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I messed up in my university even in courses related to my field of interest. The main problem was lack of discipline: I would alternate between high-intensity periods where I only stopped to sleep and low-intensity periods where I would work on random subjects unrelated to my coursework, or not work at all. My combined GPA for B.Sc. + M.Sc. is only 6.3 out of 10 (which is something like a 2.1 GPA in the US) -- slightly lower for undergrad and slightly higher for the master's.

I can't go back to change my grades, but is there anything I can do to significantly improve my chances of getting into a PhD in Europe? I did attend one of the top institutes in India, after clearing the national level entrance exam. Also, I co-authored a publication with a professor from my institute. My MA thesis received a good evaluation and I have a very positive letter of recommendation to show.

cag51
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Spacetime
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    related: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38237/how-are-ph-d-applications-evaluated-in-the-us-particularly-for-weak-or-borderl – Sursula May 03 '22 at 14:33
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    In which percentile of your class are you? top 10%? top 50% top 99%? – EarlGrey May 03 '22 at 14:57
  • @EarlGrey All of the students of my college were within the top 1% in India in terms of final year school grades. Then they also qualified the national level entrance exam (IIT JEE Advanced), in which again only about top 1% were chosen. But within the college, I was only top 60% in Masters, and top 80% in Bachelors. If I had chosen easier college, there wouldn't be so much competition within the class, and I could have get better grades as well. – Spacetime May 03 '22 at 16:33
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    I asked, but I do not really care, it is a matter of personal assesment (and personal marketing). Actually no one really cares about the numbers, apart from the guardians of the bureaucratic doors (which is a -claimed to be- meritocratic and efficent way to skim candidates), no one knows exactly how the rating of another country works. For example in Physics in France it is very difficult to have an average grade higher than 15 (on a scale of 20, where 20 is the maximum). Focus on yourself, re-start the contact with your thesis advisor, don't mention your grades until asked. – EarlGrey May 03 '22 at 16:45

2 Answers2

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As usual, it is helpful to look at this from the other side of the desk. Imagine that you are a professor in Europe, and you want to hire a student. You get ~100 applications, the majority of which are from students in other countries. Many of these people have great grades, good letters of recommendation, and even a published paper or two. One or two of your peers might even call you to say that they have an excellent student about to graduate, and that student would be a good fit.

Your first step is going to be to make three categories: the awesome candidates that you definitely want to talk to, the unqualified candidates that get a curt "no thanks" e-mail (if that), and the ones in the middle that you'll look at later. Which category do you think you are in? What would it take to change your opinion of yourself?

There is perhaps no singular right answer. You could retake some courses to improve your grades. You could get some nice publications and letters of recommendation. You could get some industry experience. I realize that these paths are themselves difficult, but they should be exponentially easier than trying to get admission to grad school in Europe right now.

cag51
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  • I understand things from their point of view, and they are right within the constraints upon which they have to make the judgement. I also don't know any better system. I just need to produce more evidence to prove my competence. I cannot retake courses as I'm already graduated. What I'm thinking of doing is independent research for one year, write review papers, and texts on relevant topics. Maybe try making videos on topics of new research, or to teach a coursework on YouTube. That way I will have more evidence to show my motivation and commitment, which may compensate my grades. – Spacetime May 03 '22 at 11:29
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    @Spacetime Why do you think the people with better grades are not motivated or committed? "independent research for one year, write review papers, and texts on relevant topics" sounds like it will make you appear more like a crank than a qualified applicant. – Bryan Krause May 03 '22 at 15:11
  • @BryanKrause I didn't say or think that people with better grades are not motivated or committed, neither I'm saying I'm better than them. All I'm asking is what should I do now if I want to do a PhD? The things I mentioned is something that I can do since I can't go back in time to improve my grades. So if you have better idea, please share. – Spacetime May 03 '22 at 15:38
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    @Spacetime The point is that if admissions are competitive, you can't make up for very bad grades by merely being motivated or committed, because the people with far better grades than you are also motivated or committed, and further they've shown their motivation and commitment through achieving better grades. Being motivated or committed isn't special. When admissions are competitive, it isn't a matter of just showing you are capable of something, you have to be capable and also one of the top N applicants, where N is the number accepted. – Bryan Krause May 03 '22 at 15:43
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    Sorry if it seems like Bryan and I are being hard on you; we just hate to see people waste effort and time when the university job market is as brutal as it is. There's nothing wrong with Youtube videos or independent research, but they are unlikely to much move the needle on your admissions odds. I think the "better ideas" are those in my last paragraph: finding a research position with a professor, or a second master's (which may require switching countries) -- though I realize these may be financially prohibitive (i.e., it'll be hard to find a paid research assistantship). – cag51 May 03 '22 at 15:50
  • @BryanKrause I understand that and also that motivation and commitment are not sufficient. The point of "independent research, review papers, and texts on relevant topics" is to not only show motivation and commitment but also the subject knowledge in relevant fields I want to do reseach, and ability to do the independent research. Isn't that's important characteristics they look for? I don't understand why it would look 'crank'. What else should I do to improve my chances? Or you mean there is nothing I can do now? – Spacetime May 03 '22 at 16:18
  • @Spacetime A PhD is a supervised program to learn how to do research. It's not supervised for the amusement of professors or to make them feel good, it's supervised because doing good early-stage research requires help. Most people who think they can do independent research, without learning how first, can't actually do it, and produce junk, crank material. Like cag51, I think your only hope is to have some other supervised position - as an employee or masters student working under a professor who becomes so impressed they think you are an outstanding candidate for a PhD position. – Bryan Krause May 03 '22 at 16:23
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    It doesn't sound like you've been able to show that ability yet, though, so while I don't want to tell you it's impossible, I want you to understand that you could do everything right from now on and still not do a PhD, and that's perfectly fine. It's important to form some backup plans for your livelihood so you don't get totally stuck. – Bryan Krause May 03 '22 at 16:25
  • @BryanKrause I only have one paper published in a reputable journal, and one MS thesis both on different topics. I can also make a paper out of my MS thesis. So far I only have these. And also 14 Coursera certificates, if they mean anything for PhD admission. One more aspect of my grades is that I was within top 1% in India in terms of final year school grades, and then within the top 1% on the national level entrance exam (IIT JEE). However, in my master's I was top 60% and in bachelor's only top 80%. Going to a less competitive place would also have improved my grades. – Spacetime May 03 '22 at 16:47
  • Two professors (one in Germany and one in Portugal) also agreed to take me for PhD but asked me to arrange external funding. That's why I started applying to only advertised funded positions, and but never heard back anything from any funded PhD options. I suppose because a lot of great applicants. – Spacetime May 03 '22 at 17:03
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    Thanks for the input. Now I'll focus on working with a professor rather than doing independent research. As a backup plan, I'm also learning Data Science and AI. – Spacetime May 03 '22 at 17:06
  • just skip right to the AI and save yourself 10 years – Philip Schiff May 03 '22 at 17:19
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Your profile is probably not remarkable, so your application will not stand out because of that.

However, having already one publication published (in a reputable journal) would help put some weight in your application.

So you are facing two hurdles:

  • getting the interest of a professor;
  • getting the funded position from that professor.

Help your way, help your potential supervisor: try to get your own fundings. It is not easy, it is not a very rewarding job, but it is a needed step. There are different sources for it, regarding Europe you may check the CERN page, or even the German academic exchange office DAAD ( https://www.daad.in/en/ ).

Regarding your attitude

My prof gave me the 37/40, and also wrote a very good review about me, even though we had a lot of scientific fights

That's the best you could have in science: you had someone taking your contributions seriously enough to challenge them, discussing hard with you, instead of ignoring them, and finally this someone gave you credits and a good review.

During my research period, I was almost all the time working, except when I was sleeping.

That is not hard working. That is overstraining yourself, to the point you got so tired that you felt you were lazy and unproductive, but it was a clear sign of beginning burn-out.

EarlGrey
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