and YOUR preparation. Whether the opportunities you needed to take in order to be a competitive applicant came easily to you may depend on your undergrad school, but attending an undergrad that only sparingly sends students to top graduate schools doesn’t directly influence the results of your application.</p>
<p>Hey! I’m looking for some advice.</p>
<p>So I graduated May 2009 with a double degree in chemistry and mathematics. During my last year I applied to a couple of graduate schools and got accepted (ie. Boston Univ. , NYU, SUNY Downstate, CCNY) I got accepted to most of their masters programs. My original choose was to attend BU, but the cost for attending and the cost of living in the boston area was going to burn a hole in my pocket. I was very fortunate in finding a job as a chemist just 2 months after graduation, for a food regulating company (very important company), sort of quality control work, and have been here now for a little over a year. As a result I was not able to attend graduate school cause of the expenses involved and my work schedule. So what I did was defferd my admissions for CCNY (since it was the least expensive out of the ones that accepted me, and the department of biomedical engineering offered afternoon courses) and started to attend in the Spring 2010, taking two courses ( one undergraduate and one graduate [only graduate course count towards GPA]). During this time my work schedule was changed and caused me to “withdraw” from one of my courses and on top of that I was required to attend company training during the weekends of finals, so I could not take my final exam for the one course [graduate course] I was still taking, but the professor was very understanding and only gave me an “IC” ( as means of not effecting my GPA) inorder for me to make up the work (still working on that grade). As the summer went by i was told I would not have any more traning or change of work schedules so I decided to register for the FALL 2010, 3 courses (Two graduate and One undergraduate). With my luck I had a change of work schedule and was forced to withdrawl from two courses (both graduate courses) so now I am just able to attend only one undergraduate course.
The advice that I am seeking is have I messed up my chances for getting in MIT or any other inst. for a PhD( particulary bio. eng. and mole. and cell.). I mean I have alot of experience in research (so I know I enjoy it), but curretly at my job research is not the main priority (better said it not even done), its more of quality control, quality control. As an undergraduate I did good graduated with a 3.5/4.0. So I was wondering will these “withdraws” affect my chances for grad. admission?
I’ve alwasy believed that “withdraws” are okay if there kept under 3, but I mean I’ve reached 3 already and technically don’t even have a GPA yet. I feel like I really messed up ::seeking advice::.</p>