I had a very dodgy academic history which was due to my uncertainty as to what I wanted to study in addition to that I had overbearing parents that forced me into a major I couldn’t understand no matter how hard I tried. I was a student at a private university, La Salle University in Pennsylvania. My parents, they forced me into pre-med because I come from a family of physicians and they wouldn’t let me enroll in liberal arts no matter how bad I wanted it. As a result, my grades suffered I performed poorly in school and I had four D grades and even an F, i was placed on academic probation for a semester as a result. I left the university with a below 3.0 average (2.66/4.0). I want to note however my Senior year was met with some improvement I ended my last semester making the deans list for the first and only time I did a that school. It was also in my senior year that I discovered my true passion which was news and politics. This came after I joined the school paper and the model UN and debate teams. Sometime after graduation I decided to go back to school to a state school in my home state of New Jersey, Rutgers-Newark, It was here I majored in Journalism and Media Studies with a minor in Peace & Conflict Studies AND International Affairs. The one thing I wanted more than anything was internships, knowing without experience I couldn’t get my foot in the door without some campus involvement. Unfortunately Rutgers Newark didn’t have as well established club scene as Rutgers New Brunswick, but the college was so close to NYC that I chose Newark so I could intern and study at the same time. Going from the lack of clubs I went out of my way to form two student organizations I pushed forward by establishing A Model UN, An Amnesty International Chapter and even had a part in the establishment of a Unicef chapter. That was just freshman year and I made the deans list both semesters. Summer after Sophomore year I got my first internship at Fox News, fall of Junior year I entered at NBC Universal, Spring of Junior year I interned at Vice News. The summer before senior year I took a study abroad session at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, and I got an internship at the United Nations in Geneva. Now I am in the Fall of my senior year and I have an internship with Amnesty International. Spring semester I have another internship at Wired Magazine. As of now my overall GPA is a 3.81 roughly I can easily bring that to a 3.85 or even higher which would place me at Summa Cum Laude at the time of graduation. I also plan to get an internship at the United Nations in new york the summer after graduation. I have yet to take the GRE test but I’m hoping I’ll find some time next semester. Now I am seeking a masters at columbia either in Journalism or Human Rights Studies or even Global Thought Studies. I want to get out of this discussion board from anyone associated with Columbia (employee, student, past or present) if I have a good shot at getting into the Graduate program based on my academic background and experience. I would like to note that my first degree and my gaudy academic beginnings (i.e. the first bachelors) take away some hope of a potential spot in the university but it doesn’t hurt to try. Based on this…I guess…preview of my resume…do I have a decent chance of getting accepted to Columbia? Ive also considered the School of General Studies for a third Bachelors (I have heard they have holistic methods of admission but I would like to push my education forward from a BA/BS and get a masters) Would the first degree (and worst) have some impact on my admission to the Graduate Program?
My god, use paragraphs.
I didn’t read this all but why do you want grad school rather than work in your field for a while? or even more crazy, a THIRD Bachelors??? That would get you one of the most unemployable resumes possible. It screams: can’t cut it in the real world. The archetype of the perpetual student is not one you want to take…
You might get into CJS but it would be worthless. The sole purpose of J-school is to get a foot in the door, but you already have internship experience at elite media organizations. Take this advice from someone who worked in TV news for years, had no journalism degree but supervised many who did.
The other degree programs you mention are also worthless, even at Columbia. From the description of your resume, you’ve had an insane number of internships. You should be looking for a FT job now. If you were applying for a job with me, I’d ding you for too many internships. And you’re considering getting a third bachelor’s degree! I’m not trying to be nasty, but as T26E4 says here, it’s clear you now must enter the adult world and work.