<p>Hi, basically, I have two more years of my undergrad as a geology major left and I'm standing at a 2.7 GPA. I've done pretty badly my first two years, and even resigned two classes. I also am trying to find research opportunities but so far have had no luck. Basically my question is, what are my chances of still getting into a decent masters program for geology? I know even "safety schools" probably aren't safe with such a bad GPA. And are there any options if I fail to get into a grad school? This has me pretty worried, and any help is appreciated!</p>
<p>I know I still have a couple years left to improve. If I can show the graduate schools that my GPA trend is going up, would they be more willing to accept me even if my overall GPA still below 3.0? Especially since the only classes I have left are geology related, if I do good in my major would that earn some leeway for me? It has always been my dream to earn a PhD eventually and teach in college, and I feel so bad for screwing up my chances with that.</p>
<p>There are several ways to salvage the situation.</p>
<p>First, obviously, do as well as you can in your remaining classes.</p>
<p>Second, be open to the possibility of earning a second bachelor’s degree from a different college in a somewhat related field…some colleges require only a year’s worth of additional courses to get a second bachelor’s degree. Your GPA from the second school will count more than that from your first college. </p>
<p>Third, be aware that there there are different ways to go to grad school…going full-time during the day is the hardest way to get admitted. But depending on the school, with weaker credentials you can often get admitted as a part-time student during the day or night, or as a full-time student at night school…maybe a full acceptance or a provisional acceptance (where you’re on probation for a semester or so until you prove yourself and are granted full admission). Usually bigger colleges and colleges in large metropolitan areas will have a wider variety of options for you to attend part-time and/or at night.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for those tips, I never really thought about different ways of getting to grad school in the midst of my panic haha. I’m definitely going to look into some of those, but also I will work extremely hard to get that GPA up while I’m at it.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention that there is also the possibility of enrolling as a “non-degree” student, where you are allowed to take classes, but aren’t officially working towards a degree. That’s a good way to get to know some faculty and prove yourself, so that you can eventually get status as a degree-seeking student. </p>
<p>Also be aware that to teach at the community college level as a part-time (“adjunct”) instructor, you usually need only a master’s degree, and they usually aren’t real picky about which college you got the master’s from. These jobs are quite easy to get, as the pay is fairly low and there are no benefits (medical insurance, etc.). </p>
<p>Getting a master’s degree from any college (ie, not necessarily a prestigious one) and teaching at the community college level is a good way to see how you like teaching, and it gives you something interesting to put on your application to PhD programs. Also, you learn a lot more about your subject by teaching it than you do from being a student.</p>