/adv/, I graduated a year ago from undergraduate studies with below a 3.0 GPA and without making any strong connections with my professors. There are many reasons why this happened but I wont bother you with a sob story.
Do I have a chance of getting into a good PhD program if I get accepted into any Masters program and do well there?
tldr; does it matter where I got my Masters when applying for a PhD?
>>16474630
any masters program is not so competitive. try doing more research on great programs for your masters
>mfw I'm currently a junior
>>16474636
>any masters program is not so competitive.
Why do you say that?
And why is that your face?
>>16474639
I meant they are competitive. pic unrelated
>>16474645
Why is /adv/ such shit
>>16474647
Because its turned into bf/gf shit. And even then, the choice solution is always to break up/divorce.
I don't know how it is where you live, but where I live, if you do shit in undergrad, you're not getting to masters, let alone to a PhD. I don't really know why it would be otherwise where you live anyway
>>16474650
I don't understand your confusion
>>16474650
And I am from the US
>>16474651
He wants you to have sex with him, duh!
>>16474651
I'm not confused, and I'm not from the US
>>16474655
I don't understand your ignorance then
>>16474657
What are you talking about?
>>16474658
>I don't really know why it would be otherwise where you live anyway
This is what I am referring to. You don't know why it would be otherwise. I first said this was your confusion, then you corrected me, so I called it your ignorance. Call it whatever, there are several reasons why it would be otherwise, and I can not understand why you wouldnt see that as obvious.
what is what
>>16474661
Explain why your undergrad performance wouldn't affect your entry into your masters, and thus your entry into the PhD programme then
>>16474630
Get a job fuck the masters dipshit.
The real question is how much do you have in debt.
>>16474665
The same way my high school performance wont affect applying for my masters. Because I went through undergrad which now replaces my high school performance.
And if I do well in a Masters program, it will show change in my academic progress when looking back at my undergrad.
I am not saying this is some law, but it is a reasonable "otherwise" at any campus I have ever been to.
>>16474666
I have no debt and already have a job
>>16474682
Yes, but your UNDERGRAD performance will affect your entry into masters. If you didn't do well at undergrad, then your chances of getting into a masters program are diminished. No one's talking about high school here, of course your high school results don't affect your entry into masters.
>>16474692
Right.
I know that. Which is why I asked my OP.
I got into a top 20 program for my major in America. I did poorly. Now I am applying for either a Masters or a PhD. I can do either.
My question was, say I go for Masters at some shitty university but do very well there, how much will it hold me back that I went to a shitty program?
If you dont know anything about graduate programs then I dont know why you replied in the first place.
>>16474630
What a strange anime that is.
>>16474700
You do realise that I started off with
>I don't know how it is where you live
right? I'm beginning to see why you did so badly in undergrad
>>16474709
Nice distraction
>I don't really know why it would be otherwise where you live anyway
I already pointed out that this was what I was referring to.
Yet again, there are reasons to think otherwise that are commonsense. For example, people's lives change. There are a few who get into Ivy League universities with 2.X GPA's because of this.
>>16474706
>>16474630
Professor writing here.
I've been on acceptance committees for grad programs.
Your basic assumptions are right. A weak undergrad record will limit you. A MA program will be easier to get into than a PhD program. And a good record at the MA level will go far to counter the poor undergrad level.
What you don't factor in is that a LOT of weight goes to your professors' references, your personal statement, and the pattern of your grades.
Take them in turn.
Pick the professors whose classes you did best in for your references. In asking them, remind them of who you are, so you're not just a name in the grade book. If you can lend them copies of your term papers or whatever, all the better. The more detailed the recommendation letter ("He did a particularly inventive research project on. . . " rather than "He was in my class and got a B and that's all I know") the better.
Personal statement (if one is required). Use this to explain away your poor performance and convince them that you've grown up, changed and got more focused.
Pattern. We are happy to ignore one bad semester, and are impressed if the general curve is upward, suggesting you were a slow starter, but got there in the end.
Don't be too pessimistic in your choice of grad schools to apply to. Aim for what would be your B-list rather than D-list.
