# Poll: So you got into grad school? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 28, 2005, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559 "2005-03-28T04:45:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/1 "2005-03-28T04:45:54Z")
Just gathering some statistics to ponder over. I’m mostly interested in science grads. What university did you attend? What was your major? What was your GPA? what was your GRE? What was your \ Did you work before going to grad school? Whered you get into grad school? ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/2 "2005-03-28T08:27:48Z")
This is really naive, but what is this “grad school” you speak of? Honours? Post-grad? Under-Grad? We don’t use the term down here. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/3 "2005-03-28T08:34:37Z")
I was thinking Masters and Doctoral programs. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/4 "2005-03-28T08:38:53Z")
> [@Harmonix](#): > > I was thinking Masters and Doctoral programs. Thank-you for clearing up another cultural misunderstanding 😉 ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/5 "2005-03-28T20:46:11Z")
I just received my Ph.D. in Chemistry last December. What university did you attend? – The Ohio State University What was your major? – Inorganic Chemistry What was your GPA? – In undergrad, 3.73; 3.43 in Grad school. what was your GRE? – 690 Verbal, 730 Quantitative, 780 Analytical What was your \ – I don’t remember what I got on the Chemistry GRE Subject Test, but it wasn’t very good (75th percentile IIRC) Did you work before going to grad school? – Only for the summer in between undergrad and grad school Whered you get into grad school? – I applied to OSU, Cornell, Wisconsin, Colorado State, Berkeley, and Minnesota. I was accepted at all of them. HTH ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/6 "2005-03-28T21:13:18Z")
> [@Harmonix](#): > > I’m mostly interested in science grads. Tough. 😛 **What university did you attend?** Cabrini College, Radnor, PA **What was your major?** Communications **What was your GPA?** 2.9 **what was your GRE?** N/A 🆒 **Did you work before going to grad school?** Yes, for 11 years. And I’m still working. **Whered you get into grad school?** George Mason University, Fairfax, VA (the only place I applied) And now, back to your regularly-scheduled science majors… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/7 "2005-03-28T21:43:26Z")
**What university did you attend?** University of Illinois at Chicago **What was your major?** Industrial Engineering **What was your GPA?** Pre-grad school, 4.2/5.0. In grad school 4.5/5.0 \*\*what was your GRE? \*\* Didn’t take it **What was your \** None taken **Did you work before going to grad school?** Nope **Whered you get into grad school?** UIC is the only place I applied. Actually I didn’t really apply. I told my advisor I didn’t feel like I was ready for a real job and he said he’d take me on as a TA if I was interested in getting my masters. Free tuition, free books and a $500 a month stipend sounded pretty good so took him up on it. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/8 "2005-03-28T22:07:34Z")
> [@Harmonix](#): > > Just gathering some statistics to ponder over. I’m mostly interested in science grads. > > What university did you attend? > What was your major? > What was your GPA? > what was your GRE? > What was your \ > Did you work before going to grad school? > > Whered you get into grad school? Computer Science Grad School Student here Kennesaw State University Information Systems No GPA yet, I’m in my first semester (Magna Cum Laude undergrad, though) Don’t remeber GRE score, but I was in 80th % I believe. No other Graduate test taken. Yes, I’m 43 years old, and went back about 3 years ago to finish my undergrad when I got laid off 2nd time in less than a year. Plus previous work experience is required to get into my grad program (Supposedly) ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/9 "2005-03-28T22:41:09Z")
What university did you attend? Colby College, Waterville, ME What was your major? History What was your GPA? 2.8 what was your GRE? 660V, 620Q, 730A (I think they all would have been higher, but I got bored with the testing process. And I took all of a week to prep for it, sort of.) What was your \N/A Did you work before going to grad school? Yes, for seven years in a completely unrelated field. Whered you get into grad school? University of Tennessee, the only place I applied (I decided late, so I hadn’t missed the application deadline there). School of Information Science (ok, I’m a librarian. :p) ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/10 "2005-03-28T22:57:24Z")
> [@quixotic78](#): > > I just received my Ph.D. in Chemistry last December. > What was your GPA? – In undergrad, 3.73; 3.43 in Grad school. > > HTH Was that 3.73 GPA in your major or overall GPA? ---
**Author:** ![gfloyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d2c977/32.png) [@gfloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gfloyd)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/11 "2005-03-28T23:27:29Z")
-I’m graduating from UMass Lowell in May -Chemistry -3.95 or so out of 4.0, overall, too lazy and ambivalent to do out my chem one - 800 math, 620 verbal, 5.5 out of 6 on essay - over the summers as a research assisstant - I applied to and was accepted at UCSD, UC Berkeley, UC Davis and UW Madison. I’m going to Davis in the fall -750 (I think) on my Chem GREs ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/12 "2005-03-29T01:12:23Z")
What university did you attend? UCLA What was your major? Biology What was your GPA? I think it was a 3.8 what was your GRE? Don’t remember Did you work before going to grad school? Went straight from undergrad to graduate school… not sure I would do it that way again. Where’d you get into grad school? UCLA ---
**Author:** ![Adking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7993a0/32.png) [@Adking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adking)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/13 "2005-03-29T02:24:09Z")
Undergrad: University of Victoria, 8.6/9.0 Master’s: University of Toronto, 4.0/4.3 Ph. D.: McGill, 4.0/4.0 so far. This is all in math and computer science; I never did the GRE because I didn’t want to go to the States. My record was good enough to get into any CS program in Canada, I think, but I only applied to UVic, Simon Fraser, Toronto, and McGill. I never took time off. My LSAT score was 173 (99th %ile), but I’m really glad I never went to law school. ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/14 "2005-03-29T02:26:34Z")
> [@Harmonix](#): > > Was that 3.73 GPA in your major or overall GPA? Overall. I don’t remember what my major GPA was. About the same, I’d guess. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/15 "2005-03-29T07:05:01Z")
**What university did you attend?** Wittenberg University (Springfield, Ohio) **What was your major?** English, with a computer science minor **What was your GPA?** 3.83 **What was your GRE?** General, 720V 780Q 800A; subject, not so good **Did you work before going to grad school?** Summers only (as a proofreader). I wish I’d taken more time off between programs. **Whered you get into grad school?** Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Penn State, and Ohio State. I got assistantship offers from the last 3 and chose Penn State, where I got an MA in English and then left before finishing the PhD. ---
**Author:** ![Mesquite-oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mesquite-oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesquite-oh)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/16 "2005-03-29T07:11:16Z")
I was a psych. major 15 yrs. ago and I don’t remember much about my GRE, GPA, or anything like that. I just know that they were not all THAT impressive. For me, it seemed that graduate programs were recruiting heavily to get as many tudent as they possibly could. After talking to a few deans, I was verbally “accepted” to 3 or 4 MA programs without even filling out any applications. The applications seemed like a formality. In my field, graduate school was mostly a review. However, the practicums and internships and the on the job training was awesome and invaluable. I took off a year after my BA and worked before applying, then I worked during my graduate school. It was not hard at all. In my field, many of my fellow graduate students were older people with jobs and families who were going through a midlife career change. I believe the profs took this into account when designing the work load. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/17 "2005-03-29T07:40:40Z")
I’m in a PhD program in cell biology. What university did you attend? Barnard College What was your major? Biology (European history minor) What was your GPA? 3.24 undergrad; grad school’s pass/fail (I’ve passed all my (mostly irrelevant) coursework respectably but without (irrelevant) honors; now it’s just lab.) what was your GRE? 770 Math, 790 Verbal, 800 Analytical (standardized tests were always my grand talent in life - I was almost sorry after the GREs that I’d never take another one again.) What was your GRE Biology Subject Test? 910/990, which was 99th percentile (the numbers don’t mean anything to me, either) Did you work before going to grad school? Nope, went straight through. Where’d you get into grad school? University of Pennsylvania and Einstein, where I go now. I was incredibly torn, and went back and forth pretty much until the last possible moment. **Harmonix** , are you thinking of grad school in the sciences? What discipline? ---
**Author:** ![aurelian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f4b2a3/32.png) [@aurelian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurelian)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/18 "2005-03-29T07:45:23Z")
Man, on a board with so many geeks, this could get ugly… 😉 What university did you attend? Iowa State What was your major? English/ Spanish What was your GPA? 3.94/ 4 what was your GRE? I forget - lower than I had hoped. Important advice: Go to the bathroom when you get the chance. 🙂 What was your \ PSAT - 1480; ACT 32 Did you work before going to grad school? Not full-time; went straight from undergraduate. Where’d you get into grad school? [/QUOTE] UW-Madison, one of the top ten Spanish programs in the US \ I don’t know if this applies to the sciences (any opinions?) but I felt like my letters of recommendation were meaningful, too. I asked two professors that I had worked really closely with; I felt like they understood how I worked and what my goals were. Both wrote personal recommendations (there are profs that just have a generic sort of form and then fill in the blanks) and they were really positive. IMO, the recommendations (and my SoP) were important because graduate school is about more than just being ‘smart’ (as I learned the hard way my first year), and the letters were able to point to the strengths that don’t show up on a test. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/19 "2005-03-29T07:52:04Z")
What university did you attend? San Diego State University What was your major? Computer science What was your GPA? Pre-grad school, 3.6. In grad school 3.9 what was your GRE? 790 verbal, 770 quantitative, 800 analytical Did you work before going to grad school? Yes, but nowhere interesting! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/20 "2005-03-29T08:15:38Z")
What university did you attend? MIT What was your major? Computer Science (actually the CS option of EE) What was your GPA? Somewhere between 4 and 5, closer to 4. MIT has a 5 point scale what was your GRE? God knows. I took it the weekend we returned from watching Apollo 17 take off. It was probably respectable, but nowhere as good as my SATs. What was your \ Did you work before going to grad school? Nope. I did get a job offer from a defense contractor around Boston, but I’m sure glad I refused it. I was nowhere near ready to work. Whered you get into grad school? The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I passed my quals and orals and all that stuff, then my advisor died on me. No one else there was doing what I wanted to do. My old officemate went down to the University of SW Louisana (now U of L) where a top guy was working in the area I wanted to work in. So I’m the lucky guy who passed two sets of quals and orals. Though the second set was a lot easier than the first. I’m glad I did it too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559.md?page=2)