<p>This is my first thread on this website, so forgive my n00biness. (yea that isn't a word)</p>
<p>I'm a recent graduate from a four year institution. The catch is my gpa SUCKS...it is a 2.97 >.<</p>
<p>The reason why it is so low is because I seriously lacked direction during my first 2 years and my course in my 3rd year were hard. This is why I also do not have any research experience related to my major.</p>
<p>I have my head on my shoulders now, but I fear it might be too late.</p>
<p>And then the economy crashing right as I come out of school doesn't help my situation any :(</p>
<p>So now that you know the basics of my bleak situation, I have some questions about what I should do next. Should I:</p>
<p>1) Apply to Grad school anyway and see what happens. (idk if I even have a snowball's chance in hell of getting in.)</p>
<p>2) Try and do post bac. (Do Grad schools even look at that?)</p>
<p>3) Try and find some entry level jobs related to my degree and then use the experience their to apply to grad school. (Work experience + employer LOR = school forgives undergrad failures? )</p>
<p>Will I be haunted by my 2.97 for the rest of my life, or can I hopefully put that being me and get into a grad school?</p>
<p>What was your major?</p>
<p>I sorry I thought I put that in there.</p>
<p>I’m a biology major. Graduated yesterday.</p>
<p>First question: why do you want to go to grad school?</p>
<p>Graduate school is not just two more years of college and gradcoms are very keen to sniff out and reject applicants who are only applying because they can’t think of anything better to do. You need to at least know the general direction you want to focus your research on.</p>
<p>I certainly have more of a direction now than I did before.</p>
<p>I would ultimately like to be a geneticist or a biochemist. Genetics being my first option.</p>
<p>Its pretty amazing how such a comparatively small molecule, like DNA, can control so much.</p>
<p>Can I make a suggestion- even if you get admitted to a graduate program with your current credentials, would it really be the right place for you? If you work as a tech for a couple of years, you would be much more competitive for graduate school and provide you with more options in picking the right graduate program and the right lab. People tend to work on their Phds for six or so years; this is a long period of your life and is transformative for your career. Don’t you think this deserves some serious preparation, even at the expense of a year or two?</p>
<p>^</p>
<p>I’ve been thinking that this is something that I would have 2 do.</p>
<p>A lot of people really don’t like research. It’s tedious work and endless failures before something goes right. You may very well start working in a lab and decide that you hate it and want to do something else… best to figure that out before committing to grad school. I’m no expert, but if I were in your situation–a sub 3.0 and no research experience, I would probably find a job as a lab tech for two years, maybe consider some post-bac classes, and then if all goes well, start thinking about grad school.</p>
<p>I always recommend that people go work first before grad school to 1. determine your desire for a grad degree, 2. determine your need for a grad degree, and 3. mature enough to put your previous academic career behind you. #3 is most important, because the academic world is very coddling and isolated from reality. Some time away can make a bad student into a good one and can make a good student into someone who really understands concepts and filters out what is important and what isnt. </p>
<p>I had a 2.5 GPA in college, a few years later I went back to grad school and graduated with a 3.75. I went back again for an engineering grad degree and have a 3.8. Just because you’re not a good student now doesn’t mean that you’ll always be a bad student.</p>