<p>I am undergraduate in the process of getting my B.S. in Sociology with a minor in Math at Western Washington University. I haven't taken the GRE, but based on practice tests it will be around 1100-1200. My cumulative GPA is 3.25 because I messed up my freshman year, but there's been an upward trend. I haven't gotten a GPA any lower than a 3.5 since my first year. I've interned as a student teacher for summer school. I was in choir for the first 2 quarters of my freshman year if this even counts. I plan on doing research for my professors. I was thinking of applying for either a masters or a phd program for sociology or my other route would be getting a masters/phd in higher education administration. These are some of the colleges that I was considering... UW-Seattle, UMich-Ann Arbor, and USC.</p>
<p>Are these schools reasonable to aim for with my stats? I know USC might be a crap shot. I'm sort of clueless with the grad school process. Can anyone suggest me some good grad schools with sociology/higher education admin programs. Any tips, advices, or school suggestions would be great! Thanks, guys.</p>
<p>You sound like you still don’t know what you want to do. Sociology and higher ed administration are completely different programs with its own methodology.</p>
<p>If you want to be competitive for sociology at all, get your GRE scores up to 1400+. Seriously, if you want to go straight on from undergrad. My UM roommate’s a PhD student in sociology and she thinks high GRE scores got her in (and she was clueless just as you were about what she wanted to do). She also said that a lot of people tend to be older- usually 26 years old and up. She considered herself very, very lucky. Also, you need to consider department fit as well.</p>
<p>Do NOT go to grad school. If you are admitted you will be devoting years of your life and incurring massive debt to get a degree in a field you know nothing about. If you are interested in higher ed administration, go and apply for admissions counseling, student affair, development, etc. positions. If you are thinking about PhD programs for sociology then go and work as a researcher first.If you find you enjoy that line of work, then apply to grad school. I know right now jobs are not abundant and grad school seems like a solid investment, but you have plenty of time. Once you start getting into grad school, your options start shrinking as far as jobs you can attain.</p>
<p>Do NOT pursue a grad degree until you have worked in the field.</p>