<p>I am in my junior year of college and the semester is ending. After this semester my GPA will be looking high 2.9. If i want to continue school right after undergraduate and want my GPA above a 3.0+ to apply to school. When is the best time to apply for me ? I saw a few guides as people usually apply grad school during fall semester and wait for a response after the new years. I taken two heavy science courses and one has significantly weighed down my grade. I would like to know what my options are as, i seen some responses for 2.9 GPA for graduate school is unacceptable to some and others are more lean on the requirements. </p>
<p>And feedback would be great</p>
<p>If you want get enrolled in, ie, Fall 2012, you have to finish almost all your applications by sometime of Dec, 2011. Most of top schools only accept new fall students. be aware of that.</p>
<p>you may need to provide more info like your school’s ranking, your major, so that people can help.</p>
<p>Many graduate schools have a hard-and-fast 3.0 cutoff, so if you had a 2.9, they’d just throw your applications out. At any program, however, even if they didn’t simply reject you offhand, a 2.9 is tough to overcome without evidence of an improvement trend or other reasons to admit you.</p>
<p>However, many programs have application deadlines in late December through January and sometimes even February, which means you may have time to wait for your (presumably strong) fall semester grades to post before applying. You will have to look at individual schools to see what their cutoff dates are.</p>
<p>Otherwise, your best option is to take a year off and reapply with complete senior-year grades in hand.</p>
<p>I like your straightforwardness. So I am pretty much screwed since i can’t withdraw from this class. What are your thoughts for going for a double major, although that might require me to stay another half a semester or year longer. I do feel it’s a bit unfair due to most graduate schools won’t be able to see your grades from senior year if anyone decided to continue right after undergraduate. I feel like taking the year off would make me lose my educational momentum therefore i do not wish to do so.</p>
<p>Even with a strong GMAT score / GRE score colleges wouldn’t bother looking at you? Sigh… all my dreams killed in a day</p>
<p>You won’t “lose your educational momentum.” If anything, taking some time off will refresh you and give you a chance to prepare for the more demanding nature of graduate studies. It’s not just “two more years of college,” it’s an entirely different educational structure with different goals than baccalaureate study.</p>
<p>Also, you didn’t mention what field you’re interested in pursuing and whether you wish to go for a masters or a doctorate. Your hopes of going straight into a doctorate program with a sub-3.0 are nil, particularly without any research experience. There may be some schools that would accept you into a masters’ program, but they would likely be lower-tier - and again, it would depend on the field.</p>
<p>Edit: Based on another post you made, it looks like you’re interested in an MBA. Is that correct? If so, you really do have to take some time off and pursue real-world experience. Most quality MBA programs do not accept students straight out of undergraduate studies unless they have significant real-world business experience. The MBA is designed as advanced training in management and leadership, and business schools generally won’t consider you ready for that until you’ve worked for a couple of years in a business setting.</p>
<p>Well, i am still figuring out what exactly i want to go into business. But one of my main priorities is to still continue school. And I am a bit worried on some of the courses i have taken my first year as a business major might not fill some of the schools pre requisites. How do you think i should allocate my time for that one year off. I am also considering double majoring since, i won’t be applying this upcoming fall. I do not wish to attend a low tier B school. I am currently interning at a start up company and considering other internships. Problem is, since i was going to PT route i had to pick any major. I chose Psychology. My options with that major seems to me is a bit limited. Polarscribe i am really appreciating your feedback. Please chime in on your thoughts.</p>
<p>*Well, i am still figuring out what exactly i want to go into business. But one of my main priorities is to still continue school. *</p>
<p>This is counterproductive. You don’t go to graduate school just for the heck of it; you go to graduate school to get a degree to qualify you for certain jobs that you want to do. If you don’t yet know what you want to do, you work for a few years to figure it out before you spend thousands of dollars on a graduate degree that is designed to prepare you for a certain degree.</p>
<p>This is doubly the case with business, which usually want to see 2-5 years of work experience (at least) before accepting you. The top business schools only accept students with some work experience, because most of the classes are designed with the assumption that you have some years of work experience and can understand the business cases and problems they are giving you. So if you intend upon business school, don’t plan to take one year “off,” plan to take at least two years off (and 3-5 would probably be better). What can you do during that time? Work. Find a job that interests you that allows you to develop some leadership skills. You can apply for management consulting jobs; undergrads usually stay there for 2-3 years before leaving for an MBA or other pursuits.</p>
<p>Psychology will only limit you if you think narrowly about psychology-related jobs, but as psychology is the study of human behavior, it can be applied to everything. The organizational behavior and general management classes you will take during business school are based on psychological principles. If you are interested in blending business and psychology in a concrete way, look into industrial/organizational psychology. Those are programs you can attend straight from undergrad.</p>