Question about Research vs. Grades for Grad Admission (A little personal)

Graduate School
1

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I'm really interested in mathematics and the genetics/biochemistry of Aging, so I want to obtain a PhD in Applied Mathematics at a Graduate School with a National Center in Systems Biology (such as Harvard, MIT, University of Washington, UC etc).</p>

<p>I'm currently a Junior in University pursuing a bachelors in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science. Because they're fun, 30 of my elective credits are going into 6000 level Graduate statistics/bioinformatics/genetics courses. However, I'm in a rough spot partly due to a disability.</p>

<p>My accommodations are reduced course load, double test time and extended graduation, which has allowed me to keep a 3.8 GPA (I had to drop a class and got a B- in physics 2 and a B+ in DiffyQ before I was diagnosed). However, I recently got a research scholarship under a professor and - since everything takes me longer to complete - I'm feeling overloaded once more.</p>

<p>My research project is currently taking a significant amount of time as it's been upgraded numerous times with more data and better references etc to the point where the scholarship deadline is a few months away and I'm still working on my first round of results. My PI (who knows about my situation) keeps requesting the first iteration of my work so we can improve upon it further for publication and my scholarship presentation (I'm the first author). However, this is putting a huge strain on my classes.</p>

<p>Specifically, I might get a C in one of my core math classes (Advanced Calculus) and I'm on verge on failing the next exam. There is a make-up final to replace a bad grade, but it's probably going to be notoriously hard because its a 'privilege'. I've had an A in every other math class before this (aside from DiffyQ) and an A or A- in every graduate class so far. Does anyone have a recommendation on what I should focus toward to improve my graduate school application? This might be my first C before the course just requires so much time (got an 87 on the last exam -- 91 was highest grade).</p>

<p>My PI has told me that I'm useless to him and myself without good grades, but he also tells me that I might need to obtain results multiple times for my project -- so I have to get results in soon. If I don't follow through with this work soon, I think my PI will be disappointed. I don't want to get a bad letter of recommendation from my PI, but I also don't want a bad transcript in my core math classes. Any recommendations? Should I just suck it up and work my a*s until I drop and just accept what grades I get?</p>

2

<p>You need to talk to the PI and discuss your situation. Unless he/she is unreasonable it will be clear that you are no good in the project unless you are also doing well with your courses. Whenever I have undergraduates on a project, I tell them that their academics is the first priority. Research is great but without good grades, they won’t be able to move on. I would hope that your PI has the same perspective.</p>

3

<p>My PI does, and I appreciate that greatly. I’ll see how I do on my next exam (very soon), and speak with him immediately once I have a clear grasp on my entire situation. While I’ve thought of this, your support was helpful in preventing me from making a wrong decision. Thank you.</p>

4

<p>You don’t need publications to get into a PhD program - they’re like a cherry on top. However, you DO need good grades. Research experience is very important, but I think that trying to keep a B in advanced calculus is more important than trying to get a publication out before you graduate.</p>

<p>Is your PI aware of your disability? Even if not, I would explain to your PI that you are very, very excited to get results, but that you’re struggling in an advanced course and you need to dedicate the appropriate amount of time to it - so you really can’t spend any more time in the lab than you already do. PIs usually understand that research progresses more slowly when you have undergraduate assistants because their first priority needs to be their grades in class.</p>