Are my chances ruined?

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I'm new to this forum but have been lurking on it off and on for awhile now.</p>

<p>Anyway, I'm currently in my second year of college (first year at this university since I transferred) and am now feeling like a complete failure. First semester, I took the minimum course load after withdrawing from a math class and got a 2.75 GPA. I was thoroughly disappointed in myself. (I got an A and B in my psych classes, and 2 Cs in Biology and Stat)</p>

<p>This semester, I attempted the same math class again, and was doing okay, until the last exam and final...which I completely bombed, and it's probably going to make me FAIL the class. The way the class is set up is really stupid (it's completely online based), which is why I dropped it the first time because I wasn't ready for it. I retook it this semester, and I started off fine in the class. My quiz average is at a B, and I was going to help sessions, etc. I thought I'd be fine until these last two tests...which I studied extremely hard for, but to no avail. It was also after the withdrawal deadline so I was stuck in the class.</p>

<p>Anyway, the situation sucks and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have retake it to improve my GPA. But does this mean my chances for grad school are completely shot? I'm a psychology major and wish to go to grad school for educational psychology and my grades in related classes have been fairly high...but I'm hopeless when it comes to math/sciences which is shown these past two semesters. Do I have any chance at all? Do you guys have any advice on what to do?</p>

2

<p>You’re a sophomore. Quit panicking and start working.</p>

<p>I have a 3.0 with a metric ton of Fs and Ws on my transcript. I got funded at Indiana University.</p>

<p>Not to say I recommend a mediocre undergraduate record, but you don’t have to be a 4.0 Phi Beta Kappa to get into grad school.</p>

3

<p>I suspect most psychology programs require applicants to take statistics – if not as an undergrad then as a graduate student. Beyond that, however, math probably won’t matter to an education psychology program. Although psychology is getting progressively more quantitative and closer to a hard science in some of its subfields, you chose one that is not.</p>

<p>Polarscribe is correct that you don’t have to be a perfect student to get into graduate school; however, you must show promise. If you don’t get top grades, you’ll have to strengthen your profile in other ways. I suggest that you talk to your advisor at the beginning of the fall semester to see how you can best do this. In the meantime, you can track down some experience over the summer that you can directly relate to your field.</p>

4

<p>If you want to pass an exceptionally difficult class, prepare by teaching to an empty room. Give a full length, coherent lecture on the parts of the curriculum you have the most difficulty with to an empty room. The amount of preparation this will take will guarantee you master the material.</p>