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low gpa decent scores

Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 2:54 pm
by Kujo
Hi. I recently graduated from a small but prestigious liberal arts college with a low gpa (2.7). But both my GRE (1500) and PGRE (860) are decent. I'm wondering with those stats if I'll be able to get into a reasonably well ranked phd program (complete w/ funding). Any info or advice would be much appreciated.

Re: low gpa decent scores

Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 3:32 pm
by grae313
The problem is that most graduate schools (that is, the bureaucracy that *all* graduate departments belong to) require a 3.0 minimum gpa for admission. A few do not require this (Cornell, for example), but most do. 3.0 is sort of a bare minimum cutoff. If you can, I would really recommend taking a year and getting your GPA up with some grad classes and/or advanced physics and math classes. Even if it doesn't bring your gpa up above a 3.0, if you get A's it can show a committee that you are focused and capable now. What is your upper division physics GPA like? If if it is really good, you'll be in much better shape. It's just a shame that you are limited to a handful of programs right off the bat by the 3.0 requirements. Check http://www.gradschoolshopper.com for requirements of different schools.