I am a senior in a well known public university, but have a very low GPA atm (<2.75, I am retaking one class I failed because of a concussion, bu i also failed another for family reasons I am trying to get it withdrawn[chances arent that high]). My major is computer science. I have no internship/work experience, I am involved with some clubs but no eboard positions. I want to go to a top 25 graduate school, but even if I get a 4.0 both of my remaining semesters, it can’t raise my GPA THAT much. Even if I get a great score on my GRE’s (suggest a goal range to make me more competitive?), my application wont be as competitive as I’d like it to be. Would it help if I could get a co-op during my last semester, or if I work for a year before going to grad school? I need to know what can I do to improve my chances at this point. Should i put my effort into some side projects to boost my resume/application?
Masters or PhD? The application requirements are typically different.
A selective top 25 grad school is going to be out of reach. That doesn’t mean you can’t get into graduate school. They look at your last 2 years and your GRE scores. If your major is a 3.0 and you score well in the GRE, you can get in. Just retake the failed classes and keep your grades up and you’ll be fine.
I’m having the same problem but i’ve decided to take 2 years before going to grad school. for the first year, i’m planning to boost my GPA by going to the online post bac program or a graduate certificate program for the graduate school i want to go to. and for the second year, i will prepare for my application. im also working as a full-time employee in a relevant field hoping it would help.
^^Just to be clear, you cannot ‘boost’ your GPA by attending a post-grad program. Your undergrad GPA is your GPA. Another option would be to figure out a way to stay for a 5th year of undergrad to boost your undergrad GPA, and show an upward trend. Can you stay at your current college and enroll in a MA/MS for a 5th year? (As they already know you, they maybe more flexible that other Master’s programs.)
That said, while they won’t help with your undergrad GPA, a post-grad, Masters, or Extension-type classes can help demonstrate that you can do the work required.
I’m looking to get my Masters. Also I can look into the 5 year program, but I may not meet the criteria based on my current GPA. And I’d also want to go to a school with more of a challenge than my current university (My GPA may not represent this, but the coursework has been not intellectually challenging enough for me)
You have to be able to demonstrate that you can handle/succeed at graduate level work. You may have to look lower in the rankings and if you have PhD aspirations, you may have to get a master’s degree at your own expense first and do exceptionally well to get accepted into a PhD program.
While your concussion and/or family problems might explain some of the performance issues that you have had in your undergraduate program, graduate programs aren’t going to care about or buy the excuse that you didn’t do well because the work wasn’t intellectually challenging enough. This is not an acceptable excuse and probably the opposite of what graduate programs are looking for in their student body, particularly the top schools. There is always a way to dig deeper.
Also, a couple years of job experience in your field might be helpful, and if you are a well performing employee the employer may pay for the master’s program.