<p>International here at an international university. (Pakistan)</p>
<p>I don't have the strongest financial background. I had decent stats when I was in high-school. I wanted to go to US or some other place, but financial constraints always got in the way. Thus, I ended up in fairly well-reputed university in my own country. Life has been hard ever since. Currently, I am a sophomore.
The academics here is a joke. My social life sucks and I am one-of-a-kind in my university. the teachers teach students ****. I cant take it. I gave up this year and started studying independently. My GPA stinks at 3.3. Although, I am trying to transfer, but there is a great chance I won't be able to.</p>
<p>Question: What should I do so that I end up in a decent college aboard? I am thinking MIT, Caltech. Heh. But honestly, there has to be a way! Low GPA. Awesome something else? GPA belies the true potential? Stuff like that. Or is transferring my only shot.</p>
<p>You may think you’re special, one of a kind as you say, but the fact of the matter is that the only defining statistic you have about how smart you are happens to be your GPA, which is nothing but average from my point of view. Now, if I were MIT or Harvard or whatever and I went to take a look at you after hearing you were “special”, I’d laugh my ass off. Why don’t you prove that you you’re something and then see what your options are, because from what I’m reading, you’re just an angry dude who thinks he’s been wronged.</p>
<p>Tl;dr: Up your GPA, then worry about your options</p>
<p>Why would your GPA be 3.3 if your school is so easy? Colleges in the U.S. won’t listen to your sob story, especially since you’re an international transfer applying for financial aid (possibly the most unattractive cross-section in the admissions world).</p>
<p>I used to go to a college that had a lot of Nigerians because they had a good program for Nigerian students that wanted to study in the U.S.</p>
<p>I suggest that you either find a school that caters to you, or find a school that you like and ask them how you could go about attending it. Since different schools have different standards, it’s important that you talk to each one about their policies.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how you can attend a U.S. college without being a U.S. citizen, but I recommend that you do some research and talk to local colleges or schools about it.</p>
<p>Sorry about making it long, but I’d really appreciate if you read it. Nothing here is wrongly stated.</p>
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When I said one of a kind, I was referring to my social life. :/</p>
<p>I am not exactly saying “Oh I am so special. I am too good for university”. The thing is, that the university where I currently am is NOT right. For instance, in my first semester there was this teacher who taught us mechanics. And she calculated an answer to question that went something like: When would a body hit a wall in its trajectory path. Her answer was wrong (like her other answers). I was ****ed at that time. And I told her that she was totally wrong and the real answer was blah blah. And she was like… hmm… it can have two answer… WHAT? A body in trajectory motion can hit the wall twice?</p>
<p>-In our multivariate calculus class, we were taught TWO EXERCISES! Everyone should have got an A+ right? Wrong, I got a B.
-In my physics exam, there were 3 questions. One was: why is mechanics important in computer engineering? I scored 3/10 on that question, because I was too general.
-In our linear algebra class, we are being taught vectors. Its been 4 weeks. Its the same as I have studied in high-school.
-Our circuits analysis teacher don’t know the difference between combinations and permutations.
-Our Arabic teacher teaches everything but Arabic.
-After 3 different courses in programming we know just one language: C++. And we cant make programs that, for instance, MIT asks its students to make in their fourth week. (Courtesy: MIT OCW)
-I can’t pick courses of my choice. Its a prepared package. Take it, or leave it.
-This is the best public university in Pakistan.
-Noone says anything bad about the teachers, or else they might fail them.
-Heck, most of them don’t really care.
-Most of my friends hate me 'cuz I tell them the system is effed up and you are all wasting time. (I did high-school from a more competitive school and my curriculum was much more rigorous than most of the others)</p>
<p>Need I say anymore?</p>
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<p>I don’t plan upon telling them. I am just looking for an alternative way. If there is one.</p>
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<p>True that. Let’s say I can’t possibly make it to the best of the best school. But somewhere down the line.</p>
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<p>I dont think I’ll ever find one made for ME. But yeah, I’ll do my homework.</p>
<p>I have two years left before I graduate. What are the possible stuff that I could add onto my future admission application that give me a chance to qualify for an admission into top university despite my low GPA. In other words, what do colleges look for when evaluating prospective students application? Do I stand a chance? (For Masters/PhD)</p>
<p>Top graduate programs are looking primarily for outstanding letters of recommendation attesting to your potential for a successful research career (preferably from people the admissions committee knows). These letters should be backed up some measurable achievement like publications, awards or a strong academic record.</p>
<p>Secondarily, graduate programs want to make sure that your background is solid enough to succeed in their program. A weak academic record will raise a red flag and must be balanced by other evidence if a favorable admission decision is to be reached.</p>
<p>Are you at NUST? UET? While those universities are generally considered some of the best Engineering colleges at Pakistan I can definitely understand where you’re coming from. Most of these places are full of people who did their high school through the Matric/FSc system and their mentality etc can be way different from us A-Levelers. I can also understand how you don’t feel academically challenged since most teachers just aren’t good and no matter how easy the stuff is, kids generally complain about how hard it is. </p>
<p>My advice to you would be to firstly bring up your GPA obviously. You still have plenty of time to do that. Secondly, try getting friendly with some of the more reputable/qualified teachers (they can’t all be bad/paindoo). Thirdly, do internships over the summer. The latter two will help you in the following ways. Since its Pakistan, you and me should both know that getting a teacher to write an awesome rec isn’t too hard as long as you’re good with them. Internships probably won’t be as rigorous as the ones at the US etc, but they’ll look the same on paper since the admission people don’t really know what companies in Pakistan are like. Another piece of general advice is that don’t think of it as USA or nothing. From reading your posts it seems like you would fit in at LUMS perfectly well (rigorous curriculum, good professors and different kind of people). Good luck.</p>
<p>Finally somebody understands! Sadly though, I guess its just because you are a Pakistani too. BTW, its UET-Lahore. The place is effed up!</p>
<p>I know some good professors and I think that I’ll be able to get good recs (for instance, there is this guy who did his BSc/MSc/PhD from MIT and he is awesome). The majority, though, can hardly be called teachers given their level of knowledge/understanding.
As for the social scene, I can compromise on that. As long as I know I have chances to go abroad.</p>
<p>I have no idea about internships though. But I’ll look into it this year.</p>
<p>Imagine: I get good recommendation. And maybe some publication/research/work-experience under my belt. Would my 3.3 GPA be sufficient.
What is the cutoff GPA when applying to top grad schools?</p>
<p>Perhaps focus on getting abroad (North America / western Europe) rather than getting to MIT.</p>
<p>Also try looking at some Canadian schools, the immigration / foreign student policies are friendlier than the states.</p>
<p>Edit: For example, a good strategy would be to get into some American school for your Master’s, do very well, and use that as a launching pad for a better school for a PhD. Even a lower ranked American school will generally be more respected in America than a university from the developing world, which is only partly justifiable but it’s how it is.</p>
<p>Yes, definitely approach that guy and try to make him write the best rec ever. Given his alma-meter, his opinion will be highly weighed at any place you’d apply. And as for your hypothetical situation, I’m no expert on grad school admissions (I’m only a first year undergrad) but I would say you shouldn’t expect to get in a Master/PhD program at the top schools since those not only require an excellent GPA, but they also expect that you would have taken advanced graduate courses in the field you are applying to. You should try out [Physics</a> Help and Math Help - Physics Forums](<a href=“http://www.physicsforums.com%5DPhysics”>http://www.physicsforums.com) though. They have many experienced people who would be able to help you out more, related to grad school issues in science/math/engineering.</p>
<p>Also, believe me you will miss Lahore once you go abroad. You may think that you dislike Pakistani culture and people but once you go abroad you will start appreciating it way more and realize that its a big part of you (speaking from experience). That’s why I feel LUMS is a great option for you. It won’t be that hard to get admission since UET definitely has a great rep in Pakistan. Some of my friends study there and they have a very experienced and educated faculty. People from Stanford, MIT etc all teach there. The students over there also would be vastly different from the people you see at UET. My point is at LUMS you would be able to enjoy a lot of the things you would enjoy abroad too but all with being a 20 minute drive away from home. Lastly, lahore lahore aye! :P</p>
<p>Then that means you are wasting your time, as well.</p>
<p>Here’s the problem. The university sounds like it has major problems, but instead of trying your best and trying to find a way to make the system work, you’re sitting around complaining. Unfortunately, that makes you part of the problem.</p>
<p>I think we can all sympathize when you’re in situation like that. However, what’s really dragging you down is your attitude. What have you done to try to change the situation? Your choices are limited, I understand, but doing something constructive is almost always better than doing something destructive.</p>
<p>@jazzpark: maybe you are right. i haven’t talked to my professors about it yet. lets see what they have to say.</p>
<p>@ahsanxr: lol at Lahore Lahore aye. but LUMS is not a good choice for grad studies. Although I do regret turning it down when I got admitted as an undergrad two yrs aback. Noone from my batch was able to get into UET. And UET was free. I thought the offer was irresistible. ha. I didnt had the slightest clue about the level of education. “Mahool” was the only compromise. But then look at it this way
LUMS = burger kids (i have seen them all my life)
UET = “real” pak
Its fun exploring new things</p>
<p>True. You do make a good point about either being surrounded by either rich burger kids or the “real” pakistani kids, which we refer to as paindoos :P. Its a tough place for guys like us who are somewhere in the middle and can hang out with both kinds but don’t particularly relate to either. The thing is, speaking from experience, if/when you go to the US, you’ll mostly find American versions of the rich burger kids. Unless its a highly intellectual atmosphere at one of the best universities, it won’t be that “new” of an experience. Of course the “Mahol” over here is awesome and I’m pretty sure you would like it after being at UET for 4 years with a ratio of 30 guys to maybe 5 not particularly good looking girls :D</p>