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Profile evaluation: low-ish GPA from top school

Posted: Wed Oct 02, 2019 9:01 pm
by zorba291
I'm curious to know if the schools I'm looking at are realistic, so here's my profile (I'm being somewhat vague for privacy reasons).

Undergrad Institution: Top 5 overall & for math, private, notorious for grade deflation and rigor
Major(s): Mathematics
GPA: 3.5
Type of Student: DWF

GRE Revised General Test: 169Q/170V, don't remember writing score
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics: Taking this month
TOEFL Score: Waived

Program Applying: Applied math mostly

Research Experience: Plentiful and unique, about 10 substantial projects over the past 5 years. Almost all of these involved applied math. At first, my research was mostly related to physics. Lately, I have exclusively done research on the applications of math/computation in public health & policy, which I'd like to continue in grad school.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Some merit scholarships, some research grants, one leadership award.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: I'm really into activism and have done data science internships with several political organizations.

Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help:
- I think my PhD research interests are pretty unique (not sure if this will help).
- I've taken a really diverse set of classes (changed my major three times ha).
- I will probably have four reference letters. I've read two of them - they are extremely positive, detailed, and LONG (both are 3 pages). I expect the
other two will be strong as well. All but one are from research advisors.
- I've been told my personal statement is especially well-written and convincing.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
- Personal/family issues (which I will discuss in my apps) led to one bad quarter that brought down my GPA quite significantly.
- While academic research is my primary career goal, I'd like to run for office and I'm quite clear about this in my personal statement.

Schools I like:
Northwestern (ESAM) - I was told by the admissions director that I'm very likely to be accepted
UChicago (CAM)
Stanford (ICME)
Berkeley (Applied Math)
Harvard (SEAS - Applied Math)
Harvard (Statistics)
MIT (CSE)
MIT (Social & Engineering Systems)
Columbia (APAM)
NYU (Applied Math)
Yale (Applied Math)
Princeton (PACM)
Caltech (CMS)

Re: Profile evaluation: low-ish GPA from top school

Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2019 1:13 am
by dujiahan
Can you explain you low-ish GPA a bit more?

One bad quarter should not bring down your GPA unless your GPA was bad all along.

I'm sure admission officers will ask the same question.

By the way, what do you mean by "substantial projects"? Do they contain original research that is worth publishing?

What's your GRE subject score?