How can I go abroad for postgraduate study when my average score is very low?
Experts say that excellent application materials can help applicants make up for the unsatisfactory average score of universities.
Experts say that for graduate students with low GPA, gaining work experience is one of the best ways to improve their admission scores.
Students with low GPA sometimes worry that their grades will hinder them from pursuing their ideal graduate degree. However, experts say that if graduate school applicants perform well after graduation, or if they are senior students, their academic performance has improved significantly since their freshman year, then they may overcome the shortcomings of low undergraduate performance.
Stephanie Shyu, an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, said that the fact that she was admitted proves that a person with an imperfect university transcript may be admitted to the graduate school.
Shyu, who received her bachelor's degree from Duke University, wrote in an email: "It is difficult for me to adapt to freshman life because of exhaustion. As a result, the grade dropped, and the average grade in the first year of college was 3.0. When I realized that I wanted to apply for law school and my current grades were not competitive, I tried to improve my grades in junior high school and high school. "
Shyu pointed out that although she was diligent in her junior and senior years, in the end, her undergraduate GPA was lower than that of students admitted to top law schools. She said: "However, my grades are on the rise, with an average grade point average of 4.0 in the last year of senior three. In addition, I wrote a supplementary article to explain my low score, which was very eye-catching and won me admission notices from several top law schools. My graduate experience tells me that some schools do evaluate the comprehensive quality of applicants. For those applicants who can explain why their grades can't accurately reflect their potential and make a convincing explanation, my suggestion is to apply to several schools that value your experience. "
Experts say that for those applicants whose GPA is lower than the average level of the target graduate school, the magic weapon is to have some positive results. For example, high test scores, strong letters of recommendation or successful graduate-level courses are more important than their past academic performance.
Kim C. O'Halloran, associate dean of the Graduate School of Widner University in Pennsylvania, holds a doctorate in higher education management. He wrote in an email: "College grades are one of several factors that teachers and graduate admissions experts consider when applying for graduate schools. It is very important to establish the strongest overall application, so we should also pay attention to other application requirements. Write an excellent paper, which makes you want to write a letter of recommendation from the teacher in your research field. If you need a standardized exam, ask for help to prepare it. Focus on the factors you can control now, because you can't go back and change your college grade point. "
Klint Kanopka, a doctoral student at Stanford University's Graduate School of Education, said that in order to make up for his college average score of B, he later achieved a perfect average score of 4.0 in the master's program. Kanopuka said that his academic performance after graduating from college helped him prove that he was a more serious student, which supported him to apply for a doctoral program in a top graduate school of education.
Cory Thornton, director of graduate admissions at the University of North Georgia, said that the expectations of graduate courses for grades may vary greatly. She said that in highly competitive courses, a university GPA below 3.5 may be considered as a low level, while in many other courses, only a GPA below 3.0 will be considered as a low level. She said that some new postgraduate courses in emerging fields may be more tolerant of the general grades of universities, and they may set the GPA target slightly lower than that of more complete postgraduate courses, only 2.75 or 2.5.
Thornton said that graduate schools may not necessarily use undergraduate average scores on students' college transcripts, because they may calculate their own average scores. She said that graduate schools will use a variety of mathematical methods to calculate the GPA of universities, so the GPA figures obtained by these schools may be different. For example, some schools count every achievement made by an applicant in a university course into their undergraduate GPA, regardless of whether the applicant retakes a course and gets a higher score in the second attempt. In contrast, in order to achieve the GPA of undergraduate courses, other schools only calculate the recent scores of repeated courses. This means that if a student fails one or two exams the first time, but later passes the exam, then only the passing score counts.
The following seven strategies are experts' suggestions to future graduate students who care about their undergraduate GPA.
1.？ Get relevant work experience.
Timothy edin dzeko, founder of Advanced Admit College Admissions, a consulting firm, said that those with average grades who want to enter graduate school can make up for their lack of grades by achieving career success.
Jaconette wrote in the email: "This kind of work experience will help you stand out from the crowded applicants. Professors are looking for people who can share their personal opinions with other graduate students. "
He added that entrepreneurial work experience (including starting or leading a business) is a way to impress the Graduate Admissions Committee, which is enough for them to let go of your low college grades.
Kanopuka said that doctoral students who didn't get an A in university should do important writing and research before applying for a doctorate. He wrote in the email: "You can use any opportunity to develop your research interest, find out some problems you want to solve and gain some practical research experience, which will help improve your application ranking."
2.？ Write thoughtful, creative and sincere entrance papers.
Experts say that it is very important for graduate school applicants with low college grades to write down the reasons why they want to get a higher degree, because the admissions staff may doubt their motivation and self-discipline.
Kanopuka said that the personal statement is a good opportunity for applicants with low college grades to show their determination. Kanopuka said: "This is what schools should read. After reading these, they can really understand your logic and ideas. "
In that article, she explained her initial confusion in college, described how she found her goal after dropping out of school for a semester, and discussed how stopping to reflect on her life goal inspired her to make continuous progress as a student and grow as a person.
3.？ If personal problems affect academic performance, remind the admissions staff.
O 'Halloran said that those graduate students whose GPA is negatively affected by the unfortunate living environment should provide such background explanation when applying. She said: "Sometimes, the overall GPA does not tell the whole story. Maybe a student encountered a challenging situation in one semester, which led to the decline of the total GPA. I suggest that applicants share this information with the school and emphasize their ability to regain their fighting spirit and succeed in subsequent courses. "
4.？ Consider taking some other courses.
Andrew Selepak, director of the social media graduate program at the University of Florida, said that his personal experience told him that despite the low GPA of the university, doing well in the classroom after graduation can help a person enter a highly competitive graduate course. Although his undergraduate GPA was only 2.85 when he received his bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia, he was eligible to enter the master's program of George Mei Sen University after completing some courses in the university and obtaining stable results in these courses. Celepak said that participating in the university continuing education program is one of the ways for future graduate students to obtain graduate-level courses, which gives them the opportunity to prove their academic ability. He wrote in an email: "This may be a choice for students, although it does mean finding courses that provide such opportunities for those whose GPA is not high enough."
After receiving a master's degree from George Mei Sen University, Selepack went on to study for a doctorate in mass communication at the University of Florida, where he now teaches.
5.？ Take the postgraduate entrance examination to show your potential.
Shana Ginsberg, founder and CEO of Ginsberg Advanced Counseling and LLC Preparation Company, wrote in an email, "In view of the potential flexibility of your test scores, I suggest that prospective graduate students with low GPA regard strict preparation as a good opportunity to increase their admission opportunities."
6.？ Get ready to stand out in the entrance interview.
Thornton said, if you leave a positive impression in the entrance interview, those with lower college grades are; Austrian graduate students may persuade graduate teachers to forgive this defect in their applications. She said that teachers really feel that they know their students, and they don't strictly take GPA as a hard indicator.
7.？ Apply to a school without GPA requirements.
Experts said that in the future, graduate students with low university grades should focus on the postgraduate courses of the overall enrollment policy, which means that the school should fully consider the application materials before making a decision.
Irene Goodnow, co-founder and CEO of the upcoming Ivy League Admissions Consulting Company, said, "Fortunately, most schools are now thinking much more than the numbers you submitted. If your grades or exam results are not the best and you want to highlight the positive side in your application, then show some unique leadership experience, research or life perspective and your mature psychology. "
Goodnow added that more and more graduate schools are beginning to accept the view that future students should not be defined only by their academic statistics, such as grades or test scores. She said: "The rigor of the course is very important, and so is your background and life experience. You should prepare for a higher degree. If your test scores are not the most important part of the application materials, it is important to emphasize your positive qualities in your papers, letters of recommendation and interviews. "