Be me

I'm in calc 4. Sorry Should of said that in original post.

Yeah I know a 4.0 is improbable. I just said it to make the point of much of a hole I've dug myself into.

Like I'm honestly considering dropping out and go into military. And just coming back afterwards.

This. I just finished my sophomore year and I have a 3.4 to 3.5 GPA with some research experience. I'm still going to apply to UW's grad program even though they have a ~10% acceptance rate because why not OP. I'll also apply to some lower-tier PhD programs because there's a good chance I won't make it in. Shoot for your dream school and have some backup options as well.

>even though they have a ~10% acceptance rate
That's quite common amongst PhD programs. If you're adequately qualified and cast a wide net, you should be able to get in somewhere that feels you are a good fit for them specifically. All of the grad schools that accepted me were sort of cut from the same mold, so to speak.

>Want to do go to Yale
>3.35 with my Bachelor's done
Welp, I hear Walmart is hiring.

going to yale just for the sake of yale is pretty fucking retarded. Yeah it's prestigious, but if you're not even going for specific degree then its a waste of your time.

But a 3.35 with your BS isn't necessarily bad. Depends on what you want to do.

MD-PHD. PHD in genetics. I like the way they conduct their program.

Unfortunately, even if I wanted to go back to undergrad and pull my GPA up, I can't afford it.

Oh. Well yeah man you have zero chance. What's your BS in? How old are you? How long ago did you get your BS?

You have zero chance of getting into yale's grad program unless you somehow are the next Einstein and can come up with some radical theory outside school.

If you're BS isn't in something related to BIO already you could go into the military, get a GI bill, then go back and can another BS related to BIO if you were absolutely dead set on a PHD in genetics. You wouldn't be able to get into yale unless you are absolutely stellar your 2nd time round but you could get into differnt school.

That makes sense, one of my friends who just graduated with a 3.9 got rejected from most of the schools he applied due to the committee thinking their research interests didn't align

Biology concentrated in immunology and physiology.

I graduated last month; am 21. If I went back, I'd do physics and take a biophysics sequence.

How many are transfer/test-outs and how many were earned there? You could be calculating your gpa incorrectly

Well its up to you of what you want to do.

You could decide to go a differnt path in life. You could go to school again. But recognize that if you went into the military and did school and grad school. you would be in your late thirties by the time you finished you're post doc work. On top of that, the chances of you getting anywhere are slim. You would have to work harder then you've ever had before.

I not interested in the military pathway. I'd honestly rather just take loans.

I don't care if I'm 50 when I get my PhD if I can work until I'm 70 or 80.

Dude I wouldn't worry. When I got in grad school, after five years of working in the chemical industry, they only gave me a somewhat hard time time about my GPA. I'd say just try your best. Also not everyone needs a Ph.D. these days.

The concern is also being able to get into the ungrad program, not just the graduate.

change schools dawg, it resets your GPA to 4.0.

where the fuck do you go that your gpa doesn't follow you?

>troll science: admissions edition

Some schools have a "fresh start" thing for people who have been out of school for some amount of. I'm going back to school this fall and starting fresh because I've been out of the pool for 5 years.

I don't know about you, but any classes I took at a different school were considered transfers and not count towards GPA.
It kinda screwed me over in the end, since I took some easy classes elsewhere.

ah. That makes more sense.

Yeah I'm considering dropping out, joining the military to become a mechanic or something while I reevaluate my life and get a gi to pay for school. So by the time I finish with the military that would apply to me, if I do go.

I'm a junior EE and only have a 3.41 . Considering ending my life.

>I'm considering dropping out, joining the military to become a mechanic or something while I reevaluate my life and get a gi to pay for school.
Kek I did this(hence why i'm going back to school now), except I was infantry because I wanted to fight baddies. Should have done something mroe applicable to my life goal desu. If you plan to go back to school, choose an MOS that is related to the ultimate goal you plan to go for. Military training counts for college credits, but then again, it's CLEP, and not all schools take CLEP credits.

Thats what I'm currently researching. Trying to find a good stem job in the military that doesn't require a degree or 8 years of my life.

I don't really want to go get shot at. Not interested in fighting some dirk dirk to hit a reset button on my life, just not worth it to me.

the navy nuke program sounds fucking amazing but i've worked fishing jobs before and I get seasick on rough water.

This guy. Also, you will most likely get accepted to the grad school that you will do well in. I'm starting to apply for applied math grad programs this year. My school is ranked in the top 30(in US) and I have a 3.86 GPA. I am applying to 2 schools ranked in top 20, 3 from 20-35 and 2 more in lower schools that I know I'll get accepted to. Most people with my GPA want to shoot big, but I don't exactly care about prestige. I just want a comfortable place to study math rather than struggling at a university that's too much for me.

Make sure you research the attrition rates for special schools like the nuke school for navy. That shit is fucking nuts. I have a friend who did well in it, but that's partly because he's an autist. There's so much shit to do in the military it's not even funny. Take your time and choose, if a recruiter or the liaison at MEPS says the job you want isn't available. They are a liar. If you know what you want, stick to it. Don't get fucked into something different.

>3.3
>I'm just going to drop out and go into military

I got into a top 50 chem grad school for inorganic chemistry that did a Biochem degree with a 3.35. Granted, I had a 3.6+ my last 2 years.

You do not need to go to a top school. I would say good rule of thumb is after the top 60 schools in the us (depending on your program) the research gets boring. You will be more than fine not going to a top 15.

Don't do MD-PhD. Huge waste of time. Pick one.

Obviously you're not gonna do research you want to do at a place that doesn't do that research.

Hard to argue with a free MD if you can get in.

Odds of me ever getting accepted are slim anyway.

Lel dude i took the 126 final on saturday too. Whos your professor? I got zhang he wasnt very good

Take it easy man. Don't take hard classes, get out of chemeng while you can and leave the jobs to me. tfw 3.9 gpa

UW has competitive engineering majors, so many of the students who come here for engineering get turned down in their sophmore year. Before you have a major you are "pre-engineering". I believe this applies to some sciences as well to a lesser extent, and mostly because of the pre-med students getting chem degrees.

How much can a master's overcome undergrad GPAs?

Say you have a 3.6 GPA, and a 3.9+ masters at a good school, could get make it into an Ivy?

Yup

~you make it

>want to get a bs in chem eng

You don't need a degree to learn how to most efficiently take it up the ass when will engineers learn?

Ivy League is a pretty shitty goal for picking a PhD program.

I should say top 10, but the meme gets me.

No. Your GPA won't do more than filter your application. You need good letters of recommendation and good research.

I'm still quite curious what constitutes "good" research in the context of PhD applications to top universities.

Obviously it isn't enough to have toiled in a lab for years with a professor producing nothing noteworthy.

>letters of rec

Computer science as well. So many people go to UW since it's computer science program is considered to be in the top 10 of computer science programs, yet they don't realize that it's easier getting into brand name schools like Berkeley then it is getting into that program.

Been a while since I've looked at the stats but I think the average gpa for acceptance is like 3.9 or a 3.8

You good, senpai?

golleges are the only people who care about the GPA you had in college. Just like the SAT is a test that determines how well you can take the SAT. I wouldnt worry about it.

Get experience on your resume. Even if it's just B.S. volunteer work, or some kind of personal project. That goes alot further to an employer than your grades do.

Interships and work study are smarter ways to get experience. Doing workstudy and working for labs doing peon shit is a huge way to get your foot in the door. Industry and grad schools eat that shit up if you can put that you worked for such and such, mixing such and such chemicals during your workstudy.

>going to the UW
You did this to yourself, OP. That place is the academic hunger games. Nobody wins.

lol just finish 2nd year of community college and i have like a 2.8 or something; I'm not even worried

try hards all i have to do is a good gpa now and it looks like i improved greatly

well the people who graduate from their desired program do. Graduate from the cs program at uw? Not unheard of for corps like Microsoft to approach you with job offers.

>UW CS
>rejects people with 4.0 GPA's
>work yourself to death and load up on stimulants to keep up
>graduate a kissless, socially crippled permavirgin
Wow, real win right there.

UW math major here, this is true.

UofT > UW
:^)

I have research experience in chem, but none yet in my actual field. I want to do a phd in food science, which is my field.

My question is, what if my,research is marginally related to my future research interests?

Like we are synthesizing some stuff here from,FAMEs in chem, but im interested in repurposing food waste/extracting,valuable,compounds from manufacturing watse.

Will the schools/PIs be like wtf

Normally I would tell you that it's fine to go into a PhD that isn't completely related to your undergrad career even more so if they are some what intertwined, like chem to bio. But I know absolutely nothing about food science so I would ask advisors, grad schools, and professors in the field.

>average gpa of people accepted into my school's phd biomed program 3.78

>Should I just kill myself now?

No, absolutely not. GPA not even close to the most important factor in doctoral program admissions. It may used to screen applicants, along with general GRE scores, but most screens trash applicants who have under a 3.0, or very low quantitative GRE scores. A GPA in the 3.2 - 3.4 range will not screen you out. Also, you're a ChemE (among mainly molecular/cellular biology, biochemistry, and chemistry majors) applying to biomedical research PhD programs, so you'll have more leeway with your GPA. I really doubt committees will give a shit if your GPA is over a 3.0.

For PhD programs in biomedical research, research experience, publication record, and letters of recommendation are far more important factors in admission than undergraduate GPA or GRE scores. You'll need the GPA and GRE to get past cut-offs, that's it.

I had around a 3.0 - 3.1 in undergrad, then took off three years to work as a lab tech. I had good experience and great letters of recommendation from prominent PIs, and my statements of purpose clarified why I wanted to attend the specific schools to which I applied (what PIs I would be interested in, what programs were a good fit, etc.). I ended up doing well in the process, was accepted to my top choice.

Underrated post.

Where did you go for undergrad, where did you go for grad, what's your field?

I really fucking want to do what I said in the original post, but my options just seem so bleak.

I've spent the past several hours researching military jobs thinking that I'll drop out and come back after some years, but that would mean that if things go well, I would be in my mid to late thirties by the time I finish my phd. Just sounds fucking awful.

Just not sure how to fix this hole I've dug myself into.

>Where did you go for undergrad, where did you go for grad, what's your field?

I prefer to be anonymous, so I won't give the names of where I went. Undergrad at a private, liberal arts school. (Though, the university has medical, law, business, and graduate schools.) Grad program in biophysics at a big state university.

Undergrad prestige can't hurt (I went to a well-ranked school), but it doesn't really matter all that much.

>I really fucking want to do what I said in the original post, but my options just seem so bleak.

Your options aren't bleak. Your GPA is fine, and if you keep it in the 3.2 - 3.4 range you won't need to worry. My best advice is look for PIs whose work interests you, then email them about opportunities for undergrads to do research in their labs. Start in a lab, get some good research experience, earn some good letters of rec. That's what's most important for grad school.

What movie is this?

What the fuck is calc 4?

>What the fuck is calc 4?
probs Real Analysis?

>what is the quarter system
My calc 4 was continuing multivariable calculus into vector calculus (gradient/divergence/curl).

>Be me
>BA bio and BS env sci from tiny state college
>almost got BS chem in same time, missed it by 2 classes (5 years)
>Final semester just take english class and 4 other classes I didn't need including diffy q and linear a
>fail all but the english class
>2.4 GPA
>A year later only working at grocery store part time.
>taking diffy q and quantum mechanics series on EdX and doing fine, take other classes too
>life over
>just sit in shitty town with shitty job learning about science in my spare time with no way to make a career out of it

Sounds like me. I was doing great for two quarters of calc, tenured asshole prof for third quarter and I started to fall behind. Fourth quarter some CS-to-Math convert from England gave awful lectures and I spent all of my time attempting not to fail it. So much time that I began failing everything else.

I am also continuing my math education on my own. The material I struggled with turned out to be easy as shit. Oh well.

>Fourth quarter some CS-to-Math convert from England gave awful lectures

That's not an acceptable excuse for math and science classes where the information is objective and readily available on the Internet.

>I am also continuing my math education on my own. The material I struggled with turned out to be easy as shit.

That's a lesson some people learn too late, unfortunately.

Never know, anything could happen and even if they don't, there are plenty of other ways to get invovled. Who do you think finances R&D projects. GE, ibm, boeing, spacex, pharmaceuticals, etc need businessmen who can appreciate the science that drives them.

You may not be wearing the lab coat, but you can still be an important part.

Thx for the wisdom, I was just relating to another fuckup bro. Time management was my biggest issue, but I failed to recognize it in time partially on account of earlier lectures made it so goddamn easy that I barely needed to study. Also had a bunch of life shit going on including end of my first relationship. So yes, it was my fault, and I never claimed otherwise. I don't feel I went overboard on complaining.

Which is harder to get into at UW, their CS program or their SE program?

Well that's a waste of time. They should put that into calc 3 like everyone else.

>like everyone else
math.columbia.edu/department/syllabi/CalcIVsyllabus.html
austincc.edu/mmcguff/coursepolicy/calculus_4_info.html
www2.tesu.edu/course.php?CourseCode=MAT-332
web.pdx.edu/~shaw/mth254.html

All from googling "calculus 4"
I repeat:
>what is the quarter system

The entire college of computer shit is dam near impossible to get into. People going for cs will have just as hard of a time getting into the cse.

Oh, you're talking about Washington and not Waterloo.

Do not be an idiot
Calculus is three semesters or four quarters
On the quarter system they use a regular calculus book for the first three courses and use a vector calculus book like Marsden for the last course.