<p>So here's my situation:</p>
<p>Majored in political science/minor in history, looking to go to grad school for history
Overall undergrad GPA of 2.78, history GPA is 2.82
Looking to go to a Cal State University, preferably Cal State LA, Long Beach, or Pomona
Planning on going back to (undergrad) school for a semester to boost GPA + get the required units for history</p>
<p>My question is this:</p>
<p>I would essentially have to get nothing less than straight A's for a quarter of taking a full load (4 classes), something that I sure as hell was not able to do as an undergrad. IF I was somehow able to pull that miraculous feat, that would put my GPA at essentially exactly 3.0, which is the minimum requirement for the colleges aforementioned. </p>
<p>I'm aware that grad school is very competitive, but I haven't been able to find statistics on the GPAs people are actually getting accepted in at. Basically I'm wondering if it's worth my time to spend another $3k and 3 months of my life going back to school for this. Right now I'm considering dropping the idea of grad school altogether because I don't think any school would let me in with just a 3.0. The one school that did respond to my email, CSULB, said they didn't have that information, which is why I'm asking you random strangers on the internet.</p>
<p>You could also take a year off to take more classes/get experience thereby increasing your GPA and beefing up your resume. I know this is a very common practice with med school aspirants, and I don’t see why you couldn’t do that.</p>
<p>EDIT: Didn’t read that you plan on taking another semester. I think that is a very good idea. But look to intern as well and maybe make some money in the process. I think that could really help. If not with grad school, getting experience can help you with the next job.</p>
<p>You really have to ask yourself why you want to go to grad school - because the schools will be asking the same thing. If you’ve figured out that grad school and the degree you’ll get it what you need to succeed in life, you’ll probably need to finish up as you’ve described and/or take time to work in the field of your interest. </p>
<p>You’ve backed yourself up against a wall and it’s not impossible for you to go to get an advanced degree but it will not be conventional, quick or easy. For myself (Life Sciences), I graduated with a 2.90, worked in my field for 5 years and published 2-3 papers before trying to go back to school because I didn’t know if I wanted to go back or even if I could succeed if someone took a chance on me. By now, I’ve got a good backing in the field, experience and have been able to prove to people this is really important to me.</p>
<p>The biggest thing will be specifically WHY you want/need an advanced degree and why schools should take a chance on you.</p>
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<p>Make sure you look into this plan before pursuing - at my college, once you fulfilled your graduation requirements, additional semesters were considered post-grad and you started a new post-grad GPA; the additional courses did not affect your final undergrad GPA. You would have to save at least one of your graduation requirements until the last semester you plan to attend.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if this is common at other colleges, but certainly look into it. </p>
<p>You could also take relevant graduate-level courses as a non-degree seeking student, and make sure you do well in them. Otherwise grad schools may question why you want an advanced degree when you didn’t do well at the undergrad level.</p>
<p>I did 2 internships in undergrad, one in a congresswoman’s office and one in the governor’s office. Even though I love politics, I hated every minute of both and I refuse to do another unpaid internship. I’ll be 26 by the time I return to the US and I don’t want to go back to doing the same !@#$ I did when I was 21. Nothing but mindless data entry and it did nothing for me except make me realize I don’t want a career in that field.</p>
<p>Why do I want to go to grad school? Because a liberal arts degree is about as worthless as the paper it’s printed on. I can’t even get an interview in my home country, let alone a job. I’ve been teaching English in Korea on and off since I graduated. If I don’t go for a master’s my goal is to either become a cop or teacher, both of which are unlikely because there are more people being laid off in those fields than being hired.</p>
<p>If I got a master’s I could possibly become a community college professor, or at least be more competitive trying to get a job as a HS teacher. I enjoy teaching and interacting with people and am incapable of doing a desk job; I will lose my mind from boredom.</p>
<p>Any other words of advice, more specifically relating to recommended GPAs of getting into the Cal State schools I mentioned?</p>
<p>I think you need a 3.0 minimum to qualify for a Cal State grad school.</p>
<p>[So</a> You Want to Go to Grad School? - Advice - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“So You Want to Go to Grad School?”>So You Want to Go to Grad School?)</p>
<p>This guy seems really bitter about going to grad school. So I guess if we all listened to him, no one would go to grad school and we wouldn’t have anyone in the field of higher education. I’m aware the grad school isn’t for everybody, but luckily I’ve been out in the real world long enough to appreciate getting a higher education, plus these days it seems like getting a master’s is somewhat of a necessity to stay competitive.</p>
<p>You need to look a little harder for the information you’re seeking - I found it with one Google search.</p>
<p>[Long</a> Beach State Graduate Studies](<a href=“http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/projects/grad/exam/index.html]Long”>http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/projects/grad/exam/index.html)</p>
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<p>That’s the norm for graduate studies - they are highly decentralized and program-oriented.</p>
<p>[CSULB</a> 2012-2013 Catalog - History - Graduate Programs - Master of Arts in History](<a href=“California State University, Long Beach - Acalog ACMS™”>California State University, Long Beach - Acalog ACMS™)</p>
<p>Their departmental admission requirements mandate a minimum 3.0 GPA and at least 24 upper-division units in history. You should call the department and find out if they would calculate your extra semester as part of those units and your GPA.</p>
<p>As for whether they would admit you… there’s no telling at all. “Chances” from random students are ******** for undergraduate and even bigger ******** for graduate.</p>
<p>If you really want in these programs, you need to get in touch with professors. Find a professor at one of those schools whose area of specialty relates to what you’re interested in studying. And if you don’t know what you’d like to research and have no clue what you’d do a thesis on… you’re really not ready to apply for graduate school.</p>