So I have read quite a few forums but plenty of them say contradictory information when it comes the particular category of life after undergrad graduation and the continuation into academia. With that in mind if my question resembles a previous one please just point me in the right direction.
Now to begin, yes I am indeed a somewhat recent graduate of a general biology program as of June 2013. Due to extenuating circumstances (which I will touch on later) I had what one could describe as a difficult time when it came to getting the best grades. I ended up with a 2.71 GPA which is not something I usually like to admit, but due to a challenging acceptance of my too-late diagnosed anxiety disorder which wasn’t under any semblance control to the point where I would have pretty panic attacks during class and tests. It wasn’t till the end of my junior year that I actually confronted my problems that things started to get better. Was my emotional control perfect? The short answer is no, but I was able to increase my grades at a pretty steady and unexpected rate.
With that said I am planning on one day applying to immunology graduate programs but I don’t want to do so until I am sure that my application won’t end up on the admission’s office floor. As of now I am studying for the GRE (both general and biology subject tests) and working out possible volunteer positions with local HIV/AIDS research labs.
So with all that said, if I were to continue on this track do ANY of you think it would be possible for me to get into a masters program and then an eventual phd program or straight in to a phd program? If any of you readers see this and have anything to comment on or advise please don’t hesitate… anything helps?
PS. If anyone can think of ‘decent schools’ that I should look into … Please let me know
Hey, Cold-Feet. Just so you know, you responded to a thread that hasn’t been active in seven years. I’ll notify a mod, who will probably split your post into a new thread, which will make it easier for you to get responses.
As for grad school, I think anyone can get into some grad school somewhere. It’s definitely true that no one should give up without even applying. The GPA is only one thing out of many that they consider, and often it’s not even all that important. Schools like grad students, especially in science - they’re cheap slave labor!
Not that I’m bitter as a sixth-year biology PhD student.
It wasn’t immunology lab, but my graduate lab had students with a mixture of academic pedigrees and abilities. I had really really smart labmates. And then I had some that weren’t so smart. Or they were like me, in the middle. I’m certain our test scores and grades followed a similar pattern. Some of us made it and some of didn’t. And it didn’t break out the way you’d always predict
Our graduate advisor wanted it to be “mixed” like that, I’m guessing. She wanted the best. But she also defined “best” in broad ways and made sure to not reduce students to mere numbers. But she was a bitch and played favorites and rode your ass if you couldn’t keep up. She gave everyone an opportunity, but she didn’t coddle or hand-hold.
It also helped that we were all Americans. Nothing against Chinese scholars, but the language barrier they experienced was a serious issue for everyone in my graduate program. So it seemed to me that if you spoke English and you met the minimum requirements and came across halfway intelligent in your application (and had interests that were aligned with what the school offered), then you were sitting pretty as far as admissions go. English-speaking TAs were at a premium. That was fifteen years ago, though. Maybe things are different now.
My experiences rather match the OPs. I’m now in my 3rd year of a PhD program. My personal I-have-a-shitty-GPA meltdown was in this thread. In summary:
My undergrad GPA is 2.5. On the other hand, by the time I applied to graduate school I had pretty extensive research experience – 2 years as an undergrad, 3 years as a technician. My experience was backed up by strong recommendation letters: one from my undergrad advisor, one from the PI I tech’d for, and another from a seriously big-shot collaborator. I also had ninetysomething percentile scores on the GRE general and subject tests.
I applied to nine graduate programs, basically most of the programs ranked between #5 and #20 by the usual rating bodies. From that I got five interviews, two offers, and there might have been more but I made my decision before two of the interviews.
Kvetching about academia is one of the major hobbies of the academic, isn’t it?
To the OP: As my experience shows, bad grades will not completely torpedo your chances at getting in to grad school. Good GRE scores will help, but most of the time test scores are a pretty small factor in admissions. Really what you need is experience and recommendations.
So what do you have so far? Did you work in a research lab during undergrad? Did you have any sort of independent project, or did you just wash dishes and prep samples for someone else’s project? Did you get a science related job after graduating? Do you know at least two professors who will write glowing recommendation letters about your research skills? Without most of these things, your chances at getting in to a decent program are pretty low.
If you really want to go down this path, I suggest finding a job as a research technician/assistant. This will give you actual research experience, and a chance to impress people working in the field so that they’ll write you a recommendation. Plus you should really try doing research hands-on before you commit to grad school. There is a tremendous amount of tedium and outright failure, even in the best circumstances. The nuggets of reward – the eureka! moments, the conversations with amazingly smart people – come along very infrequently. A lot of people really aren’t cut out for the day-to-day reality of research.
(Unfortunately, the “post-bac” technician job almost seems to be a requirement these days. The vast majority of students in my program worked as a technician in academia or industry. This adds even more years to the “training” period of a science career. You’ll be in school or temporary trainee jobs from age 18 to 35.)
There’s probably a graduate program in East Bumfuck State University, West Satellite Campus that will accept absolutely anyone, but you really don’t want to go there. You’ll essentially have to work full-time as a TA and do your research on the side, without access to good resources.
And do not go to grad school unless someone is willing to pay your way. Any decent program will pay your tuition and a modest stipend.
First off, don’t apply to McGill. The office staff will discard it since McGill instituted a 3.0 minimum (against my strong protest, I might add).
Anyway, you have to find a school that is not so stupid. Then what I would recommend is that you register for some course that is required for the program as a special student and get an A. That ought to impress someone. If it doesn’t, repeat.
I don’t want this to turn into a rant against McGill, but they also won’t allow that.
