JC Grades

Graduate School
1

<p>Hello.
I haven't exactly always been the greatest student...in fact, I was pretty terrible my first year or two attending my local JC. I not only have 4 W's, but I also have a few D's and F's on my transcripts. However, in recent years I have completely changed my school habits--I literally went from academic probation to Dean's list. To this day, I have a 3.0 GPA, as opposed to my old GPA, which was just under a 2.0 for some time. I just completed my first semester at a state university, getting a 3.7 GPA for the semester, and I'm an English major, but hoping to switch my major to Psychology.</p>

<p>This, in turn, has lead me to do a lot of thinking about grad school. But something today made me wonder something that I had not thought about before--my grades from junior college, and how the terrible ones might have an impact on my admission to grad school.</p>

<p>I'm not kidding myself, and I already know I will not be attending any sort of Ivy-league type school or any of the top tiers. However, I do plan to attend a respectable school, and it's my ultimate goal to go on and get a PhD. (Times have changed, suffice to say)</p>

<p>People keep telling me "Oh, don't worry...they'll look at how you've improved over the years, and that's what matters." But is it really what matters? Are people at the admissions offices for the grad schools that I will eventually apply for not going to cringe when they see my JC grades, no matter how far I've come since then? It's just that I know people that have been at least 3.0 students their entire academic career, and they've been fretting about getting into grad school, so I just don't see how I'm not in a pretty bad position right now.</p>

<p>Any realistic advice is appreciated.</p>

2

<p>hey there...
ya know what, work hard and you can do things you might not expect.
i did terribly for my first three semesters - i had no direction - but 4th semester, after being dismissed from indiana university, i came back strong. to prove myself for grad school (just got a full ride to do my phd at u of penn w/ a nice stipend), i:</p>

<ul>
<li>got involved w/ my professors, telling them of my plans and asking for career advice, opportunities in the department to distinguish myself (essay contests/research assistantships/independent studies are always good). having profs on your side is a wonderful thing, because they have to write your letters, which should be <em>glowing</em>! ask them to mention your poor start and contrast it w/ your newly found dedication and passion for good research!</li>
<li>took a lot of hours (20/semester for 4 consecutive semesters).<br></li>
<li>tried to introduce myself to related fields (as an art historian, that meant learning the studies of coins, inscriptions, forms of script)</li>
<li>i attended conferences and seminars in my field, even if i didn't speak at them.</li>
<li>took multiple languages to the literacy level (good grad schools require at least 2-3 different ones, depending on what you do, which is...?)</li>
<li>summer internships</li>
<li>if you can afford it, stay in undergrad an extra semester or so to bring up your cum.</li>
</ul>

<p>when i was dismissed from school, i had a 1.7. the black marks on my transcript were 2 f's in psych (i slept through two tests worth 1/3 each, but otherwise did fine, i swear!), 3 w's, and 2 retakes which garnered me a B- (calc) and a C+ (existentialism). i brought that up to a 3.3 by graduation, with 6 semesters of A's and the occasional A-, which was luckily just enough to get honors. i ended with a double BA (honors art history/religion) w/ a certificate (medieval studies), and 10 A+'s on my record from 4 different departments. my major gpa, and average for the last 2 years (which are what grad schools <em>really</em> want - consistently high marks in upper level courses), were about 3.8 and 3.9 respectively. </p>

<p>So work hard, get some good GRE scores, make connections and get people on your side, and show em what you can do! A blotch or two won't hurt you in the long run, as long as you have some marvelous counterweights to those early disappointments! </p>

<p>You ask for realistic advice, and realistically you can do it, but be prepared to work your undergrad-hiney off.</p>

<p>best of luck.</p>

3

<p>if you're transitioning into psychology and thinking about grad school, you might be applying to Psych / Social Work grad schools. I know from experience that a majority of those programs look at your final two years when determining your applicant GPA.</p>

<p>You cant do anything about whats in the past except kick some serious butt in your final two years. Set the bar at 3.5 and above and follow the previous poster's advice and you will be well positioned for grad school apps.</p>