

Ask HN: PhD and First Year BSc Grades - zxcvb

I'm nearing the end of my undergrad (bachelor of science) computer science degree with an expected first with honours.
I'm looking at doing a PhD. Funded PhD places are very competetive which is making me think twice due to the fact I have really bad first year grades on my  undergrad. They are all passes, whereas my second and third year grades are mainly A's and one or two B's.<p>Because of the time in which I have to apply I will not have a full transcript, I will only have the first and second year transcript (this year hasn't finished yet) which includes my first year all pass grades, and my second year all A's and one B.<p>Do you think I could get turned down based on my pretty bad first year?
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pg
PhD programs care much more about recommendations than grades. The most
important thing you can do is get a good recommendation from a professor at
your school who's known to whoever you want to work with at the target school.

As for grades specifically, you can probably just tell them the truth, which
is that you screwed up freshman year. Grad school admissions are done by smart
people (usually the profs themselves). They'll realize that if you got good
grades in the later, harder classes, you could have done well in the easier
ones.

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zxcvb
Problem is, I can't actually prove I'm doing/have done really well in my final
year because it's not over yet therefore I have no transcript. Although they
can clearly see I got 4/5 A's in the second year.

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amichail
Have you worked on any significant projects? Have you done any research? Have
you published any papers?

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zxcvb
Publishing is somewhat difficult for an undergrad as you can't really get
published unless you have something original to say/add to a domain of
knowledge (that's the whole point of a PhD). Finding the time to research
something original while doing undergrad work is something I didn't even think
was possible, the last thing you want is a reputation for trying to publish
utter crap.

~~~
amichail
If you are ranked very highly in some key courses, then that would help.
Having worked on a substantial project or two could help also.

I think most universities also look at your GRE scores.

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zxcvb
From what I've researched it seems universities are only interested in your
undergrad or masters degree. High school and college stuff doesn't count (I'm
in the UK).

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Logic-Shop
If you are serious about getting into a PhD program then you should have a
clear idea of your academic/research goals and some professors you have
impressed with your work. Compile professor recommendations, the write up of
your goals, and any supporting evidence you have of your abilities: i.e.
particularly noteworthy papers, projects, etc.

If you do end up getting rejected, then look around for a project with which
to prove yourself. You know what skills you have and how they could be useful.
Find another student's project, or a start-up company, or a professor's
research which you can contribute to in an important and impressive way. You
can use such proofs of your abilities as a ticket into a PhD program next
year.

