Comments | applyingtograd: apply now? boost my gpa? gain experience?

eyeninetyfive in applyingtograd

apply now? boost my gpa? gain experience?

Apr 13, 2009 21:27

hello all,

i'm having a difficult time deciding on whether or not i should take some classes as a non-degree student, study abroad, or immediately apply to grad school after i finish my undergrad in the Fall of 2009.

here's a little background info:
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gpa, applying, work experience

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eyeninetyfive April 14 2009, 02:46:50 UTC

The best advice I can give you is to e-mail prospective departments and ask them how firm they are on their minimum GPA requirements and ask if a sort-of-high GPA in Spanish would help offset that.
I didn't realize a 3.8 was "sort of high" i thought it was pretty good :/

The main reason for my failing grade in this class is because i have gotten too far behind on the labs to make them up in time. I also was not really interested in the material. What i plan to study in grad school is something that i'm passionate about and really want to study.

tisiphone April 14 2009, 11:53:08 UTC

Maybe so, but grad schools are interested in how you do the boring stuff as well as how you do in what you're really passionate. Grad school isn't some idyll in the ivory tower where you'll only be exposed to or expected to do exactly what you are interested in. Even in the PhD program you're going to be teaching boring crap to freshmen at the same time as exploring your own research interests. So basically, admissions committees aren't going to care that you flunked it because you weren't interested in it.

roseofjuly April 19 2009, 09:15:11 UTC

I think it sort of depends. I would argue that political science is directly related to the degree he plans to pursue, so that F is going to have more of an impact. But if the OP had failed, like, PE or freshman math, I'd say it wasn't as important that the OP wasn't really interested in it.

tisiphone April 19 2009, 09:21:13 UTC

Well, of course. (At least I hope to hell that's the case, given that I've failed an unrelated class myself :() But the OP said it was a major class, they just weren't interested in it...

fullofpink April 14 2009, 12:46:24 UTC

Maybe one of your saving graces is that some programs only (truly) consider your last 60 credit hours. A LOT of people do really poorly freshmen and sophomore years and so they rather see your commitment in the final years of your undergraduate study. Is the F your only bad grade in the last 60 hours? If so, there may be a chance. If not... then I would definitely speak with your undergraduate adviser or even some of your Spanish professors about your options. Many C's (more than 3) look really bad on a transcript - grades lower than that are, as you can imagine, much worse ( ... )

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