Physics GRE Discussion Forums

Sorry if this has been posted before but I haven't seen if while browsing these forums occasionally over the past year or so.

In my first two years of physics I was going through some extremely hard family health issues. I hardly did homework or studied because I was depressed. Since then in my upper divisional classes I've average a 3.8 gpa. Will grad schools understand what I was going through or just look at my overall gpa of about 3.3 and dismiss me as a lower-medium level student? I understand you guys don't know what my letters of recommendation will say or my research experience but please offer your best guess.

Thanks!

many schools specifically ask for upper division GPA and you can explain in your SOP the issue you in the freshman year.
look at the GPA and Transcript section of the forum. you can find similar cases. and also these two:

http://www.physicsgre.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2930
http://www.physicsgre.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=3124

So my 3.8+ over the last 2 years would get me a look from the top schools? Or is that a waste of time?

Thanks!

Your gpa is only a small piece of a much larger picture. Graduate schools will take your entire application into account, so no, you won't be dismissed just because of your gpa.

Thanks a lot. I appreciate it. I'll submit my profile when I apply.