Is a Ph.D. Program Realistic for Someone with a Tumultuous Academic Past?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the feasibility of pursuing a Ph.D. program in physics for a student with a tumultuous academic history, including poor grades and a history of changing majors. Participants explore the implications of past academic performance on future graduate school applications and strategies for improvement.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses concern that poor grades, particularly from a less reputable institution, will negatively impact the student's chances for graduate school admission.
  • Another participant suggests that taking a heavy load of advanced physics courses to improve GPA may be risky and potentially unrealistic.
  • The original poster asserts confidence in their ability to handle coursework despite previous challenges and expresses a willingness to try their best when applying to graduate programs.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that past academic performance, particularly poor grades, can have a significant impact on graduate school applications. However, there is disagreement regarding the student's ability to improve their situation through future coursework.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference the student's history of changing majors and withdrawing from classes, which may influence perceptions of their academic commitment. There is also mention of the student's current GPA and the potential effects of recent grades on future applications.

Who May Find This Useful

Students considering graduate programs in physics or related fields, particularly those with non-traditional academic backgrounds or concerns about their academic performance.

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Need opinions, I'm entering my "Senior" year in physics, and have a had a tumultuous academic past. I changed majors a lot before settling on physics and used to withdraw from classes halfway through the semester because I'd get bored with Gen Ed's etc. Last semester I had a rough go of it because of some personal situations and ended up with a C+,C+ and D+ in some important classes. While I will finish my degree within the next year or so I probably wouldn't apply to a ph.d. program until the year after and do some research work/ take graduate classes in the meantime.

I have a lot of physics credits left to take this coming year and my overall GPA at my current University is 3.63 for 70 or so credits. My career GPA is somewhat lower, in the 3.0 range, due to my less than stellar history in mostly Gen. Eds. For instance I'm doing 16 credits in Physics next semester, hopefully I can pull my GPA up and so I can do outstanding in advanced physics coursework.

I'm also doing research at an affiliated university on a major experiment in particle physics. I have been doing it since January and will probably continue until the end of next summer.

What do my options look like for grad school. How will my older grades and my aberration last semester effect me? What I can do to be more competitive?

Thanks!
 
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What do you want us to say? Bad grades hurt.

In the past, you said your school was terrible, and you got poor grades there. Bad grades at a weak school hurt more. Recent bad grades hurt more still.

Taking a huge load of advanced physics courses all at the same time in hopes to increase your grades is somewhere between "very risky" and "unrealistic".

For two years now, you've been getting advice like this:

comp_math said:
The bottom line is you have to maintain good grades, whether you like it or not. First you do all the computations until it is impressed in your head - if you can't even maintain an interest to do calculations, you won't be doing physics later. Sorry but this is true.

I'm afraid your chickens are coming home to roost.
 
Vanadium 50 said:
What do you want us to say? Bad grades hurt.

In the past, you said your school was terrible, and you got poor grades there. Bad grades at a weak school hurt more. Recent bad grades hurt more still.

Taking a huge load of advanced physics courses all at the same time in hopes to increase your grades is somewhere between "very risky" and "unrealistic".

For two years now, you've been getting advice like this:



I'm afraid your chickens are coming home to roost.

I'm glad you remember me Vandium. It's not that I have bad grades or am unable to do the work. Most of grades in real classes are A's, besides my bad semester this last one. Pretty sure I can handle the coursework, I don't know I'll just try my best and see what happens when I apply though.
 

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