<p>I graduated this may with a 2.2 gpa, horrible, i know. Over the past month ive realized the the only thing im passionate about is psychology. Ideally id like to get into neuropsych or behavioral neuroscience. I thought about getting a 2nd degree, but i dont know if that will help. I moved away from where i attended school, so i dont know how to get my grades up. What can i do to go to grad school?</p>
<p>no where. I am sorry, but most program require 3.0 to apply. Look for some state school in midwest maybe</p>
<p>2.2 is not acceptable. You might want to consider going for a 2nd degree to bring it up to 3.0 or higher in order to get into any masters programs. Was your major in psych? If so, consider a related field like neuroscience or sociology or something like that.</p>
<p>Also, what would you want to do with a graduate degree in psychology? You can still work in clinics as aissistants to beef up your work experience.</p>
<p>Why would you want to go back to school after having struggled? Graduate school is much more intense than undergraduate. </p>
<p>I suggest that you try to work for a bit (I know – the job market is tough). Then take some courses at a respected university/college that are specific to the field you want to study so you can get your GPA up. If you don’t get As and high Bs in those courses, then you’ll have to accept that advanced study in that field isn’t going to happen. You also might want to do some soul searching about why you had a 2.2. Was it because you partied too hard? Or was your major wrong? Did you not yet have the correct critical thinking skills? Did you simply hate studying or going to class? Once you have your answers, I think you can begin to formulate a plan.</p>
<p>If you haven’t taken upper level courses in psychology, then you probably don’t have a solid idea of the field. Intro courses give only give you a taste. My D had no less than four friends who arrived at college wanting to major in psych. After the intro class, two decided it wasn’t for them. The other two changed their plans after taking one or two more specific courses. My D, who considered it herself, discovered after taking upper level courses that she didn’t like the “soft science” of much of psych and instead landed in the related, part-psychology neuroscience department where biology and chemistry play larger roles. You really have to get deep into a field and do well in it before you can determine whether it’s for you.</p>
<p>“GPA minimum requirement” is designed for people exactly like you----do not have any plans for life and dream of something you do not deserve</p>
<p>Sorry for being mean, but you need to suffer the consequence of your own behavior</p>
<p>to asian: I went to Ohio State, which is a state school in midwest, no way in hell he can get in :D</p>
<p>Oh I didn’t know that Ohio State has a minimum GPA requirement</p>
<p>asian boi that’s pretty mean man, dont look down on midwest schools!</p>
<p>here is some real data, from: <a href=“Home | Department of Psychology”>Home | Department of Psychology;
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<p>usually on admission office they will not set a hard in stone “minimum GPA requirement”, reason is so they can recruit certain “special” person they want without breaking the rules, but the above guideline is clear enough on the GPA requirement, so unless your dad is George Bush, you will get filtered out the first round</p>
<p>You’re probably going to need a second degree with a significantly higher GPA. Or maybe (maybe) two or so years of courses with a very high GPA. Also, research experience.</p>
<p>1) I know 2.2 isnt enough to get in.
2) I didnt struggle with anything. I had different priorities which put school on the back burner.</p>
<p>I majored in psych and im interested in behavioral neuroscience and neuropsych. I understand what im asking and saying might be near impossible, but theres no reason to to act high and mighty. Im just asking to see if theres any possibility, and i pretty much already know the answer.</p>
<p>I just want to know if a 2nd bachelors would help get to grad school (phd).</p>
<p>I don’t think you need a second bachelor’s as much as you need to do the coursework. Enroll as a non-matriculated student at a respected university, and try from there.</p>
<p>Would a second bachelors make a difference? Would taking a couple grad level classes plus a year or two or research and a high gre score give me a good shot? How many classes do i need to take?</p>
<p>Judging from my own experience (I had a below-3.0 GPA from my first degree, raised it up to above a 3.0 and was successful in applying to grad school)…</p>
<p>You have to be super patient in getting your grades up. I’d say take two years of classes in your field of interest (upper-level classes if you can), or enough classes to raise your total GPA to at least a 3.0 (whichever comes first, which will probably be the two years). Prove that you can do really well in those courses (get straight A’s). </p>
<p>Also, during this time develop close academic relationships with your course professors so you can get an excellent letter of recommendation. And at the same time, get into a research lab during those two years, and get a shining letter of recommendation from that professor as well. Do a summer research program as well, if you can, so you can get a second letter of recommendation from another professor who knows your research. </p>
<p>So, it’ll probably take you another 2-3 years until you can even consider graduate school. That’s how I had to do it. (In my case, I did get a second bachelor’s, but that’s because my first degree was in Liberal Arts. I think in your case it’s not necessary if your first degree is related to your field of interest).</p>
<p>It doesn’t look too good. Correct me if I’m wrong, but if you did 4 years with a gpa of 2.2, you’d need another 4 years with a 4.0 just to raise your average to 3.1, which is about what you’d need to get in.</p>
<p>Yeah, that’s a good point supernintendo. It probably would take about as many units as the OP has already taken to raise the 2.2 GPA to above a 3.0. But wouldn’t it be conceivable that if the OP earns a 4.0 in challenging upper-level classes for 2 years, that would demonstrate a commitment to and aptitude for the field?</p>
<p>What do you do all day to get a 2.2 GPA? I have never quite understood what people do to get GPA’s that low. It isn’t that hard to show up for class, do the work on time, and ask the professors or a tutorial center for help if you aren’t understanding something.</p>
<p>@ bluealien01. you don’t know the circumstances that people live in when they are in undergrad. one awful year can screw you over. not all students live in the ideal world where they can go to class and study without life interfering in the way, sometimes majorly. sick parent(s) and having many siblings to take care of is just one of the most ordinary ones that pops to mind. combined with not originally planning to go on to grad school it means they might not have decided early enough to take a year or two off during undergrad. sometimes it IS that hard to show up for class and do work on time. just combining the numbers of people that struggle with addiction and mental health issues (those 1-2% add up) alone means someone in your family or you even, can struggle and that impacts EVERYONE surrounding them, and sometimes MAJORLY.</p>
<p>I couldn’t agree with bluealien more, I’m sure no one at his dorm locked him up in his room so he couldn’t go to classes.</p>
<p>@ safetypin, I think it takes more than “one awful year” go have a 2.2 GPA. He spent 4 years in college, if the other 3 years he had decent GPA like 3.2, one year of 2.0 is not even enough to bring down GPA that much LOL. Even the worst thing happened, just take a break from school to deal with your mess.</p>
<p>I was just lazy and didnt care about school. I went to CC for two years and a university for two more years. I have a 3.0 in my psych classes with minimal effort, and my other classes didnt meant anything to me. My priorities werent in order either, i was more concerned with hanging out and drinking… I realize its a long shot, but i know theres a way. I want to do behavioral neuroscience and ive been looking at MA’s in experimental psych. Ive found some MA/MS for experimental and biological psych? So…should i take undergrad classes in bio and chem or graduate psych classes?</p>
<p>many of you guys are being a little harsh, but i have a question for you gunito. </p>
<p>Why is it that you want to go to graduate school? As someone pointed out, classes are more difficult and you need a greater level of discipline. If there’s a class that you don’t like or don’t care about you can’t just not do well in it and forget about it. In most PhD programs i’ve heard of, once you get in you’re expected to keep at least a B+ average and nothing below a B- in order to keep funding and not be put on probation. </p>
<p>Graduate school is not just something you do because you can’t find a job or don’t know what to do with yourself. You have to be dedicated, real into research, and lastly really into your area of study. You can’t just say…well i’m interested in neuroscience…you have to have a specific idea of what you want to research and focus in. </p>
<p>There are some universities that offer 2nd bachelors, but most of the good schools do not. The good schools, however, sometimes offer post-bachelors options, but they’re usually completely unfunded and extremely expensive. </p>
<p>I think what most people are saying (though rather in a mean way) is that it doesn’t appear that you are graduate school material. and this is OK! not many people are. I’m not saying this because i don’t think you’re smart enough (i have no idea how smart you are) nor because i don’t think with a lot of work you could actually get in, but rather because in reading your posts, it appears that you’re just not the sort that would have the passion required for your subject to actually end up with that PhD in the end.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to be harsh, but you said you just graduated this May and didn’t have your priorities straight. What will convince a university that you have them straight 3 months after graduating?</p>
<p>As for the kind of classes you should take, that is something to ask a university career counselor. Also, if I am remembering correctly, I think NorthStarMom (a poster on the parents forum) has a Phd in some type of psychology, perhaps she would be a good person here to ask about graduate school in that field.</p>