<p>Ok, so here is the deal, in my first two years I really slacked off and pulled a meagre 2.73. Fortunately, most of those classes were not in my major or minors and since then (4 semesters, two of which were summer 42 units total) I've had a 3.92, brining my overall GPA to a 3.26. My major GPA (poli sci) is a 3.68, my sociology minor is a 3.92, my religious studies minor is a 3.6 and my upper division GPA is a 3.84. My record is really weird. So my question is will the sluggish start prevent me from getting into a good phd program. I'm applying to science and technology studies at Cornell, Renselaer polytech, UCSD, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and University of Ill at Urbana Champaigne. My GRE scores are 630 verbal and 740 quantitative. Any input would be very helpful. P.S. when I apply this winter my overall GPA should be around a 3.38.</p>
<p>Perhaps I should specify what exactly science studies is...it is a fairly new social science (not hard science), which explores the relationship between science and society...offered at only ten or so institutions in the U.S.</p>
<p>What do your professors think? I would imagine that the ones who will be writing your LORs would be the ones to ask.</p>
<p>In general, while your early GPA certainly won't help you, the fact that your major and upper division GPAs are solid will help. If there are mitigating factors, you might touch BRIEFLY on them in your SOP.</p>
<p>Your verbal GRE looks a bit low for the top tier schools like Cornell, probably OK for UIUC, fine for the GT's and such.</p>
<p>Work closely with one of your letter writers to craft a killer SOP.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>WilliamC, a 630 verbal score is somewhere in the vicinity of 90th percentile.</p>
<p>Indeed... that's why I said "a bit". </p>
<p>I should have explained that I used Cornell's Anthropology as a proxy for Science Studies (which does not provide stats online) the average GRE there was 652V.</p>
<p>WilliamC, I'm curious, do you know what the average sociology gre verbal score is? I think that would be a more accurate proxy as that is the methodology I'll be focusing on in my research.</p>
<p>Minnesota has the best data I've seen online:</p>
<p>You'd be golden there: 553V/717Q/5AW</p>
<p>I'd think that UIUC would be about the same. Berkeley (which I presume would be at the high end of the curve) claims 660 verbal 680 quantitative. UCSD is probably in the same general range.</p>
<p>Just google "Sociology average GRE" + university name and poke around. Also - don't be afraid to just call the department and ask if they can give you an "admitted student profile" or something similar.</p>