International Student,TERRIBLE GPA looking to change majors (Grad Schools). PLEASE READ

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am a Mathematics student in the most competitive school in my country. (Ranked #1 in my country, and is the highest ranked university of my country worldwide by 300 from the second highest – that did not make sense! Sorry! ) I went to college right after I lost my father, and right when I was dealing with an eating disorder and self-harm. I also did not like Mathematics. In fact, I do not like anything other than art, but my family wouldn’t let me change my major, for good reasons. So I stayed with it. Everyday has been hell for me.

My self-harm got so out of hand, the anxiety I carried around with me had its toll on my physical health, and after numerous tests the Doctors sent me to a Psychiatrist. I was diagnosed with Severe Depression, Anxiety, OCD and ADD. (The diagnosis took 3 months of therapy, and three Doctors.) I started medication and therapy in the fall. My GPA for the last semester (after I got help): almost a 3/4, but my overall GPA is 1.9 … which is really bad.

I will get my diploma however. (In my country, the scale is the grade out of 20, and my GPA is 12.80/20. You pass classes with 10+ and can get your degree with a GPA higher than a 12 or 11, I’m not sure.) I still have a few more classes to take and (try and) pass, but it’s still very hard for me. One reason is that I hate the subject matter, so I just naturally am not motivated to study, but just take into account my ADD and depression and it’s a disaster. Another reason would be the fact that I’ve been messing up for so long, so I don’t know all the per-requirements of the courses that are left, and so not only do I have to catch up with the current course, but I’m also behind because I don’t really have a solid background. Passing classes with C’s and D’s in Math really means mediocre handle on things! Also, the Professors now have a preconceived idea about me, that I’m a slacker or something.

I also hate using my health as an excuse, but seeing the results that I got after I went into treatment, I cannot deny the fact that it IS one of the reasons that I did so badly in college. Now that you know my background, I would like to ask for guidance. I’ve always had one dream: To study in the U.S and to travel there. I don’t care about an Ivy education or even a good college, but merely to be able to travel there. It is the only goal I have in my life. But, with a 1.9 GPA, I cannot possibly get into a Master’s program in the U.S. or, anywhere else in the world! I just don’t want to study here anymore! I am prepared to look for schools that would have me even outside of U.S.

I feel like I need this change of scene to grow, and to get away from the life I’ve created for myself and all the negative things around me. I’ve stopped going to therapy, and I’m afraid I might do badly again this semester, and the only reason is because I calculated my GPA and realized my dream is over, so now I have no hope and zero motivation to get up. But,

I don’t want to study Mathematics. I plan to study either Management Information Systems or Financial Accounting. I’m good with computers, and I am an organization freak (Hello, OCD!).I love figuring out puzzles and making sense out of data that’s already there. Whichever major I go for in my graduate studies, I will pursue the other as a PhD. Now, here’s what you might be asking yourself, “Gurrrll, weren’t you bad at math?”… Yup. I am bad at math, but only a certain type of Math. Look at some of my grades:

Topology, Graph Theory, Analysis, Algebra I - ALL D’s.

Calculus I – A, Calculus II – B, Physics – B, Differential Equations B, Cryptography- A

Then there are the courses that I actually enjoyed, I got A+’s in the following:
English(20/20), Literature(20/20), Economics(17/20), and Sociology(18/20).

I did research for almost all of these classes, especially for Sociology. It was so fascinating for me! So, you see, I can get good grades. I took a Mock TOEFL exam without preparing for it, at all, and scored 101 (R: 24, L: 26, S: 28, W: 23). I’m sure I can do much better with a little more practice. I’m also positive I can do great in exams like GRE and GMAT. I can also take Accounting courses or classes (outside of Uni) and get good grades, and perhaps Recommendation Letters from the professors (I can’t get any from any of my current professors.)

So, I feel like I still might have some hope… but I’m also really worried about everything. I just need a sure thing, or, kind of sure. Just so I can focus on the two semesters that I have left, and prove that I can be a good student if I’m healthy enough to be. I just fear that no school is going to give my application a second look when they see the 1.9 GPA, because, let’s be honest, who would? I just really need a break…Life at 22 shouldn’t be this stressful and miserable.

Thanks for sticking with me so far. I really appreciate it.

2

What exactly are you asking? If a grad school in the US will accept you? Unfortunately the answer is no. For the vast majority of graduate programs in the US you need at least a 3.0, some even require a 3.3. You’re a long way off. If you really want a graduate degree just go within your own country, it will be easier to get in and you’ll save money. You can travel to the US later.

3

Don’t translate numbers. Are you in the Portuguese, Iranian, or French system? (As those numbers mean different things depending on country). Actually if you named the school it’d help too, but if you worry you’d be recognizable just name the educational system or its pattern.
I doubt the top school in your country would let you stay if you truly had what in the US is a 1.9 GPA (in the US, if you go below 2, you are dismissed. 2.0 is the minimum allowed to be enrolled in college. Since you weren’t dismissed, you likely don’t have the equivalent of a 1.9).
Also, what’s your budget?
Do you already have your degree (First college degree in the Bologna Agreements if you live in Europe, 3 or 4 year degree otherwise)? Is there a way for you NOT to graduate this Spring.
Have you looked into Data Science or Business Analytics in terms of fields? Based on your health problems but also capabilities, those two fields sound like they’d be a perfect fit for you.
If you have a budget that allows you to attend a US university for undergrad, you’d be allowed to major in (say) Data Science and minor in Art. :slight_smile: But the issue will be budget.
Have you taken the SAT? Could you try and take it?

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@MYOS1634 I hadn’t thought of this, but OP said that in their system you need at least a 10 to pass. They also said you need at least a 12 to graduate, which would equate roughly to a 2.0 I suppose. If this is the case, and OP has a 12.8, they’re likely hovering in the low 2’s (2.1-2.2), which is still far too low to be admitted to any graduate programs in the US. Essentially, if they’re just scraping by in undergrad, then graduate school probably isn’t the best idea…

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That’s why I asked what the system is.
For instance, a 12.8 in a French school (especially if it’s a grande école or a prépa) is a 3.6-3.7.
But it could be a 12.8 in Portugal, where it’s a B (2.9 -3.1).
In the first case, OP can make her/his case for grad school.
In the second case, OP is better off completing his/her BA in the US.
In fact, considering the issues and provided OP’s parents have enough money, OP may be better off
“taking time off” from his/her college to study for a BA in the US, using his/her background in math for a specific
type of math major (Data science?) and adding an art minor since that’s what they want (the minor wouldn’t have to be
official to the parents, as they may be more receptive to the idea of cleaning up his/her record for grad school in math).Once in the US, Op’s GPA starts from scratch, so that if s/he is correctly medicated now
s/he can make good grades and out of 5 classes, have only 2 math classes, plus gen eds including art.
And from there, with the US GPA, OP can apply to grad schools.

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@MYOS1634 and @danfer91 :

First of all, thank you for answering my question.

I don’t mind telling you which school I study at. I’m Iranian, and study at University of Tehran. I calculated my GPA using this site : foreigncredits.com. See, I’ve failed about 7 classes so far, and I entered the failed grades as well. I heard one of my friends mention you should only include the credits you’ve passed. In that case, my GPA would be 2.44, which is still pretty low.

I actually can’t afford to pay for a Bachelor’s degree, since it’s longer and you’re gonna have to pay more. I also don’t want to spend another 4 years doing this. When I mentioned PhD, I didn’t mean going into it right after my Master’s.

I don’t really know much about Data Science/ Business Analysis. Thanks for the suggestions.

Also, do you have any information about schools outside of U.S? I’ve seen people get full Scholarship rides to Canadian universities with the same GPA as mine and much lower English test scores.

One last thing : I am asking “What are my chances” of being able to do this.

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You see, that I’m “barely scraping by” in undergrad has nothing to do with my ability or intellect. I’m not making excuses for myself, I should have taken care of this the first few semesters when I realized this was not for me. I should have dropped out when it wasn’t too late, I should have seen a Dr sooner… but I didn’t. I can’t do anything about that. It’s not like I’m getting crushed despite trying my best. No, this is me NOT TRYING AT ALL! BUT once I did try, I turned it around. So, obviously, I can do it… I just didn’t. Now it’s too late to make it up, and I just really want to make the best out of a very shhitty situation.

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Your odds of getting into an American grad school with full funding are zero right now. So, you need to use your remaining semesters to prepare the gre (you’ll need near-perfect scores) and take as many classes as you can in order to dilute your earlier bad grades. The name of your university I’ll help you a little.
Have you retaken the classes you failed ? Because in the US that’s what you I’d do, and the second grade would replace the first one.
If your parents don’t have money, your choices are indeed quite limited. You can’t start with a clean slate at a university - building an American GPA would have been your best choice and an easy fix to your GPA woes.
Tous goal shouldn’t be what’s quickest - but rather, what gets you where you want to go.

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Why would I not want to graduate? I’m assuming by this spring you mean 2016 - then I must tell you that I won’t graduate. I’ll hopefully graduate after the fall semester.

I’m not sure about the SAT, but I think I might be able to take it. What use is it gonna have, though? I won’t do another BS. It’s a waste of time.

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I’m pretty sure that I won’t be able to get financial aid, let alone full funding. That is not my main concern right now. I really don’t care about the school’s rank either. A friend of mine actually suggested Community college!

Ok, I just realized I calculated my GPA the wrong way, because I calculated all the failed classes twice! Once with the failed grade and then the passing grade. So, the 2.44 is the correct GPA.

11

It’s not a wase of time in your case, since you’d create a brand new GPA for yourself. Since I assume you’d do well, you’d have a high GPA instead of a low GPA, and from there you could apply to grad schools since they’d use your new GPA.
The SAT, if you do well, would only underscore your ability belies your grades. That would only be used for undergraduate entry though and only as a counterpoint, since typically transfers don’t submit an SAT score.
The SAT isn’t even useful normally for transfers but in your case you need to “offset” that GPA.

If you graduate with a BA in Iran, you’re no longer eligible for merit aid as a transfer if you were to try and start your GPA anew.

In the US, you apply straight to a PHD and you simply can’t get there with your current GPA.

So your choices are to get straight A’s now on and bring your GPA to as high as you can AND study for the GRE and practice until you have an almost perfect score,
or,
apply to transfer for Fall 2016 somewhere your parents can afford, take advanced math classes to rebuild your GPA, as well as art classes since that’s what you like.
The second solution will lead to better graduate programs.