<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I am a sophomore at SVSU with a double major in nursing and psychology. My current gpa is 3.9. I am an older married student (29 years old) with two children, aged 8 and 5, and I live over an hour off campus. The commute is long and gas is expensive so I cram a full time schedule into two days per week. This also makes child care easier to juggle. I am not able to participate in many activities on campus because of the limited amount of time I am there (and not in class). I realize that good grades are not enough to get me in at U of M, since I assume most other applicants also get good grades. What other things should I be doing to make myself more competitive as a potential grad student? I am very interested in the psychiatric/mental health masters program they offer. </p>
<p>My English professor has recommended me to the writing center as a potential tutor in the fall. I also plan to volunteer at my local community mental health center this summer. I live in a small town with few opportunities within my chosen field.</p>
<p>That's pretty much all I have going on outside of class and family life. </p>
<p>What should someone like me, from a not-so-prestigious UG university, do to get into a high ranking grad school?
Thanks,
Sarah</p>