grad school suggestion pls

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doguden
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grad school suggestion pls

Post by doguden » Wed Jun 10, 2009 6:25 pm

hi, I have just completed my junior year in physics in turkey in one of the top physics programs. I am in top 3 of my term, but my gpa is much lower than many people here. grades are a bit lower in my school I guess. It is 3.22 currently and I will applly with this gpa to grad schools. I need answers to these questions:

*how much important is gpa while applying to grad schools and can a good pgre score overcome a low gpa?

*which schools do you suggest me to apply? (for example with a pgre score of 850-900)
(for exp or theoretical condensed matter)(I have some theoretical research done)

thanks for any answers this very moment

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zxcv
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Re: grad school suggestion pls

Post by zxcv » Wed Jun 10, 2009 6:56 pm

GPA is very important when applying to graduate school, but it is considered relative to the grading system you come from. If you have the 3rd best grades in your class, make sure your professors write so in their letters and explain how a 3.22 GPA is an accomplishment in your system! So I don't think GPA will be an obstacle for you.

The bigger issue is the difficulty of international applications overall. I don't know exactly how hard it is, but it is certainly more difficult than domestic applications. How extensive is your research experience? That will have much more baring on your admission than anything else.

admissionprof
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Re: grad school suggestion pls

Post by admissionprof » Thu Jun 11, 2009 6:29 pm

Many admissions directors (including me) are aware that the Turkish grading system is the toughest in the world---a 3.2 is terrific. But many do not know this, so it is essential for your letter writers to mention your standing in the class, and to compare you with comparable students at US universities, if possible. Do a really good job on the TOEFL and GRE.

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twistor
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Re: grad school suggestion pls

Post by twistor » Thu Jun 11, 2009 9:49 pm

If only their grading system had half the reputation of their prison system...

tokamak
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Re: grad school suggestion pls

Post by tokamak » Thu Jun 11, 2009 11:15 pm

twistor wrote:If only their grading system had half the reputation of their prison system...
or the "the armenian genocide"

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sergei
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Re: grad school suggestion pls

Post by sergei » Fri Jun 12, 2009 3:50 am

tokamak wrote:
twistor wrote:If only their grading system had half the reputation of their prison system...
or the "the armenian genocide"
wow, how very very relevant to the question above...

The country with Guantanamo Bay detention camp has something to say about some other country's prison system? and the death penalty is still in active use, right??? ah sorry, i forget the racism in the US... sorry, my bad... of course no need to talk about Native American Genocide, Hiroshima and Nagasaki...

Metthew 7:1-5

1. Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4. Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5. Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

tokamak
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Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2007 4:40 pm

Re: grad school suggestion pls

Post by tokamak » Fri Jun 12, 2009 10:50 pm

sergei wrote:
tokamak wrote:
twistor wrote:If only their grading system had half the reputation of their prison system...
or the "the armenian genocide"
wow, how very very relevant to the question above...

The country with Guantanamo Bay detention camp has something to say about some other country's prison system? and the death penalty is still in active use, right??? ah sorry, i forget the racism in the US... sorry, my bad... of course no need to talk about Native American Genocide, Hiroshima and Nagasaki...

Metthew 7:1-5

1. Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4. Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5. Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
don't come so heavy on me ....I am not an american or european for that matter.......but i have seen both midnight express and footage of guantanamo bay and if I ever have to go to prison I would happily chose guantanamo bay....they even get icecream and the rooms are so clean.....and about racism, well i must disappoint you....IT'S EVERYWHERE.....it's deeply ingrained in human psyche.....and also every country should have death penalty...

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quizivex
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Re: grad school suggestion pls

Post by quizivex » Fri Jun 12, 2009 11:50 pm

sergei wrote:wow, how very very relevant to the question above...

The country with Guantanamo Bay detention camp has something to say about some other country's prison system?
I agree the comment about Turkey's prison system was irrelevant. But to compare Guantanamo Bay to genocide is laughable. Murdering thousands/millions of innocent civilians vs. imprisoning known and suspected terrorists (people who kill innocent civilians themselves)... quite a difference.

Indeed, the best thing to do when coming from a school with an unusually harsh grading policy is to have one/some of your recommenders make note of it and explain how distinguished your GPA is within the department. Some students in US schools (I recall one from Ohio State) also were concerned about grade deflation. And yeah, it is important to explain such things, considering how many near perfect GPAs the programs see each year.

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sergei
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Re: grad school suggestion pls

Post by sergei » Sat Jun 13, 2009 1:55 am

quizivex wrote:
sergei wrote:wow, how very very relevant to the question above...

The country with Guantanamo Bay detention camp has something to say about some other country's prison system?
I agree the comment about Turkey's prison system was irrelevant. But to compare Guantanamo Bay to genocide is laughable. Murdering thousands/millions of innocent civilians vs. imprisoning known and suspected terrorists (people who kill innocent civilians themselves)... quite a difference.
I did not compare Guantanamo Bay to genocide. I was comparing the prison system in Turkey and the US, and saying that the US prison system is not pure and transparent. ( it was in response to twistor's post)
"of course no need to talk about Native American Genocide, Hiroshima and Nagasaki" was the genocide parts of my post.
---

i guess even 990 PGRE cannot help you to get into top 10. And, I suggest you to apply schools ranked betewen 100-200.

doguden
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Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2009 8:34 am

Re: grad school suggestion pls

Post by doguden » Sat Jun 13, 2009 7:11 pm

I wouldnt be here if I want to talk about politics or internatioal relations or whatever.
Everybody is free to think in the way they do, but the place is not convenient for this discussion.
so if you want to end this situation why dont one of you explain me the effect of gre on applications.
I looked at all the profiles written in this forum and for example there were some asian people whose gpa is near 4.0 and pgre score is 990. they cant do better than that but they were not admitted to many schools they applied. what is the reason behind this, what prevents anyone, who has taken a similar score from pgre, to be treated in the same way?

nathan12343
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Re: grad school suggestion pls

Post by nathan12343 » Sat Jun 13, 2009 8:45 pm

Because GPA's and PGRE aren't everything. A far more important component of the application is research experience (particularly publications) and letters of recommendation from supervising professors. If you look through the profile threads, I doubt you'll find people who had good GPA, PGRE, AND research experience who did not get into top schools.



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