I have low gpa, but i want to go to grad school in a different subject.?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges faced by a participant with a low GPA seeking admission to graduate school in economics, despite lacking formal coursework in the field. The conversation explores strategies for improving admission prospects, including taking additional courses and obtaining recommendations, while also addressing concerns about the implications of their academic history.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses concern about the validity of the original poster's belief that their GPA does not reflect their true capacity, questioning the discrepancy between their general and subject GPAs.
  • Some participants suggest that all graduate-level economics classes will be challenging, and that economics is closely related to applied mathematics.
  • There is a proposal that the original poster's plan to take economics courses as a non-matriculated student may not be sufficient to overcome their low GPA for admission into top programs.
  • Another participant mentions that it is generally possible to find graduate research opportunities, but emphasizes the importance of the specific institution chosen.
  • The original poster mentions their high LSAT score and positive relationships with professors as potential strengths in their application.
  • Some participants suggest considering law school as an alternative path, given the original poster's LSAT score.
  • There is a suggestion that taking graduate-level classes without being a registered Ph.D. student could serve as a strategy to demonstrate capability, although this approach may involve financial costs.
  • The original poster expresses a desire to take upper-division economics courses and engage in research to strengthen their application for a master's program, with the goal of eventually pursuing a Ph.D. at a top institution.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally express skepticism about the feasibility of the original poster's plan to gain admission to a top graduate program in economics, highlighting the challenges posed by their GPA. However, there are differing opinions on the potential for success at non-top universities and alternative pathways, such as law school.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the limitations of the original poster's academic history and the potential impact of their GPA on future applications, but do not resolve the implications of these factors on admission outcomes.

RiceOnWok
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I graduated from a top undergraduate program in applied mathematics with a general GPA of 2.91, subject GPA of 3.13 from a T1, or T2 applied math program in the nation. I found that my GPA don `t reflect my true capacity, and that i chosen the wrong subject to get a degree in. My low GPA might also be due to the fact that i tend to pick "hard classes" without regard much for my GPA.

My current objective is to go to graduate school in economics. I never took a single course in economics, but i tend to find myself reading economic journal articles in the field. I am interested in contract theory, and game theory. Since i have low GPA, and hardly a single course in economics. How am i going to find admission in a top research program in the world?
I plan to do the following to help solve my two problems( GPA, and course requirement):

I plan to be a non-matriculated student at UCLA, or UCSD for 4 continuous quarters, and take only, and only economic courses. I plan to network with my professors, so that they may write to a good recommendation when i ask them.

By doing the above, I would hope to convince the admission people in economic graduate that i can do it. Doing the above would also generate new problems:

The opportunities cost wasted for that one year.

Since i am a matriculated student, i am given low course priority.

No financial assistance from government.

Give that fact that i did year of economic courses, economic admission people might still reject me from consideration due to my previous low undergrad performance.

After one year of taking economic courses, i will apply to a host of masters(T11-T20), and phd programs(T1-T5).

Will my plan work? My goal is to obtain a PHD in economics from a T1-T5.
 
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This might sound a little harsh, but...

RiceOnWok said:
I graduated from a top undergraduate program in applied mathematics with a general GPA of 2.91, subject GPA of 3.13 from a T1, or T2 applied math program in the nation. I found that my GPA don `t reflect my true capacity, and that i chosen the wrong subject to get a degree in. My low GPA might also be due to the fact that i tend to pick "hard classes" without regard much for my GPA.

My current objective is to go to graduate school in economics. I never took a single course in economics, but i tend to find myself reading economic journal articles in the field. I am interested in contract theory, and game theory. Since i have low GPA, and hardly a single course in economics. How am i going to find admission in a top research program in the world?

What makes you think that your GPA doesn't reflect your "true" capacity? You do realize that

  • ...the fact that your general GPA is lower than your subject GPA is more than a little questionable (why did you have a sub-C GPA in classes that were presumably easier than your applied math classes?),
  • ...realizing that you chose the wrong subject to get a degree in doesn't count for much,
  • ...all graduate-level classes in economics will be "hard classes",
  • ...economics is basically applied math in general.
...?

Your plan will likely not work for admission into a top university. Your existing GPA is already so low that unless you had a truly spectacular set of qualifications and/or recommendations from some heavy-hitting faculty members in your desired field you wouldn't be able to make up for it.
 
fss said:
This might sound a little harsh, but...
What makes you think that your GPA doesn't reflect your "true" capacity? You do realize that

  • ...the fact that your general GPA is lower than your subject GPA is more than a little questionable (why did you have a sub-C GPA in classes that were presumably easier than your applied math classes?),
  • ...realizing that you chose the wrong subject to get a degree in doesn't count for much,
  • ...all graduate-level classes in economics will be "hard classes",
  • ...economics is basically applied math in general.
...?

Your plan will likely not work for admission into a top university. Your existing GPA is already so low that unless you had a truly spectacular set of qualifications and/or recommendations from some heavy-hitting faculty members in your desired field you wouldn't be able to make up for it.

What about for a non-top university?
 
Shackleford said:
What about for a non-top university?

In the US it's almost never an issue of "if", it's a matter of "where." You can almost always find somewhere to do graduate research...whether or not you want to go there is a different matter.
 
fss said:
This might sound a little harsh, but...



What makes you think that your GPA doesn't reflect your "true" capacity? You do realize that

  • ...the fact that your general GPA is lower than your subject GPA is more than a little questionable (why did you have a sub-C GPA in classes that were presumably easier than your applied math classes?),
  • ...realizing that you chose the wrong subject to get a degree in doesn't count for much,
  • ...all graduate-level classes in economics will be "hard classes",
  • ...economics is basically applied math in general.
...?

Your plan will likely not work for admission into a top university. Your existing GPA is already so low that unless you had a truly spectacular set of qualifications and/or recommendations from some heavy-hitting faculty members in your desired field you wouldn't be able to make up for it.

That is why i plan to go to grad school for masters first. I really did not pay much attention to my undergrad study. As to my true abilities. I do score pretty high on my LSAT( 178), and all the professors that know me, do like me a lot.
 
RiceOnWok said:
As to my true abilities. I do score pretty high on my LSAT( 178), and all the professors that know me, do like me a lot.

Perhaps you should be looking at Law School, then?
 
fss said:
Perhaps you should be looking at Law School, then?
I want to go to graduate school in economics, and eventually getting a Ph.D in economics at a T5 school. If this means taking courses for a entire year as a non degree student, and gaining the recommendations needed, or by going to a lesser school for a masters.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You can take some graduate level classes without being a registered Ph.D student. After you ace a few, you might be able to convince people that you are capable. This is a backdoor approach and you will be paying for it, but it may be worthwhile if you truly think you can do better.
 
hadsed said:
You can take some graduate level classes without being a registered Ph.D student. After you ace a few, you might be able to convince people that you are capable. This is a backdoor approach and you will be paying for it, but it may be worthwhile if you truly think you can do better.

I don`t know about taking graduate courses, but i plan to take a year of upper devision econ courses at UCLA, and do whatever that is necessary to show research ability. Will this get into a T20 program for masters? I hope to use research for my masters to get me into a phd program in a T5.
 

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