looking to apply for a masters with a low GPA

Graduate School
1

<p>hello,</p>

<p>I graduated from UCSD last month and am thinking about graduate school. However, I have been turned off to the idea because people have been telling me that my GPA is waaaay too low. I started off majoring in electrical engineering and really struggled for over 3 years. I was always interested in economics so i had taken economics courses on the side, knowing that all the GE requirements for EE would easily satisfy the requirements for econ. So after my third year, i switched from EE to a BA in economics. only thing is my GPA suffered. here are my stats:</p>

<p>CUM GPA: 2.247
major GPA: 2.561
upper division major GPA: 2.715
last 48 units GPA: 2.975</p>

<p>the reason why i only calculated the last 48 units is because if it were 60 units, id have to count 4 engineering classes that i got straight F's in because i dropped out that quarter. the last 48 units paint a better picture of how well i did once i returned to UCSD and declared a new major.</p>

<p>it sucks because i had taken all the difficult math classes required for engineers and was only a few classes away from an EE minor... anyway, im glad to have at least graduated with a degree, but now i want to go to grad school. my target school is san jose state while a "reach" school would be santa clara i guess...</p>

<p>my question is: what are my chances of getting into grad school? i know my GPA is terrible, but i think i make up for it with strong extra curriculars (leadership positions at clubs) and a strong GRE/GMAT/whatever. i havent taken any standardized tests yet but i consider myself to be a good test taker (2020 on my SAT, but probably should have done better). </p>

<p>another thing is, i dont know what i want to study in graduate school. I guess an MS in economics would be alright with me. I was toying with the fact if i could talk to the head of the EE department at SJSU and maybe ask him if i could finish my undergrad degree there and then get admitted to the MS EE program. or if i could even apply for a program that i have no experience at all in, say the MS in urban and regional planning program? </p>

<p>i know i dont seem very focused or intent on what i want to do, so please cut me some slack. college was a very confusing place for me...</p>

2

<p>I think the best thing for you to do is to take a couple years off to figure out what you really want to do. Graduate school isn’t something that you go to because you don’t know what else to do, and you should really figure out what you want to study before you pay for another degree. Grad school is about focused study in a particular field, and you should do it either because the degree is needed for whatever career path you choose.</p>

<p>Your GPA is very low–even your last 48 units is still below a 3.0. Many graduate programs have a minimum GPA requirement of at least 3.0, so check the programs you are looking at to make sure they don’t have any strict cutoffs.</p>

<p>Masters programs tend to be less competitive that PhD programs since they are often not funded, but it might help if you get some research experience before you apply. Not only would that make you a more competitive applicant, but it will help you see if graduate school is right for you. Graduate school may be just as confusing for you as college was, and you don’t want to rush into something that isn’t right for you.</p>

<p>I would try to get some work experience to test out the field that you’d eventually like to enter. Perhaps, you could find a position as a research assistant or something similar. You can spend some time figuring out what you’re next step is, while you are making money, rather than paying for another degree.</p>