<p>So I'm currently a sophomore at Stanford and I'm majoring in Chemical Engineering. I'm doing research during the academic year and I'm also (hopefully!) doing research (REU possibly) over the summer as well. I really like research and I love what I'm doing and as such I'm currently thinking about pursuing a PhD. Now I was wondering what GPA I really should aim for in order to get into one of the top programs in Chemical Engineering. To give you some perspective my GPA was a 3.7 but took a hit this quarter and fell to a 3.6...</p>
<p>Grades won't get you into a program (nor will GRE score). </p>
<p>Your LoRs, research, and SoP will all be as or more important (given a reasonable GPA, which you have). That said... You have another 3 semesters to restore that 0.1 point. </p>
<p>And read the first page of the "Graduate School Admissions 101" thread.</p>
<p>Yes I know GPAs won't get you in but they can really hurt your chances if they're low enough. I'm just now sure what that means exactly (ie what a 'good' GPA would be a 3.7? a 3.5??). </p>
<p>I've actually read the first page of the "Graduate School Admissions 101" thread and many other posts by you and other posters (Molly, DeepSeek, Sakky...) and just want to thank you for sharing your insights and experience.</p>