<p>NOTE: "Graduating" refers to graduating COLLEGE (with a BS in Biology).</p>
<p>Well, nobody - even myself - thought I would make it. Thank God, I did. I'm graduating in less than two months. I SHOULD be excited, right?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I feel more scared than excited. Yes, I have an internship lined up for the summer. The trouble is what lies beyond that.</p>
<p>My GPA (in a hard but not particularly valuable major) was marginal. This semester (knock on wood) it seems to be improving, but it feels like too little, too late.</p>
<p>Now the common advice is for me to get a job. However, I WOULD like to go to grad school within the next few years. Any grad school, really.</p>
<p>The trouble is that I don't have any great credentials. Some experience here and there. There are post-bacc programs, but they tend to be for very specific fields, and some (ironically) require their own credentials.</p>
<p>I basically feel "behind the times" in my academic development.</p>
<p>I just want something with a "light at the end of the tunnel"...anything. College was very depressing for me, but I'm still convinced the future can, and WILL be better.</p>
<p>Anyone?</p>
<p>Edit: Another nagging doubt...that the $$$$$$ put into college for me was wasted (not exactly a cheap place I went to), and what I got out of it wasn't worth it over a cheaper place. Once again, a nagging, irrational doubt.</p>
<p>If you didn’t like college then you probably will not like grad school. I think your fear of the unknown is so great that your willing to overlook the displeasure of what is klnown. Here’s what to expect in the real world: Love, hate, excitement and fear, and all ponts in between. Embrace life and the unknown, striving to exist as close as possible to love and excitement. GL</p>
<p>I’d like to do something in environmental studies, frankly. The reception among family members (who somehow think my only option for life is medical school) will be mixed, but the people who care about me most won’t mind.</p>
<p>You need to clarify (1) career plans, i.e. why are you getting a graduate degree?; and (2) research interests, i.e. what are you interested in researching (aside from a broad field)? If you can’t spell out (2) very coherently, then you need to take time off until you can. Thinking about (1) will probably give you a better idea of other alternatives to a graduate degree and/or ways to build up your application so that it looks attractive to schools.</p>
<p>Soarer, grad school is not a better version of undergrad. Unless you are studying something that you are passionate about, grad school is worse. It is narrow, you are not there to explore intellectual horizons or to find yourself- you are there to become a subject matter expert in a topic you allegedly find fascinating.</p>
<p>I’ve followed your story and IMHO you are a terrible candidate for grad school right now.</p>
<p>You will find something that grabs you by the ears and that you love, but the only way to find that is to get out of college and get into the real world.</p>
<p>If you think that grad school is going to magically hand you over a profession which you’re going to enjoy, better re-think that. The world is filled with people with Master’s degrees who hoped that “a couple more years” would transform them.</p>
<p>Exactly what in environmental studies do you want to do? Study agronomy and figure out how to improve crop yields in Sub Saharan Africa? Work for an oil company in investor relations? Get a job at McDonald’s working to increase the sustainability of their beef supply chain or reduce their use of non-recyclable materials? Work at the World Bank examining de-forestation trends in Southeast Asia? Get a job on the Hill as a legislative analyst helping a Senator understand the environmental impact of fracking on his constituents? Work at a hedge fund investing in Timber/Natural Resources?</p>
<p>Don’t count on grad school to help you figure out. Go figure it out- and then consider grad school!</p>