GPA competitive enough?

[irockhard]

I am going to be a senior at a school in top 10 in physics. I screwed up an engineering class (not required by major, but physics related) and got a c+. I also have a B in an honors 200-level anthropology class. I took both courses during my junior year. As a result, my overall GPA suffers quite a bit and it's 3.88. I haven't calculated my major GPA, but I am sure it's somewhere between 3.95 and 4.0. My lowest grade in my major courses is a A- which I got in a 5 credit hour modern physics lab. Do you guys think my GPA is competitive for top 10 grad schools?

[nathan12343]

I am going to be a senior at a school in top 10 in physics. I screwed up an engineering class (not required by major, but physics related) and got a c+. I also have a B in an honors 200-level anthropology class. I took both courses during my junior year. As a result, my overall GPA suffers quite a bit and it's 3.88. I haven't calculated my major GPA, but I am sure it's somewhere between 3.95 and 4.0. My lowest grade in my major courses is a A- which I got in a 5 credit hour modern physics lab. Do you guys think my GPA is competitive for top 10 grad schools?

You got nothing to worry about besides being overly worried about trivial problems.

Oh noes, I don't have 4.0!!!!

[valkyrie]

You got nothing to worry about besides being overly worried about trivial problems.

Oh noes, I don't have 4.0!!!!

Seconded. If you take a look at the profiles thread, you'll see plenty of profiles with lower GPAs than that getting into top schools, including my own. The general advice I got from the people dealing with admission at my own (top ten) school was that GPA and GREs can keep you out, while research and letters are what gets you in. So unless you seriously screw up your senior year (type, get an F for academic misconduct) your GPA is unlikely to be the limiting factor of your application. Stop worrying, and good luck

[cato88]

I am going to be a senior at a school in top 10 in physics. I screwed up an engineering class (not required by major, but physics related) and got a c+. I also have a B in an honors 200-level anthropology class. I took both courses during my junior year. As a result, my overall GPA suffers quite a bit and it's 3.88. I haven't calculated my major GPA, but I am sure it's somewhere between 3.95 and 4.0. My lowest grade in my major courses is a A- which I got in a 5 credit hour modern physics lab. Do you guys think my GPA is competitive for top 10 grad schools?

Youve posted enough here to know the answer.

[quizivex]

I am going to be a senior at a school in top 10 in physics. I screwed up an engineering class (not required by major, but physics related) and got a c+. I also have a B in an honors 200-level anthropology class. I took both courses during my junior year. As a result, my overall GPA suffers quite a bit and it's 3.88. I haven't calculated my major GPA, but I am sure it's somewhere between 3.95 and 4.0. My lowest grade in my major courses is a A- which I got in a 5 credit hour modern physics lab. Do you guys think my GPA is competitive for top 10 grad schools?

Did you even read the replies to your previous posts?

Have you even perused any responses to your prior questions?

Weren't you satisfied with any repartees to your earlier rants?

How much do top grad schools care about non-physics/math classes, like music or anthropology...? What would you say the importance on a scale from 1 to 10? Would a B in one of those classes hurt me?

So what's the offical verdict? Say I have straight A's in all of my classes, except that I got a C in a non-physics but physics related class in my junior year. I can most likely improve my GPA back to above 3.95. How bad would this C affect me? A deal breaker?

So I got two A-'s on an optical electronics and advanced physics lab classes this semester, and thus ended my perfect technical GPA (physics/math/ece/computer science). I am in my junior year already. I really wanted to keep the 4.0 going at least until I get accepted. But now this aspiration is shattered. So now my goal has downgraded to keep my 3.9+ GPA rolling as long as possible. Is there a big difference between 3.9+ and 4.0 GPA in the admission committee's eyes?

Anybody want to place bets on how long irockhard will last until he has the uncontrollable urge to ask this same kind of question again?

[cato88]

The solution is a pool where i take 2 and a half months from .....now

[irockhard]

I am going to be a senior at a school in top 10 in physics. I screwed up an engineering class (not required by major, but physics related) and got a c+. I also have a B in an honors 200-level anthropology class. I took both courses during my junior year. As a result, my overall GPA suffers quite a bit and it's 3.88. I haven't calculated my major GPA, but I am sure it's somewhere between 3.95 and 4.0. My lowest grade in my major courses is a A- which I got in a 5 credit hour modern physics lab. Do you guys think my GPA is competitive for top 10 grad schools?

Did you even read the replies to your previous posts?

Have you even perused any responses to your prior questions?

Weren't you satisfied with any repartees to your earlier rants?

How much do top grad schools care about non-physics/math classes, like music or anthropology...? What would you say the importance on a scale from 1 to 10? Would a B in one of those classes hurt me?

So what's the offical verdict? Say I have straight A's in all of my classes, except that I got a C in a non-physics but physics related class in my junior year. I can most likely improve my GPA back to above 3.95. How bad would this C affect me? A deal breaker?

So I got two A-'s on an optical electronics and advanced physics lab classes this semester, and thus ended my perfect technical GPA (physics/math/ece/computer science). I am in my junior year already. I really wanted to keep the 4.0 going at least until I get accepted. But now this aspiration is shattered. So now my goal has downgraded to keep my 3.9+ GPA rolling as long as possible. Is there a big difference between 3.9+ and 4.0 GPA in the admission committee's eyes?

Anybody want to place bets on how long irockhard will last until he has the uncontrollable urge to ask this same kind of question again?

I keep forgetting that people do a background check here before they answer your question. But thanks guys anyway, I will control my urge next time. From now on every time I start getting worried aobut my grades, I will think of a really hot chick naked holding my transcript and forget anything school related for 15 minutes.

[Mataka]

I keep forgetting that people do a background check here before they answer your question.

Yeah like asking the same question over and over is justified...

[Btwestyo]

Hello, I havn't asked this question before! I just finished my freshman year and I had a question about GPA. I understand that GPA and the PGRE will you keep you out etc, but which GPA do they look at it. I'm assuming your overall GPA is everything you have ever taken and Major GPA (is that only upper division major physics/math classes or all physics and math classes?) So which one do they care about? I ask because during my freshman year, I got B's in physics and math. I'm curious as to whether I just botched my chances of getting into a top 10 grad school for Astro. Thank you.

-Brian

[nathan12343]

It really depends on the school. Some schools asked for both, some just overall GPA.

Getting B's in Freshman physics is something that you can recover from quite easily, I wouldn't worry too much about it. The key is to have improving grades through college.

[ezhiskaz]

So I just finished up my freshman year in high school with a 2.69 GPA.
Pretty much, I wasn't ready for anything and slacked until the end.
I'm not dumb or anything, I just over procrastinated on everything and didn't do the work assigned, which I am planning to change ASAP.
I know I can't get into an Ivy League at this point

[midwestphysics]

There are plenty of people who have gone on to great schools after bombing their first year. Just get your act together and you'll be fine. Ivy's are not out of the question.

[TheBeast]

So I just finished up my freshman year in high school with a 2.69 GPA.

Grad schools don't care about your high school GPA. Incidentally, if you're still in high school, get off of a forum dedicated to graduate school applicants and start working towards getting into an undergraduate program.

[midwestphysics]

I admit, I completely skimmed over the part where it said high school. Given that, you have even less to worry about.

[mrrsnhtl]

Go on, read history, philosophy, politics, age of enlightenment..Learn about how us modern humans made their way through the africa and how a small tribe had populated the whole world..GPA is nothing if you do not know the history of nature, the thing you pursue to study on..