How hard is it to get into a PhD program if your Undergrad grades are below par?

Question

I have a 3.9 GPA in my Master's program. I have been working in the field for 5 years, and I have taken the GRE and made a high enough score to be competitive at all 6 programs of interest. The main problem is my 2.4 undergrad GPA. I was really immature and not ready to be so far from home. Will this keep me from my dreams of a PhD?

Answer 1

It depends on what your BA is in and what your Masters is in.  You are not giving us enough info.

My guess is that you have a Masters in education since these programs don't really require a GRE test and have low GPA caps.  Or probably soemthing in special ed.

I am guessing you got an undergrad degree in the Social Sciences or Humanities.

On that assumption ask yourself these questions:

1. How will I pay for this? Will your employer pay for this?

2. Will I get a better job or higher pay with this degree?

3. Am I willing to do the hard work for the degree?

Reality: Huamnities and Social Science degrees dont pay well at all.  There are alot of these peopel so you have to specialize in something so you will stand out.

Reality: Your undergrad GPA sucks...big time....With that said, consider going back to college and get a second BA degree and fixing it up and then applying to a Grad school or get a degree in the sciences (i.e. start over).  Spend 4 yrs getting an eng. or other high return degree or go to grad school and hope a Phd helps you out.

Either way a Phd may not be the answer.  Strongly assess your situation.

Reality: Someone, somewhere will take your money with your current GPa and give you a degree.  Depending on your work. exp, and Masters GPA.  So becarefull where you go.  My point is someone will sell you a degree.  They may not be legitimate or the degree may not pay off in the long run.

Reality:  A 3.9 GPA in a masters program is not very impressive.  In fact anything below a B+ avg is horrible in the humanities or social sciences.

Reality:  Take some career counseling and really look at your life and goals. If you have your heart set on doin gresearch and teaching be advised that this may require teaching at 4-5 JC's after you graduate with a Phd. and doing this until you get a job somewhere, teach at a high school or get tenured at a Univ. somewehre in the USA.  Also pls be advised that you may never be tenured.

This is the reality

Good Luck.

Answer 2

Do you have an advisor? Does the school(s) have counselors?  

have vyou contacted anyone at the school(s) you're considering? Don't you think the school(s) would be better able to advise you than anyone in this forum?

Answer 3

how were you able to get into grad school?

Answer 4

SOME doctoral programs may ding you for that, but frankly, they are much more interested in what you have done most recently and what you will do for them once they accept you.

Depending on your field, don't overlook online/distance education doctorates.

Keep up the great work and do a publishable masters thesis!

Answer 5

This may be an uncomfortable question, but is the school at which you got your Master's degree on a par with the school at which you got your bachelor's degree?  Most decent schools wouldn't have taken you into a master's program with a 2.4 undergrad GPA, so I have to wonder that.  For a Ph.D., you really need to go to a good school, so if the only place where you got good grades was a lesser school, it will harm you.  If a good school took a chance on you for the master's, and you did well there, then you may have a chance to show that maturity was really the differentiating factor.

I don't know if your goal for the Ph.D. is academia, but if it is, then under no circumstances should you do an online degree.  They are not respected by traditional universities, and you would have considerable trouble getting a job.

Answer 6

You will certainly be able to get into SOME PhD program.  Which ones depend, in part, on the quality of your Master's program.  I'm assuming that your Master's is from a third or fourth tier school that does not offer a PhD.  If so, then I'm afraid that the top tier schools will probably be out -- not because of your grades, but because of the quality of the schools you went to.

Your best shot may be at good public university not in the top ten in your field.

When you apply, include a cover letter where you address your grades.  Explain why your graduate school grades better represent what you can do.