# 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:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/21 "2005-03-29T08:45:26Z")
> [@GilaB](#): > > **Harmonix** , are you thinking of grad school in the sciences? What discipline? Yea. I haven’t decided what I want to do grad work in. So far i’m leaning toward something dealing with immunology/virology. But I have many many interests. I’m a biotechnology major at UC Davis. So far i’m running a flat 3.0 gpa overall with ~3.4 GPA in major(probably going to be bumped up by the time i graduate). No GRE’s yet. ---
**Author:** ![Newton\_meter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/57b2e6/32.png) [@Newton\_meter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newton_meter)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/22 "2005-03-29T11:11:01Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > 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. You’re not the only one who is so “lucky”. **What university did you attend?** George Mason University **What was your major?** Computer Science **What was your GPA?** 3.8ish out of 4.0 **what was your GRE?** Don’t remember. **What was your CS GRE subject test?** Don’t remember. **Did you work before going to grad school?** I worked in my field as an undergraduate, and I worked between my stints in grad school. I went to Indiana University initially. I left after some years, worked as a research scientist in industry for another handful of years, and am now finishing the Ph.D. at Aarhus University. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/23 "2005-03-29T13:25:04Z")
What university did you attend? **Ithaca College** What was your major? **Math** What was your GPA? \*\*3 something. \*\* what was your GRE? **790 math. 760 Quantitative. Something verbal. A math major should have received 800 math. Not sure what happened.** Did you work before going to grad school? **No** Whered you get into grad school? **Applied to Texas, Oregon State, Johns Hopkins. Got into all three. Got a masters at Oregon State in Operations Research, then reapplied to JHU, came here for a Ph.D and left before earning it with a masters in Mathematical Sciences. I pretty much spent my entire 20s in Grad School. Loved almost every minute of it.** ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/24 "2005-03-29T14:25:58Z")
I’ve attended two Universities for grad school – one for my Master’s degree and one for my PhD. My undergrad was at Michigan State in Mechanical Engineering, where I had a 3.6something – respectable, but not stellar. I went to work full time, and (almost immediately) enrolled at Western Michigan University part time for a Master’s in ME (so not much work experience yet). Western’s not that competitive, and didn’t require a GRE or any other exam to enroll. I finished my degree there with a 3.9something. Now I’d had five or so years of work experience, and I decided to go back full time for a PhD. I took my GREs – 800M, 800Q, 790V – and on the strength of that got into U of Michigan (which is probably a top-five school for ME). ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/25 "2005-03-29T18:10:25Z")
> [@Harmonix](#): > > What university did you attend? UC Santa Cruz. > [@](#): > > What was your major? As an undergrad, I majored in astronomy, physics, math, and computer science. But I only graduated with degrees in astronomy, physics, and math, because I am a big slacker 😉 Actually, it was because computer science classes with term projects and grad school visits don’t mix well. In grad school, I got a master’s in astronomy. I had originally planned to get a PhD, but that didn’t happen. > [@](#): > > What was your GPA? 3.57 > [@](#): > > what was your GRE? 730 verbal, 770 math, 780 analytical > [@](#): > > What was your \ Physics GRE. 63rd percentile or thereabout. > [@](#): > > Did you work before going to grad school? Unless you count being a TA or research assistant while I was an undergrad, no. > [@](#): > > Whered you get into grad school? MIT, Cornell, UC Santa Cruz, U of Arizona, Caltech, U of Colorado ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/26 "2005-03-30T02:13:03Z")
> [@Harmonix](#): > > Yea. I haven’t decided what I want to do grad work in. So far i’m leaning toward something dealing with immunology/virology. But I have many many interests. I also didn’t know what I wanted, beyond a vague interest in cell bio. (I ended up in a microscopy oriented signaling lab, FWIW.) I only applied to one program that made me choose a department right off the bat, and I knew as soon as I interviewed there that it wouldn’t be a good match for me, even though it was a great program. Most the programs I applied to were open, meaning that you’re admitted to the entire graduate division and only chose a department when you chose a lab. Rotations, which are rather like dating a bunch of labs, then deciding which one you’ll marry, are absolutely critical, particularly if you’ve got a wide range of interests. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/27 "2005-03-30T03:26:42Z")
> [@Harmonix](#): > > Yea. I haven’t decided what I want to do grad work in. So far i’m leaning toward something dealing with immunology/virology. But I have many many interests. > > I’m a biotechnology major at UC Davis. So far i’m running a flat 3.0 gpa overall with ~3.4 GPA in major(probably going to be bumped up by the time i graduate). > > No GRE’s yet. Got my PhD in immunology about six months ago. If I had one piece of advice, it would be to go to acting school instead. Seriously, make SURE you know what you are getting into. If you are interested in a tenure track university position, chances are VERY slim that you will get one. Many grad students drop out along the way, you have to do about seven to nine years of postdocing (at about 30 K per year) before you will even be considered for a tenure track position. Only 11% of postdocs get tenure track positions, and that doesn’t count the ones that gave up along the way and decided to go to industry or do something else entirely. I got profoundly lucky and landed a pretty good gig out of grad school (in industry). Oh, and to answer your questions, Columbia University. Had a GPA only around 3.0 at Cornell University, but kicked absolute booty on the GRE. Don’t remember the scores, but they were pretty damn good. At least 95 percentile across the board (I have no illusion that this means I’m smart. I know how to take tests). But, to reiterate, don’t just go into science because you like science. That’s not enough. Talk to some scientists at your school. Then, talk to the postdocs and grad students in their labs. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Macphisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@Ms\_Macphisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Macphisto)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/28 "2005-03-30T04:14:24Z")
What university did you attend? McGill What was your major? Microbiology and Immunology What was your GPA? 3.3/4.0 what was your GRE? Didn’t take it. What was your \ Didn’t take any. Did you work before going to grad school? Only summers. Whered you get into grad school? University of British Columbia, Department of Microbiology and Immunology. I did my research in an immunology lab and got my Masters in the fall of 2003. I’m currently working in industry as a glorified lab tech (I contribute fairly actively to my direct supervisor’s research project, but at times like now, when we’re in a big pre-clinical push, I’m just another mindless cog in the machine). Despite my previous comment, I’m enjoying the work for now, especially when I get to work on my supervisor’s project - there’s a lot of really interesting stuff going on with it. ---
**Author:** ![pasunejen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@pasunejen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pasunejen)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/29 "2005-03-30T04:25:25Z")
**What university did you attend?** Boston University **What was your major?** Linguistics **What was your GPA?** 3.67 overall, somewhat higher in my major. **what was your GRE?** 750 Math, 740 Verbal, something embarrassingly low on the analytical writing section, due to poor test-taking skills in that area. **Did you work before going to grad school?** No, but I ought to have. **Whered you get into grad school?** University of Chicago Dept. of Linguistics PhD program. 3.9 GPA thus far, but in all likelihood I’ll be leaving after this (my first) year due to a number of converging influences. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/30 "2005-04-01T04:01:17Z")
> [@GilaB](#): > > Rotations, which are rather like dating a bunch of labs, then deciding which one you’ll marry, are absolutely critical, particularly if you’ve got a wide range of interests. Rotations sounds great. Could you possibly flesh out the idea of them a bit? How long at each lab? how involved were you in them? etc > [@ms Macphisto](#): > > I did my research in an immunology lab and got my Masters in the fall of 2003. I’m currently working in industry as a glorified lab tech (I contribute fairly actively to my direct supervisor’s research project, but at times like now, when we’re in a big pre-clinical push, I’m just another mindless cog in the machine). I love research, but i’d really hate being stuck as just a lab tech. I want some sort of influence on the project at hand. Do you feel that you’d be able to contribute intellectually if you were only a B.S? Are there any Bachelors only at your lab? How do they fair? ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/31 "2005-04-01T04:09:25Z")
Still attending, but I’ll bite anyway: What university did you attend? Seton Hill (not Hall) University What was your major? Writing What was your GPA? Pass/fail system what was your GRE? Didn’t take one What was your \ Not applicable Did you work before going to grad school? No, though I wish I would have. I did work while going to school, and will be starting up again in a week. ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/32 "2005-04-01T06:19:50Z")
What university did you attend? Hendrix College What was your major? English What was your GPA? Somewhere around 3.6 what was your GRE? 760 verbal, 640 quant, 780 subject (English) What was your \ Did you work before going to grad school? No, but I should have – I was burned out and bailed out of grad school after 3 semesters of course work Whered you get into grad school? I applied at Yale, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Virginia, Emory, and SUNY-Binghamton. Got into Yale, Virginia, Emory, and SUNY-Binghamton. Full ride (tuition + stipend) at Yale, Emory, and Binghamton, no aid offer from Virginia (they’d stopped offering any aid to first-year students in the English program then). Got waitlisted at John Hopkins and turned down at Cornell. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Macphisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@Ms\_Macphisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Macphisto)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559/33 "2005-04-01T08:08:00Z")
> [@Harmonix](#): > > I love research, but i’d really hate being stuck as just a lab tech. I want some sort of influence on the project at hand. Do you feel that you’d be able to contribute intellectually if you were only a B.S? Are there any Bachelors only at your lab? How do they fair? There are a few people with only a B.Sc., as well as a fair number of people with a diploma from a community college. They get a different job title (research assistant vs research associate) and lower pay, but the difference in terms of actual responsibilities depends a lot on both their personality and that of their supervisor. As well, while this isn’t quite what you asked, from what I’ve seen so far (in the interests of fair disclosure, this is my first “real” career-type job and I’ve only had it for about 9 months), the assistants with a B.Sc. have greater prospects for promotion than the people with a diploma, and some of them certainly do contribute intellectually. Now I just need to figure out what my prospects are! I’m enjoying my job at the moment, and I’m in no rush for a change, but I certainly can’t see myself doing this forever. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-so-you-got-into-grad-school/296559.md?page=1)