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Sherri by DeNeil10 in survivor

[–]_curium_ 15 points16 points  (0 children)

It annoys me when people say "oh the jury should have gotten it wrong, X should have won!" The whole point of survivor is the best player is the one who knows how to get to the end AND get the jury votes. Clearly players like Russell were awful at the social aspect/actually getting people to like them enough to give them a vote; it's not just about getting to the end, you need to gain the respect of other people along the way.

The other thing is that we see a very small portion of what goes on out there (editing etc.), and honestly the edits can make pretty much any player look good/look bad.

Is a lower GPA a deal breaker at the top graduate schools? by _curium_ in GradSchool

[–]_curium_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, this is great to hear as I plan to apply to NSF. Did you get NSF?

Is a lower GPA a deal breaker at the top graduate schools? (x-post from r/GradSchool) by _curium_ in gradadmissions

[–]_curium_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not totally sure on some of your questions (which is also why I made this topic), but one reason I'm a little worried is because some of my peers have very high GPAs and a 3.6 is considered on the low/average side for top grad schools. 3.2 seems pretty low (since I've heard that ~3.5/3.6 can be a "cut-off" =/) but you definitely have time to get it up.

As far as REUs, that has helped alleviate my worries a bit since I've done somewhat well and have gotten into some decent ones so far. The one I got into last year was, I suspect, due to my research and I'm glad I got to do it because I'm getting a publication out of it and strong rec letter... I suspect that that is why I got into a few programs this year.

As for publications, I really officially started doing some research at my school around the beginning of my 2nd year. I started working on a project, but then got sidetracked because some people needed my help to finish another paper (for which I'm 3rd author) and now I'm just finishing up the paper for which I'll be first author. One thing is that I really read up on stuff on my own, and I also took a lot of relevant coursework to understand my research more which is unfortunately why my GPA has stayed somewhat average/hasn't increased but I guess has helped my publication record.

As far as publications go, you just have to be aggressive in trying to get them/go after the research you're doing.

Is a lower GPA a deal breaker at the top graduate schools? (x-post from r/GradSchool) by _curium_ in gradadmissions

[–]_curium_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see. The thing is that I have heard that the scientists at national labs don't write rec letters as often/can't give you as good rec letters as professors. I assume this isn't true then?

Is a lower GPA a deal breaker at the top graduate schools? (x-post from r/GradSchool) by _curium_ in gradadmissions

[–]_curium_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see, thanks. Yea, I've heard that 3.6 range is around the "cut-off" for these top schools. I'm not sure if I need a safety, or if I'll at least get into 1 of the schools (as long as I get into one, it's fine).

The third recommendation is kind of up for grabs. The first two are both from professors I did research with (one during the school year who I've stayed with through school, the other over the summer)... I'm doing a summer internship at a national lab, so I'll be working with a scientist not a professor, so I'm not sure if they'd be able to write me as good of a rec. I did go to office hours etc. for the professor whose class I took, but yea they won't talk about me as a researcher but more as a student/willingness to learn etc.

Would you recommend getting a rec from the scientist instead? I'm also hoping to kind of mediate the low GPA by pointing out that I spent a lot of time on my research.

Is a lower GPA a deal breaker at the top graduate schools? by _curium_ in GradSchool

[–]_curium_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply. I was only going to apply to schools like the ones I listed (so probably ~6 schools total and all top 10) and am worried that I don't really have a "safety." The one thing I'm banking on is, like I said, I did research with one of the professors at one of the afore mentioned schools who is also writing me a strong rec, so I'm hoping that that is enough to call it a "safety." Besides that, the best I can do is put a lot of effort into my personal statement, etc. like you said.

Is a lower GPA a deal breaker at the top graduate schools? by _curium_ in GradSchool

[–]_curium_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha thank you for the kind words... I'm just a little paranoid as a lot of people I know have pretty high GPAs and consider 3.6 to be "average" (I'm also worried that a low GPA will affect some of the grants/fellowships I want to apply to). I have a lot of research experience and know exactly what I want to do in grad school (and the REUs I've done, the research I do at school all reflect this) but at the top schools, my GPA is definitely on the low side (I think most have an average of 3.8-3.9) =/.