<p>I have a question that I would appreciate some feedback on so I'll begin by describing my situation as briefly as possible. </p>
<p>I'm wanting to go to grad school but I'm worried about my chances. Out of high school I went to a community college (to save money). I wasn't sure what I wanted to do so I worked full time and took three years to finish my A.A, A.S, and an applied associate's in electrical technology. The classes I took were mostly a bunch of gen ed stuff with no real focus, besides the electrical ones. After that, still not sure what to do, I worked with my fiance at a restaurant she was opening. At some point, several years in, it became clear that the restaurant wasn't going to work out and I decided I wanted to go back to school for electrical engineering. She didn't agree with my decision and we broke up.
My first year of engineering school went terrible. I went into the college with a 3.8 gpa, however a perfect storm of sort happened when I couldn't find work, got behind on all my bills, ended up sleeping on a friend's couch (this was in 09 when the economy was really in trouble). So, I had two semesters when I flunked nearly everything. I went back a year and a half later when I had some stability in my life and began making good grades again. I will now graduate next fall with a degree in math and computer science. My grades have been decent, but I do have a few c's on my transcript from the past few semesters. Since I have all of my gen ed stuff out of the way and I'm paying out of pocket, I have only been taking the higher level math and science classes, without taking any easier classes to keep my gpa up. I think I will graduate with around a 2.8 - 3.0 gpa. I should also mention that I'm doing this while working 50 -55 hours a week as a general manager of a local restaurant.
So my question is, and I apologize for being long winded, do I have a shot at a state school for grad school with the bad year of engineering classes and then the c's that I've had lately? Would the admission's person look at the fact that I work more than a full time job, which I'll be quitting if I get accepted into grad school, when considering my low gpa?
I would appreciate anyone's advice on this matter.
Thank you.</p>