Low Undergraduate GPA: Is it Still Possible?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the challenges and possibilities for gaining admission into a Master's program in Electrical Engineering (MSEE) after graduating with a low undergraduate GPA. Participants explore the relevance of work experience, personal statements, and GPA requirements in the context of graduate school applications.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant shares their experience of graduating with a 2.84 GPA and questions the feasibility of entering a decent MSEE program after several years of work experience.
  • Another participant suggests that work experience may outweigh GPA concerns after a few years, citing a related example from a different field.
  • There is a query about the importance of GPA requirements for graduate programs, particularly after being out of school for a couple of years.
  • The original poster expresses a desire to pursue an MSEE to focus on power supply design, indicating that they believe obtaining the degree would be beneficial.
  • Concerns are raised about the possibility of reapplying to Georgia Tech with a low GPA and the availability of other schools in the Atlanta area.
  • A participant notes the importance of a personal statement and resume in the application process, suggesting these can help explain the applicant's situation and experience.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the weight of GPA versus work experience in graduate admissions. There is no consensus on the specific requirements or the likelihood of acceptance into various programs.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention minimum GPA requirements for graduate programs, but the implications of being out of school for several years remain unclear. The discussion also touches on the necessity of personal statements, but the effectiveness of these in addressing GPA concerns is not resolved.

smk037
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Hello All,

I graduated from Georgia Tech ~3 years ago with quite a low GPA. I ended up with a 2.84 cumulative for my BSEE degree.

I know this is not good. Since then, I have done a couple of small personal electronics projects and have been working in industry for 3 years. I also started my MSEE at University of South Alabama while working (only took one course and received an A) but had to leave due to medical reasons.

Is it still possible for me to get into a decent MSEE program?

Thank you for your help,
 
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from what I understand after 2 or 3 years your grades don't matter as much as the experience you get from your years of work. however I'm not certain if this applies to engineering 100%. My sister was in biology and had a similar GPA to yours, and after 3 years of working as a lab assistant/technician, she got admitted to tulane U for a Msc in Public health (pretty decent school in the US for that field)
 
Thank you, that makes me feel better. I have been fortunate to have pretty decent work experience.
 
You never indicated any reason why you want to get the MSEE degree.

Zz.
 
My last job was doing hardware designs for ethernet switches and it was not quite what I expected. I was doing work at the board level-- basically creating schematics around ASICs that did most of the work. I did some power supply design then and it was my favorite part.

Right now I'm working at a regulatory agency and doing safety testing. Again, power supplies is what I'm most interested in here as well. I'm hoping getting an MS will help me get a job doing power supply designs in the future.

Either way, I can not imagine having an MSEE is a bad thing.
 
It seems like most schools in the area have a minimum GPA requirement of 3.0. Will this still apply since I've been out of school for a couple years?

Also, is it possible to get back into Georgia Tech with such a low GPA? And anyone know of some other schools in the Atlanta area I can apply to?
 
Also, are there things I can do at this point to get help my chances? I have taken the general GREs and gotten an 800 in math. I didn't score very high in writing/verbal (~550).
 
Most grad programs require a personal statement, resume, or something similar. Use whichever platform the school wants to explain the situation. A personal statement allows you to explain what you've explained here (why I got bad grades, doing well in industry, why I want MS, blah blah blah) while a resume/CV will show the industry experience you obtained after graduating w/ a BS.
 

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