Want to go to eng grad school, will a bad lab grade affect this?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the impact of a single poor lab grade on the prospects of gaining admission to engineering graduate schools. Participants explore the relevance of individual grades in the context of overall academic performance and graduate admissions criteria.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses concern about a C grade in an advanced physics lab and questions whether retaking the course is necessary for graduate school applications.
  • Another participant suggests that a single bad grade is unlikely to prevent admission to a good graduate program, emphasizing that a pattern of poor grades would be more problematic.
  • A different participant reiterates the concern about the importance of lab courses in engineering and questions if a C grade would significantly impact chances at top graduate schools.
  • One participant notes that graduate admissions typically consider the overall candidate, including transcripts, test scores, and recommendations, implying that one course may not heavily influence the decision.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that a single poor grade is not likely to be a decisive factor in graduate admissions. However, there remains uncertainty about the specific weight that engineering programs place on lab courses versus overall performance.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying opinions on the importance of individual grades, particularly in lab courses, and how they relate to graduate school admissions criteria. There is no consensus on whether retaking the course is advisable.

Who May Find This Useful

Undergraduate students considering graduate school in engineering or related fields, particularly those concerned about the impact of individual course grades on their applications.

dj246
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I am currently a senior at a no name liberal arts college studying math and physics. I am unsure about want I want to do in the future, but I am considering engineering for graduate school in the far future. Field yet to be determined.

Last year I took an advance physics lab course and absolutely bombed the class because I bit off more than I could chew in terms of all the classes I was taking. I ended up with a C for a final grade :(*

I don't really want to take the class again because I really didn't like it. Next semester is the last chance I have to retake it in hopes of getting a better grade. My question is, is it worth retaking? Will engineering graduate schools really care that *I bombed one class if I did well in all my other classes? Will I still have a good shot at getting into the top 75 engineering grad programs with this one C?*I'd prefer not to take the class again, especially final semester of senior year, because it's a lot of work.*

Just to give you some background, I've gotten A's and A-'s in all of my other physics classes. Similar with math (except 1B and 1 B-). My GPA is 3.72.
 
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One bad grade will not keep you from getting into a good graduate program.

It's a pattern of bad grades that's a problem.
 
Eng grad school and bad grades

I'm an undergrad senior who is a *physics major. I plan on going into engineering for graduate school.

Last year I took an advance physics lab course and got a C because I was overworked.

I don't really want to take the class again because I really didn't like it. My question is, should i retake the class? Especially since it's a lab course and engineering is all about applications? Will engineering graduate schools really care that *I got a C if I did well in all my other classes? Will I still have a good shot at getting into the top 30 grad schools?*

Just to give you some background, I've gotten A's and A-'s in all of my other physics classes. Similar with math (except 1B and 1 B-). My GPA is 3.72.
 
Graduate admissions generally looks at the over-all candidate; this includes your transcript(s), test scores (GRE, etc), and letters of recommendation. How you did in one isolated course is not likely to make a difference.
 

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