<p>I will be receiving my B.S. from GA Tech and Morehouse College in the fall. I am enrolled in a Dual Degree program where I spent my 1st 3.5 years at Morehouse (Major: Applied Physics) and the last 2 years at GA Tech (Major: Mechanical Engineering). My Morehouse experience was awesome (3.74 GPA, Phi Beta Kappa, Top Ranking Freshman, and numerous other accolades). However, my separate GA Tech GPA is 2.74. Yikes! If I do well this summer, it will be 3.0. On a good note, I have 3 years of continuous tissue engineering research exp (From Jan 2007 - present), second author on a published paper, oral presentations at national conferences, etc. </p>
<p>I will be applying to some of the top Ph.D Mechanical Engineering programs (Bioengineering concentration). I have possibly 5 professors who are willing to write strong recommendation letters for me. I am just so worried that my GA GPA will ruin my chances. </p>
<p>As for the GRE, I'm currently taking online practice tests because I cannot afford classes.</p>
<p>tech is hard for sure but the students i’ve met in various top grad schools from Gtech still did really well in undergrad. You should apply to a variety of schools, and not just the top. At this point, it doesn’t look good since you will be judged primarily on your engineering grades.</p>
<p>Well, don’t abandon all hope - other than the GPA you look pretty good, and some schools will take a chance on someone with a lower GPA. On the downside, many will not - the first downselect in the process is often done quickly and ruthlessly by GPA and GRE.</p>
<p>Blah is correct - apply to a variety of schools if you want to get in somewhere in your situation. One of the top programs might take you, but it will be tough.</p>
<p>Also make your SOP as good as you can.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. Do you think MS is the better option right now?</p>
<p>MS would not hurt you - it is a classic opportunity to bolster your gpa and research credentials before applying for the PhD. The catch is that masters are almost all unfunded, so the price for this resume boost can be between $20-80k depending on program and duration.</p>
<p>If you want the PhD, apply for the PhD. If you are concerned, ALSO apply for a few masters programs. Remember that a good pre-PhD masters program should be affordable, reputable, quick, and preferably research-based (not vital for you). Then bust your ass while you are there to get the gpa up.</p>
<p>I would suggest either buying or checking out library books to study for the Gre. Kaplan has a good practice book devoted solely to the math portion of the test.</p>