Any tips for getting GPA over 3.7 in grad school?

[robertya1027]

Grad school courses are hard, but how to maintain at least a 3.7 GPA?

That's it, I'm sick of caring about GPA, and consider in grad school this is my last time doing tests, I want to let myself go a bit and not get a perfect GPA. I don't want more burnouts in grad school. I'd rather focus on more practical work stuff thrn focus on GPA like I'm forced to in college.

 

[Office_Shredder]

What degree are you getting? There are plenty of examples of phds where your gpa is pretty irrelevant, but also for most of them it's hard to not get a B+ just for showing up.

 

[berkeman]

What degree are you getting? There are plenty of examples of phds where your gpa is pretty irrelevant, but also for most of them it's hard to not get a B+ just for showing up.

In his other thread, he is saying he is only getting an MS...

Is it OK to get a MS without a PhD (in physics), I feel a little bad about myself for not doing a PhD but I don't think I have the mental capacity to do one anyways

 

[scompi]

I'd rather focus on more practical work stuff thrn focus on GPA like I'm forced to in college.

Then do that. If you aren't learning any "practical work stuff" in your current program, find a new program. That new program does not necessarily have to be a graduate program at a university.

 

[berkeman]

@robertya1027 -- Why are you worried about your GPA in grad school when you are only pursuing an MS in Physics? Employers will look at your GPAs in undergrad and grad school, but will generally be more interested in testing your skills and talking about any experience you have.

Plus, there is this:

but also for most of them it's hard to not get a B+ just for showing up.

That was my experience in grad school when getting my MSEE. I worked my behind off in undergrad to graduate with a high GPA, but my grad school GPA was higher without much worry (I still worked hard).

 

[CrysPhys]

Grad school courses are hard, but how to maintain at least a 3.7 GPA?

I'm not sure what magical answer you're expecting. But, dutifully attend your lectures and ask questions when needed, expend reasonable effort on your homework assignments, and expend reasonable effort on studying for your exams. What constitutes "reasonable effort"? Enough to maintain at least a 3.7 GPA.

 

[CrysPhys]

What degree are you getting? There are plenty of examples of phds where your gpa is pretty irrelevant, but also for most of them it's hard to not get a B+ just for showing up.

This of course will vary with the program. It's been decades since I was taking grad courses as part of my physics PhD program. But I remember they were brutal, and intentionally so because the university needed a lot of TA's and admitted twice as many grad students as there were research slots for. So the first year grad courses and qual were designed to be a weeding-out process.

 

[gleem]

So the first year grad courses and qual were designed to be a weeding-out process.

I had heard rumors of this while in school too. Certainly, the high ranked schools could afford to implement this. However, lesser ranked schools might not be able to afford such an unsavory program. I would think most would use grades for admission to qualification exams. If a 3.7 GPA can't get do it then you chose the wrong program. Spend more time preparing for your research which is what will be most scrutinized when you graduate.

 

[CrysPhys]

I had heard rumors of this while in school too. Certainly, the high ranked schools could afford to implement this. However, lesser ranked schools might not be able to afford such an unsavory program. I would think most would use grades for admission to qualification exams. If a 3.7 GPA can't get do it then you chose the wrong program. Spend more time preparing for your research which is what will be most scrutinized when you graduate.

I was responding to the people who posted that maintaining a 3.7 GPA was far easier in grad school than undergrad:

What degree are you getting? There are plenty of examples of phds where your gpa is pretty irrelevant, but also for most of them it's hard to not get a B+ just for showing up.

Plus, there is this:

That was my experience in grad school when getting my MSEE. I worked my behind off in undergrad to graduate with a high GPA, but my grad school GPA was higher without much worry (I still worked hard).

That certainly wasn't my case, and I went to a school with a reputation for having one of the hardest undergrad physics programs around.

 

[Jody]

My first MSEE classes I had to work pretty hard for a B- and B+. Skipped no classes. There were many sleepless nights to read the chapters, practice the problems, did all of the assignments, and a lot of the topics weren't even new to me. I'm not sure which is a shame: If professors give handouts on grades or professors being sticklers when it seems others are giving handouts. I think it's a good thing if professors hold students accountable for the grades they earn, but it's also painful to work so hard for a B- when other students basically just need to show up for a B+ (and worse when people ask "what happened?" like why did I do so poorly). I know people say it only matters what you learn (not so much the grade), but I can definitely attest that lower grades create ginormous barriers compared to having better grades and learning it on the job. HR for the companies I work for don't know or don't care which stickler professors I took they just know that the other candidates got a better grade than me. I’ve only ever had them ask me once if I knew a certain professor... I didn’t even know the professor’s name at the time or that he was well-known although I looked into it asked him about it when I got back from the interview, and he gave me some helpful feedback about that workplace. It was great.

Earning a 3.7+ GPA is highly desirable for me because my undergraduate GPA was awful < 3.0, and I've had employers ask me for my transcripts before even after 2 years of full-time experience beyond the many technical internships and achievements. I'm hoping that a competitive graduate GPA will outshine my less desirable one. My current employer is paying for my graduate school and my direct supervisor gets to see my grade when I ask for a reimbursement.

I couldn't expect any secrets here. You know you're going to have to work hard. There's no free lunch. If you need to cut corners somewhere then you can expect that your performance will likely take a hit. I'm in a similar situation and what has been working for me so far is I switched to part-time enrollment so instead of taking 2-3x classes and cutting corners in all of them... I cut out the other classes only taking 1 per quarter that I can put everything into. I'm not sure if I'll maintain the perfect grades, but this system has been working best for me. The tradeoff of course is that I'll take longer to graduate, but I've already got a job and am in a good position.