Hello all I am brand new here but I have seen some pretty helpful information just from google searches so I thought I would pose my own question. I am currently finishing up my bachelors degree in occupational safety and health from waldorf university. Yet my dream is to earn my masters degree in emergency management from Georgetown but I am not sure I am Georgetown material. So maybe you guys can help me before I get my bubble busted.
I have a current gpa of 3.0 or over in my bachelors degree. Which is super difficult with my rotating 12 hour shift schedule and married with two young kids. I am currently a volunteer fire fighter in our city, also an industrial fire fighter at the large refinery/chemical complex. I am part of what is called “Panhandle Regional Planning Commission” which is an emergency preparedness organization for where I live, the Panhandle of Texas. I have had years of TEEX training in different aspects from exterior and interior fire brigade to tons of Hazmat training at their Texas AM facility. I was a certified EMT for a while but gave it up due to kids and family. I have led safety during what is called a “turnaround” at our facility. Its where you take the entire plant down and fix what needs to be fixed and bring it back up.
I am just not confident in myself getting in so help me out.
It sounds like your question is about whether you’d get in and/or whether you could successfully complete the program.
On the former, the SCS programs are not particularly selective - they don’t require the GRE, for instance. A 3.0 and the extensive experience you have should be plenty sufficient. It’s also helpful that you will have recent instructors who can write letters of recommendation speaking to your ability to perform the work.
On the latter, the program is designed for working professionals who have lots of other stuff going on. I know someone enrolled in the program who also has a pretty busy job, and they’ve been managing it fine.
I would say that, generally speaking, you should focus less on whether you think you could successfully complete the program and more on what you’ll get out of it and whether it’s worth the significant return on investment.
Thank you so much for your input, for the most part I have thought a great deal about the course and how intensive it is. My question is really just about my chances of getting into the course since I am just generally a working stiff so to say. Yet again I appreciate your input.
Pretty much everyone doing this program is a working stiff - if they’re not, then they’re just trying to break into the field and have less relevant working experience than you do. If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Admissions Advisor. They’ll level with you.