Expert: Jay Cutts - 10/19/2009

Question
Hi!
I'm currently a senior with a GPA of 3.05 studying mechanical engineering. I'm planning on apply to grad school and i was just wondering what kind of schools i can get in. I know my gpa is very low but i have several years of lab research experiences. I would like to go to a school in California, i'm currently in Boston. In order to ensure i can get into a school there, should i apply for one of the UC public schools or a not so famous private school?
thank you so much!

Answer
Hi, Patty.

Your GPA is not that terrible, especially for a difficult field such as engineering.  It will be important for you to get a strong score on the GRE, however, since the GPA is also not as competitive as it could be.  You should aim for at least 700 on the math and 500 on the verbal.

The GRE will probably be the factor that determines whether you can get accepted to a good school.  There is a lot you can do about the GRE.  However, many of the commercial prep programs don't have instructors with enough expertise to be of much help.

You are welcome to go to my site for free planning information on the GRE and the personal statement, which will be the next most important part of the application.  I also coach people on the GRE for a fee.

You can try to determine what your odds will be for getting into a specific school by looking at their average GPA and GRE scores for their students.  Apply to a few schools at which you have maybe a one in three chance of getting in, a few at which you will most likely get in and a few at which you may have a one in four or five chance.

It is a bit late in the process for getting accepted for Fall 2010 admissions.  If that is your goal, feel free to contact me directly and we can talk about what you can do for next fall admissions.

Let me know if you have some other questions.

Regards,

Jay

Jay Cutts