Graduate Admission: Will they understand emergency?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the impact of poor academic performance due to emergencies or other factors on graduate school admissions, particularly at prestigious institutions like Ivy League universities. Participants explore how past grades may affect future opportunities and the importance of recommendations and personal statements in the admissions process.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions whether a significant drop in grades due to emergencies will be overlooked by admissions committees, especially if later performance improves.
  • Another participant shares a personal experience of receiving a poor grade but expresses hope that it will be overlooked if they achieve better grades subsequently.
  • A participant cites a dean from Princeton, stating that admissions primarily focus on the rigor of the course load and the quality of reference letters, suggesting that a few bad grades are not a major concern.
  • Another participant reinforces the idea that occasional poor marks are not heavily scrutinized on an individual basis, but emphasizes that universities are held to industry standards through audits.
  • A request for clarification is made by one participant to better understand a previous point about how grades are viewed in the context of university standards.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying degrees of concern about the impact of poor grades, with some feeling reassured by the idea that admissions committees may overlook them, while others seek further clarification on the topic. No consensus is reached regarding the weight of individual grades versus overall performance and recommendations.

Contextual Notes

Participants discuss the implications of individual grades within the broader context of admissions criteria, but there are unresolved assumptions about how different institutions weigh these factors.

Moses
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Hi,
In short: If some one screw up in his grades in the first term/year in Uni, [for emergency reasons] then he/she shows an excellent results later. With a good teachers recommendations. Is that "screw up" will be almost forgetton, even though its effect will still in the GPA? [Take into considersation IVy's universities]

The question may sound a bit strange since it is presented with somehow an emotional/steem factor in saying the question. But the answer needed is realistic, and helps in maknig good mature desiscions :smile: Thx for help.
 
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I hope so. I got lazy(yes I know its not an emergency, but if they ask it will be lol) last semester and got a D in a class, this semester I am pulling all A's though. Hopefully they will overlook that D once I retake the class and get an A. :smile:
 
I've talked with a dean at Princeton about admissions into grad school and he said that all they care about for marks is to see that you've taken a rigorous course load and have done well. A few bad grades here and there aren't a big deal. That counts for relatively little though. Almost all of the meat behind your application is in your reference letters and your statement of interest (entrance essay basically). But yeah, it's references, references, references.

Short answer: don't worry about it.
 
silverpig said:
I've talked with a dean at Princeton about admissions into grad school and he said that all they care about for marks is to see that you've taken a rigorous course load and have done well. A few bad grades here and there aren't a big deal. That counts for relatively little though. Almost all of the meat behind your application is in your reference letters and your statement of interest (entrance essay basically). But yeah, it's references, references, references.

Short answer: don't worry about it.


This is good to hear about princeton, its my school of choice, and I'm glad to hear that. Of course i still have to well, but that one round of midterms sending me to a B average this quarter won't kill me,which is good.
 
Over here, they don't really mind about occasional bad marks on an individual level, but the good universities are all audited by the professional institutions in order to ensure that the university is maintaining the standards required by industry. So it's more an average of everyone in the year's marks, rather than individuals.
 
^^^
brewnog, thanks for help, but can you please re-say what you have said in other waay, I want myself to amek sure that i understand exactly what you meant, thx.
 

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