Getting into Graduate School?

Question

I'm almost finished my first year of university working on a Bachelors of Science in Physics. I really want to be able to get into graduate school in 3 years, but I've got some GPA boosting to do before then.

I know I have the intelligence to get my GPA above 3.0, but I'm not sure what some appropriate steps would be to take.

So far, in the 5 courses I've taken:

Physics Math Math Chem Econ
B B- C B- C+

At my university, that amounts to a 2.54 GPA.

I know I have plenty of time to bring it up, and graduate admissions generally only looks at the last 60 credit hours anyhow.

What can I do to raise it? I think my biggest problem is that I generally study enough to get an average grade (as evidenced by my marks) or to just barely beat the curve. How can I get myself to study more?

Answer 1

First, it is not true that grad admissions only looks at the last 60 credit hours. We look at the entire transcript. Seeing improvement over time is a good thing.

I don't know how you can get yourself to study more, but that is essential. If you do not absolutely love your subject of study, there is absolutely no reason to even think about graduate level work. So find what you love about physics, and focus on that.

In order to gain admission to a decent graduate program, you will also have to get some substantial lab experience. You don't have to do that yet, but you should be focusing on the professors in your department, finding out what research they are doing, and looking for future opportunities to work with them in independent studies, summer research, or some other laboratory capacity.

Best wishes to you.