Problem
Each member of a research group visited either the Virgin Islands or Hawaii...
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Okay, in retrospect, maybe it wasn't the best idea to take Advanced Organic Chemistry during your first, chaot
ic year of college--your transcript easily could have done without that C- you worked your butt off to score.
Maybe you could say the same for Latin III, Ancient Greek History, or any of the other classes besmirching your transcript and making you fee
l like you will NEVER, EVER get into the graduate school of your choice. We understand: You've got the low GPA blues.
But you're not alone--and you have no reason to feel doomed. Here are some tips for bouncing back from a low GPA and developing the confidenc
e necessary to take the graduate school admissions process by the reins.
Take a Deep Breath and Relax!
While you might imagine the grad school applicant pool brimming with 4.0 superstars just waiting to blow your application out of the water, i
t's not. You're in the company of plenty of people who wish they had performed better during their undergraduate years and who are now suffer
ing from similar crises of confidence. The good news is that most of you can still get into graduate school if you keep your cool and approac
h the process strategically.
Choose a Realistic List of Schools--The GPA Scale Is All Relative
Have you made friends with your college's graduate school (pre-law, pre-mba, pre-med, etc.) advisor yet? If not, hop to it! Their job is to h
elp you compile a list of schools that will realistically suit your needs and strengths. He or she will be the first to discourage you from h
aving impossible expectations and will coach you to be flexible. If you think exclusively in terms of "name" schools with national reputation
s, there's a good chance you'll be disappointed. But you can get a great education at many schools that will primarily consider factors beyon
d your sub-3.0 GPA, and your job is to figure out which ones they are. Keep in mind: one school's lower-range GPA is another school's highest
.
Do your research: Books such as The Princeton Review's Complete Book of Graduate Programs in the Arts and Sciences and online searches like s
uch as the Advanced Graduate School Search will give you a concrete sense of how your GPA and GRE scores match up with students who have been
accepted at the schools you're considering.
Ace the GRE
The GRE, while not usually weighted as heavily as your undergraduate GPA, is important, especially if you are required to take a GRE Subject
Test. So get cracking! Aim to score above the median score of your chosen schools. A high score will help you stand out from applicants with
equal or higher GPAs.
Communicate with Your Recommendation Writers
Your letters of recommendation are a valuable opportunity to compensate for a low GPA. You should be frank with the professors writing your r
ecommendations. Let them know that your GPA isn't as high as you'd like and share with them any circumstances relating to why. Looping in you
r professors allows those with academic credibility to address your concerns on your behalf. This can be very persuasive to an admissions com
mittee.
If your transcript shows an upward trend, find professors who knew you in the later period of your academic career. Also, if your grades for
classes in your major are higher than your overall GPA, ask them to highlight that. They can point out your strengths and emphasize your prog
ress while acknowledging the reservations you have about your GPA.
The Personal Statement and Addendum
Your letters of recommendation are a valuable opportunity to compensate for a low GPA. You should be frank with the professors writing your r
ecommendations. Let them know that your GPA isn't as high as you'd like and share with them any circumstances relating to why. Looping in you
r professors allows those with academic credibility to address your concerns on your behalf. This can be very persuasive to an admissions com
mittee.
If your transcript shows an upward trend, find professors who knew you in the later period of your academic career. Also, if your grades for
classes in your major are higher than your overall GPA, ask them to highlight that. They can point out your strengths and emphasize your prog
ress while acknowledging the reservations you have about your GPA.
The Personal Statement and Addendum
The personal statement is one of your best chances to distinguish yourself as something greater than the sum o
f your stats. Talk about particularly interesting accomplishments, experiences, aspirations, and obstacles you've overcome. Communicate with
personality and conviction, and don't be modest! You may or may not want to address the issue of your low GPA in the essay-while some admissi
ons officers encourage a candid discussion of GPA, the personal statement may not be the best place to do it.
Consider attaching a separate addendum with a short paragraph containing some justification for lower grades or an explanation of an upward t
rend. If you switched your major midway through college from a hard science to a more appropriate discipline, or if you took time off and ret
urned to achieve a more impressive record, this is your chance to make it clear. Writing a separate addendum will allow you to keep a positiv
e focus in your personal statement.
The Real World
Though it might seem that everyone in graduate school entered right out of college, in truth, many graduate school students took a year or mo
re off before returning to the classroom. If you feel that you could use some time after graduation to demonstrate your ability in a non-acad
emic environment, you might get an edge over candidates with similar GPAs and GRE scores. Use this time to find work related to your field of
interest and take time to reflect on your career choice.
Another benefit of taking time off? You can take some graduate-level courses in your intended field of study to prove that you can handle the
coursework. While most graduate schools won't factor those grades into your overall GPA, they will consider them (law schools are a notable
exception, however). Some may even give you academic credit toward your degree. In fact, a few graduate programs even have established non-ma
triculated programs that allow you to begin working toward a graduate degree before you are formally accepted. Admissions standards for non-m
atriculated programs are usually less stringent than regular admissions. Doing well in such a program can make your application a virtual sho
e-in despite your less than stellar undergraduate GPA.
Graduate School Admissions Officers Are People, Too
Remember: Your application will be considered by human beings with subjective criteria. Instead of envisioning the admissions staff as a grou
p of heartless automatons eager to toss your application into the proverbial "circular file," imagine them as a thinking body open to seeing
the best in what you have to offer. Convince them of your virtues and trust them to be impressed by your strengths. Contrary to what you migh
t hear, graduate school admissions is not just a numbers game.
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