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[tidefan]

Hello everyone, I was hoping to illicit some feedback on my current situation.  I am currently waiting the results of applications for ph.d. programs in political science to several top 25 schools.  My question is that I began my undergraduate education in electrical engineering and was there for three years.  During that time I struggled mightily with my classes, mainly due to the fact that I hated engineering (which took me three years to discover).  I also managed to accumulate a paltry 2.6 g.p.a.  I subsuquently switched majors to Asian Studies and finished out my undergraduate years on the dean's list, barely making anything under an A, and graduating with a 3.02 overall g.p.a., and a 3.76 in my major.

I then went on to get a master's degree in International Affairs from a top five program and finished with a 3.66 g.p.a.

What impact will my poor undergraduate g.p.a. have on my admission chances, and will admissions officials look at my record of stellar performance since switching majors, particularly with regards to my master's g.p.a?

Thanks

[vardahilwen]

Hello everyone, I was hoping to illicit

I think you mean elicit :)

What impact will my poor undergraduate g.p.a. have on my admission chances, and will admissions officials look at my record of stellar performance since switching majors, particularly with regards to my master's g.p.a?

My situation was similar to yours.  Dismal undergrad GPA, worked a few years, went back to school and got a master's, did very well.  I got into the Ph.D. program of my choice, without a hitch.  The undergrad grades were a long time ago, and I had since proven myself.  This might differ by field, but I would think you'd be ok.

Vardahilwen

[katherineparr]

Years ago, I remember an applicant to a history program who'd spent 3 years as an accounting major. He woke up one morning and said, "What the heck am I doing? This bites!"

He got a good MA at my then-employer, and has gone on to an excellent PhD.

I don't remember his GPA, but switching fields when unhappy is a compelling enough story to stick with me all this time, and he wasn't even my student. So I suspect that aspect of your story will be of interest to any committee.

[tidefan]

My fear is that I will be weeded out before the general admissions committee even sees my application and my personal statement, where I explain what happened...

[scheherazade]

Have you made contact with any professors in the programs?  Often they will make sure an applicant they liked does not get weeded out.

Also, did you put a brief explanation of your switch, etc. in your application materials?  it would have been appropriate to explain very briefly.

[imawakenow]

At this point, what's done is done. You could have (or maybe did) address this in your SOP and/or had a letter writer address it.

That said, you can put me in the "poor undergraduate GPA but still accepted into Ph.D. program" crowd. I got into every program I applied to except one--and that one specifically mentioned my undergraduate GPA as one of the reasons I was rejected. Life.

[tidefan]

Have you made contact with any professors in the programs?  Often they will make sure an applicant they liked does not get weeded out.

Also, did you put a brief explanation of your switch, etc. in your application materials?  it would have been appropriate to explain very briefly.

I am very, very skeptical about the merits of contacting professors prior to hearing whether I have been accepted or not.  The last thing that I want to do is have a potential advisor see me as a kiss up.  That being said, I would appreciate some feedback as to whether contacting potential advisors is a good thing, from an advisor prospective, and what would be the best approach in doing such a thing...

[scheherazade]

Have you made contact with any professors in the programs?  Often they will make sure an applicant they liked does not get weeded out.

Also, did you put a brief explanation of your switch, etc. in your application materials?  it would have been appropriate to explain very briefly.

I am very, very skeptical about the merits of contacting professors prior to hearing whether I have been accepted or not.  The last thing that I want to do is have a potential advisor see me as a kiss up.  That being said, I would appreciate some feedback as to whether contacting potential advisors is a good thing, from an advisor prospective, and what would be the best approach in doing such a thing...

It depends on your field, oftentimes.  I have done this with success, as well as others I know, and some programs encourage or tacitly require it.

[tidefan]

My field is Political Science, and to my knowledge, none of the programs have implicitly or explicitly stated anything regarding contacting potential advisors.

[newbie]

My field is Political Science, and to my knowledge, none of the programs have implicitly or explicitly stated anything regarding contacting potential advisors.

Well, just so you know, this is often a good idea, regardless of what the program information says. Often programs want to match students to specific mentors, and the more you know about your mentors and can show that knowledge in your application, the better. At least that's the case for most fields I'm familiar with.

[tidefan]

I agree with you, which is why I made sure to identify which professors in each program I wanted to work with, and their particular field or subject of expertise.

I think that it would be different if one of my former professors or employers could make some type of emailed introduction on my behalf, although this is what LORs are for, in my opinion.

[katherineparr]

Well, regardless of the field standards, it sounds as if you're uncomfortable contacting professors.

If that's the case, then I say don't do it. That sort of thing is great if you're pretty calm, but if you feel weird about it (as I would, too, though it's normal in my field) then you'll sound weird, too.

I think you may just have to wait and see. You did what you could (mentioning it in your PS), so you can't control the process much more than that. Some schools might weed you out, others won't. It's impossible to predict more precisely than that.

[prof_d]

It shouldn't matter too much, the GPA.

But it is perfectly OK to contact professors, though it's best to do this earlier.  After all the Ph.D.is going to be about a relationship with a professor. You should have someone in mind, even if you change your mind later.  Presumably you've applied to Ph.D. programs because you were impressed/inspired by the work of one or more of the professors. It's more important to do, I think, in the sciences and engineering.  But even in poli sci (my home field long ago) it can't hurt--just don't send them weekly emails and updates.

When I advise undergrads planning to go to grad school, I make them find schools at least doing the kind of research they want to do. Granted,  most of mine stayed in engineering and the sciences.  So they have to find a lab or else end up unfunded.  Some very top labs won't fund a new student unless they have already proven they can get funding, like by having won an NSF grad fellowship (now there's a no-brainer) or a small grant. That's extreme, of course--but it really happened to one of mine.

[tidefan]

Well, I took everyone's advice and sent a brief email to the faculty person I would most want to work with at my number one choice school.  I did not write it in a way that requires a response, only to say that I like your stuff and if I get in I would love to work with you (more formal than that though).

So, there's goes nothin....

[acrimone]

You're kind of screwed, but it helps a LOT that your M.A. is essentially in the same area as the programs to which you are applying.  That gives it a sort of "preemption" value.  If you had an M.A. in, say, Composition, that wouldn't do anything to help your undergraduate record.  So it's not as bad as all that.

Yes, you're going to get screened out of several applicant pools.  It's not personal: they do it to save themselves time, not because they don't think you're valuable.  But assuming you're not a total incompetent, you'll get in somewhere.  Relax, do the best you can, and enjoy the ride.