Craig Bush ⋅ Boston, MA IBM ⋅ 11 years experience

I'd ask first why you want to go to grad school.

//doctorate in biochemistry

Rebecca Webb ⋅ Boston, MA ⋅ 1 years experience

Hi,
Jumping off of Josh's suggestion, have you considered medical data? With the new healthcare reforms the industry is growing and many providers, especially insurance, are trying to figure out how the new reforms are going to affect them etc. Just something to think about.
Also there is no harm in applying to grad schools and jobs at the same time. I did it last year and in the end I had more options and wasn't stuck at a school that a) I didnt like or b) I couldn't afford. Like others have said, you can always go back to school (which I am planning on doing) and many companies will pay for your continued education.
Hope that helps!
Best,
Rebecca

Jerry Millar ⋅ Seattle, WA ⋅ 14 years experience

Yonghao,

I thought this was a fascinating article, an interesting perspective and relevant to your GPA question:

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130620142512-35894743-on-gpas-and-brain-teasers-new-insights-from-google-on-recruiting-and-hiring?trk=tod-home-art-large_0

Here is an excerpt:

GPAs don’t predict anything about who is going to be a successful employee. “One of the things we’ve seen from all our data crunching is that G.P.A.’s are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless — no correlation at all except for brand-new college grads, where there’s a slight correlation,” Bock said. “Google famously used to ask everyone for a transcript and G.P.A.’s and test scores, but we don’t anymore, unless you’re just a few years out of school. We found that they don’t predict anything. What’s interesting is the proportion of people without any college education at Google has increased over time as well. So we have teams where you have 14 percent of the team made up of people who’ve never gone to college.”

That was a pretty remarkable insight, and I asked Bock to elaborate.

“After two or three years, your ability to perform at Google is completely unrelated to how you performed when you were in school, because the skills you required in college are very different,” he said. “You’re also fundamentally a different person. You learn and grow, you think about things differently. Another reason is that I think academic environments are artificial environments. People who succeed there are sort of finely trained, they’re conditioned to succeed in that environment. One of my own frustrations when I was in college and grad school is that you knew the professor was looking for a specific answer. You could figure that out, but it’s much more interesting to solve problems where there isn’t an obvious answer. You want people who like figuring out stuff where there is no obvious answer.”

*Written by Adam Bryant of the New York Times

Phil C. ⋅ Fort Worth, TX ⋅ 3 years experience

Yonghao,

A low GPA might stop you from going directly into grad school after you graduate, however it might be over looked after a year or two of experience. I'm of the opinion you won't get as much out of grad school if you do not have industry experience. Academia is the world of ideal situations. You must also realize colleges are businesses and want YOUR money no matter if they are state institutions or not. Don't let them try to make you think you're nothing without a graduate degree. So, I'm in agreement with others who have chimed in. Get a good job first, worry about grad school later. With no experience, you'll still start out at an entry level position, even with a graduate degree. If you run out of VA benefits, you might incur quite a bit of debt in the process. In industry, your employer might actually pay for your masters degree. Why not combine your GPAs? People do it all the time, especially if they transferred from a community college. It's not dishonest if you mention it up front.

Frederick (Rick) Wilhelm, Ed.D ⋅ Pleasant Valley, NY Chappaqua School District ⋅ 40 years experience

Hi Yonghao,

To offer an opinion on your question, I'd suggest that you give work experience the priority at this stage of your career. With two or three years in the workplace, you will bring more to your graduate studies and receive more in your learning.

Josh Tayloe ⋅ New York, NY ⋅ 8 years experience

YongHao,

Although not completely on point, having attended business school I feel the need to point out that the students who had spent a few years working prior to attending seemed to get so much more out of the grad school experience. And, although top business schools are trending younger, it still is fairly uncommon to find students straight out of undergrad.

Another comment as I look at the classes you are focused on- especially the econ and stats- you are positioned very well for a field that is starting to explode: big data. You could not have timed that particular job market any better, if it is of interest to you.

Greg Brett ⋅ Webster, NY Hewlett Packard ⋅ 20 years experience

Yonghao:

The easiest way to get into the graduate school you want is to pick the school you are interested in attending and take three courses. Most schools let you take a number of courses before requiring you to apply formaly. Once you establish that you can successfuly negotiate those courses you will have a solid case for acceptance into the program.

Jeffrey Grunewald ⋅ Silver Spring, MD ⋅ 30 years experience

Yonghao--

Great advice above about Grad School, let me address your other question. If you elsect to look for a job when you graduate do not worry about your GPA. In fact, don't even list it on your resume. If a potential employer wants to know what it is, they will ask and focusing your explanation on your later course as you mentioned in your question is a good approach. Remember, your upper class years are more direct and harder so better grades really show maturity and focus. Too, consider the option that many employers will help pay for grad school.

Congratulations and good luck.

Neal Gouck ⋅ North Attleboro, MA U.S. Army, Major ⋅ 12 years served

Yonghao,

Think of admission process like a see saw. Undergrad gpa is one factor and GRE or GMAT is another. A lot of schools use a 2000 point scale as a screening criteria. So a low gpa can be a deficit made up with a high standardized test score. Then the subjective element comes into effect after the screening criteria. IMHO you will get more out of the graduate experience with some employment history and as much from your peers in class. You'll want to bring some of that to the table, and it is not a death knell, but doing grad work somewhere else from where you did undergraduate is adviseable.

Brad Love ⋅ Austin, TX The University of Texas ⋅ 6 years experience

Hi Yonghao,
I'd like to stress John's useful advice. Grades are not the defining characteristic of anything. They're just grades.

Do what excites you, and you'll be able to put together an engaging job or grad school application. Very few jobs will get involved with your GPA; other experiences and achievements count far more because they're concerned with your professional performance.

When you're ready for grad school, as John points out above, other factors such as recommendation letters are very important. In fact, many programs would appreciate seeing your grade improvements and hearing the story of why (I'm assuming the answer is you've found your passion).

Also, if you apply to grad school after a few years of working (which I'd always recommend anyway), that work experience will be your pitch, not your undergrad performance.

Keep doing what you're doing, and the options you want will be available. This isn't to say next steps will be easy, but you're clearly willing to work for things so a small challenge is no deterrent for you.

All the best,
--Brad

John Stevens ⋅ Middletown, MD ⋅ 20 years experience

Yonghao,

Don't use things like grades as a compass. Let your passion drive your direction. You won't know your chances of getting into a graduate program unless to ask the university. Contact the veterans specialist (usually at the financial aid, admissions, or student affairs offices) at the university you want; ask them to assess your chances. Then ask if a faculty member or graduate student in your area of specialty can help answer more specific questions. Develop relationships; a faculty recommendation might come of it.

Each program is different and entry standards can change year to year. But, having a plan to get there will ease your concerns. Also, work on a plan B for starting a career. Pick and industry and start networking.

Good luck - John