Hi,
I recently graduated from my undergrad and will start working as a pre-doctoral RA for two years at a Top 10 school.
I graduated from a Top 20-25 school with Economics major, but my GPA is low (3.3-3.4) with not so good grades in math (will post a refined profile evaluation later). A lot of unexpected events happened to me during undergrad, which partially explains my grades but also I was very low in terms of my self esteem and motivation, which didn't help academically. It is mostly on me that I failed to overcome a lot of personal obstacles completely, and I am trying to do my best in the next two years to improve myself, both personally and academically.
I was talking with my research advisor, under whom I have learned to do research and eventually completed my senior honors thesis. He is somewhat well-known in the field, and told me that he sees my paper as potentially publishable at a second-tier journal upon several changes and many revisions. I have been wondering if I should embark on this, as I know that this will take a lot of work and there is also no guarantee that I will get it published.
Here is my question: I know it'll be hard, but If I do get it published, will this help me get into a Top 15, even Top 10 Phd program? I know my current profile isn't enough to get me into these schools, and was wondering if this will be a big factor that will help me get into these schools.
Thanks in advance for your help.
