Hi! I know that a lot of grad schools look at your third and fourth years only. This may be a dumb question, but third year literally means taken during your third academic year (or I guess maybe after you get 9 or whatever credits), right? I’m asking because I’m a second year and I did badly in PSL300, which is a 300-level course, so I was wondering if that counts as third year. Also, if I take MAT135, a 100-level course, during third year, that counts as third year too or no? Thanks! 🙂
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hey there,
that is actually not a dumb question. i know – shocking, right? it’s been known to happen.
the frustrating and unhelpful answer is that it kind of depends on the graduate program. sometimes it means that they will only look at the courses you took in your third and fourth year (some programs say this very explicitly by saying that they will only look at your last 5.0 or 10.0 credits).
on the other hand, some programs will focus just on your third and fourth year, regardless of whether you threw in a 100-level course in there or not. i would say that research-based science master’s programs – generally speaking – tend to do it this latter way, but that is VERY GENERAL, so you have to do your research.
read the website of the schools you’re interested in carefully, and if they don’t specify which one they do, you can always call them to ask. also, check to see whether PSL300 is a requirement for any of the programs you’re interested in, because that may also be a factor.
cheers,
aska