Low Undergrad GPA, Current Grad Student Looking For Input

Graduate School
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<p>MrOptimistic, I am impressed by your GATech profs for doing the right thing for a fine student who hit a major rough patch. And by you for proving them right. Some universities will automatically discount you for your undergrad grades, but with GATech recommendations and a graduate-level track record, most will not. You might want to talk with your LOR writers to see where they think you should apply, especially given your circumstances. Although they may not know which programs are more numbers-oriented, they will be able to give you a realistic list.</p>

<p>@CSMajor5, it’s not for you to determine who is qualified. Graduate school admissions is not about grades and GRE scores; those are merely the tickets for consideration. Instead, the two most influential factors are letters of recommendation (colleagues’ assessment of the applicant’s potential) and research experience. Someone with a 3.1 GPA with first-rate research will usually trump someone with a 3.8 GPA and little experience. Graduate programs do not admit good students; they admit good researchers. Yes, often the two go hand-in-hand, but not always. In the OP’s case, his professors saw clearly enormous potential to make an impact in his field. That’s what counts – not GPA.</p>

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<p>@CSMajor5, your cunning use of the English language should be an inspiration to us all.</p>

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<p>Wow…I logged into this site for the first time in a year because I got a private message due to this post and I am floored at the responses that happened here. To all of those who defended me, thank you (if any of you are reading this). To Csmajor5, your insinuations that I lied about my situation or that I “am not deserving” are beyond me. I have no problems with you thinking that there were others more qualified than me, as that happens all the time. In every admissions process, people get rejected that are just as, or more qualified than some who got admitted - but to say that I do not deserve it is an insult. Many well established people on multiple admissions committees can see through my situation and I am just glad that someone of your arrogant and narrow perspective will not be in charge of directing both the lives of people and advancement of a field. However, life has its funny ways and I am going to the Carnegie Mellon CS PhD program next semester. It’s ironic that you are a CS major and I (your most hated applicant) will be attending the #1 CS grad program in the nation.</p>

<p>To everyone else…thanks for the support! I spent the last year at my Master’s in GT. I ended up doing research on a lots of computational methods applied to biology, which got me interested in computational biology and computer science. I applied to a bunch of PhD programs and got into a lot more than I thought I would. I was still doubtful with my low GPA so I applied to literally 12 programs, but I got into 5! I will be attending CMU’s CS program next year as I got interested in algorithms and computational methods during my research as a Master’s student. </p>

<p>My stats ended up being:</p>

<p>2.8 undergrad GPA
3.7 grad GPA
790 Q 700 V 5.0 A
1st author publication on the way</p>

<p>Thanks again to everyone and I hope I can be a testament to perseverance. Sure, I had to delay getting my PhD for a couple years because I had to make up for some bad performance, but you have to play the cards life gives you (and play them well). You need to be intelligent, charismatic, and hard working…but almost more importantly, you need to know who to talk to, when to talk to them, and how to talk to them. </p>

<p>For those needing guidance and inspiration, this site is wonderful:</p>

<p>[Ernie’s</a> 3D Pancakes: Re: PhD with low GPA](<a href=“Ernie's 3D Pancakes”>Ernie's 3D Pancakes: Re: PhD with low GPA)</p>

<p>It is a blog of a CS professor at UIUC who got his PhD at UC Berkely despite having a 2.4 undergrad GPA. You aren’t guaranteed to be able to overcome everything, but if you have the hard work, perseverance, and talk to the right people with the right words, you have a great shot!</p>

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<p>* “Fairness” and your conception of it has nothing to do with what graduate engineering programs (or any graduate programs) decide to do in admissions. They do what is best for their programs and best for the university. Filing a petition is unlikely to get you what you want and more likely to win you some enemies on the inside. Frankly, nobody cares what you think is “fair,” or what your dream graduate school is and whether you have to wait another year. They’re worried about how their program is going to work, and apparently they believed (correctly) that the OP was a well-qualified applicant whose grades did not reflect his or her actual level of performance and knowledge. It happens to a lot of people. It could happen to <em>you</em>, so you might show some compassion. *</p>

<p>+1</p>

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<p>MrOptimistic,</p>

<p>I just wanted to say Congratulations on your acceptance to the #1 computer science program in the nation! You truly are an inspiration to all whom have experienced a tumultuous academic journey due to the loss of a loved one. </p>

<p>I had always planned on continuing my education in graduate school, but because of a low undergraduate GPA and negative, discouraging comments, I have had a lack of confidence in myself and have been putting it off by sabotaging all thoughts of success. </p>

<p>I lost my brother to suicide in the final days of my freshman year of college, and since then have suffered from severe depression. It took me several years to regain hope and confidence in my abilities; and reading stories like yours has reminded me that I can overcome my bad track record too. </p>

<p>The fact that you have gotten where you are despite your adversity, proves all-the-more that you are a capable, qualified individual; even more than say, someone who has had a flawless 4.0 GPA all of his boring, narrow-minded, inexperienced life.</p>

<p>Thank you again, for sharing your story, and congratulations on your success!</p>