<p>I recently graduated with a B.S with a major in biology and environmental science with a minor in chemistry. Unfortunately, my GPA is VERY low (2.66) with my last 60 credits averaging out to around a 2.9 Currently I am taking graduate courses as a non-degree seeking student in healthcare administration (the area in which I want to study). Ive only completed two courses, in which I received an A and a B. Do I have ANY shot in getting into ANY grad school? I have had three years experience in healthcare, I definitely can get at least five or six letters of recommendation. In the year off that I am taking, I plan on shadowing someone in the field that I want to go in, and take some more graduate level classes. In college I had many leadership roles in extracurricular activities ( I dont know if this matters) Is there any hope for me!</p>
<p>Thanks for the response. I have talked too a few graduate programs, all of them saying that the 3.0 isnt a "concrete" requirement; a high GRE score will take care of that. I still have a few questions though, what is considered a good GRE score? Also, Ive taken two graduate level courses in the area im looking to apply to, some schools said they wont consider that in the GPA requirement, but do you think grad schools will take those grades into any consideration (maybe proof that I am capable of graduate work?)</p>
<p>This year's GRE averages were 592.2V/697.8Q/5.1A</p>
<p>I would think you'd want to score in the upper quartile of admitted students, so just at a glance, you'd want something like 700V, mid 700's Q and 5.5/6 AW. </p>
<p>As far as your grades, everything on all your transcripts will almost certainly be taken into account, even if it doesn't figure into your undergrad GPA. You should be aware however, that in grad school, a B is considered barely passing so keep getting A's.</p>
<p>ECs don't matter at all, nor will letters from non-academic sources.</p>
<p>If you are doing well in your classes as a non-matriculated student your best bet might be to meet with the admissions director at your school and see what can be done to change your status. It may be that you can be admitted as a part time student in a masters program. If so you can get the masters while working, then, having proved yourself, go on to the PhD on a full time basis.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone, Tomslawsky- USF is where i am taking the graduate classes, I really like it there actually. WilliamC- letters from non-academic sources wont matter? The CEO of the hospital where I work said he would be glad to write me a letter of reccomendation (He also says he has some connections at USF). I also have a few doctors that will write me letters. Since they are in the field that I want to get into, I thought they would be good letters. </p>
<p>Maybe this is all getting to my head. Ive just been searching around these fourms, and it seems everyone has 4.0 GPA's!</p>
<p>Generally speaking, LORs should speak to your academic qualifications - check with the department though, a professional type program as opposed to a research/academic one may welcome employer's or supervisor's comments. </p>
<p>And connections are always good. But do check to be sure such letters are appropriate. If the answer isn't clear from their website just give 'em a call and ask.</p>
<p>And hardly anyone has a 4.0 - so relax and good luck!</p>
<p>They have 4.0 GPAs because they are in high school.</p>
<p>I don't know why you got a 2.66 GPA, and frankly at this point it doesn't matter. Since you are so motivated to go to grad school you must have a decent reason to believe that you are capable of succeeding as a graduate student. So I am going to assume that you are a smart cookie.</p>
<p>Here it is:</p>
<p>Since you won't be applying to top-of-the-top schools, the GRE will be very very important for you. On top of that, LORs will be really important. If together these two elements are strong, they could very well make up for your GPA.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Somebody mentioned 700 Verbal. This would be phenomenal since 700 verbal is roughly 98th percentile, but come on, that's unrealistic even for most English majors. If you get it though I would be amazed. Heck I would be impressed with 620. I got 560, which in my batch was 76th percentile. As an econ applicant this was good enough but verbal doesn't really matter for econ apps so I hadn't even studied for this section beyond the 50 most common words. You should be aiming much higher, since you want the highest aggregate score you can get. The thing about this section is that it's mind-numbing to study for. You can't expect from several days of rote learning the same outcome as from a lifetime of reading classic fiction.</p></li>
<li><p>Get 800 on the quantitative section. That WILL impress people, especially since you're from a biology background rather than econ/math/physics. Unlike the verbal section, it is entirely possible to get 800, and to work up to it through practice. In this sense, the quant section is the easier part of the exam, if you've prepared properly. Prepared properly means doing practice exams over and over until you are getting 800 every time. I got 780 on this section, which in my batch was 90th percentile. As an econ applicant this was a good score, but for a biologist it would be considered very high. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>In sum, your GPA will be lower than that of the other applicants. However, if your GRE score blows theirs out of the water (showing unusually high aptitude), and your recommendations are strong (showing very high motivation), you will probably get some benefit of the doubt regarding your GPA.</p>
<p>Actually - 700+ verbal is becoming more common. If you take a look at the UofM numbers, 17% of the admits were 700+ for Healthcare Management.</p>
<p>Its much higher in other fields - in my field of Classics, 67% were in that range. English, interestingly, is a little lower (probably due to the amount of time we Classics majors spend in close readings and our far-too-intimate relationship with root words) with 43% in the 700+ but they do regularly see perfect 800s. </p>
<p>As nauru says, the verbal is tough to study for, but the quant is pretty straightforward. 800s are very common, almost expected in some fields, and it is pretty easy to study for. </p>
<p>I assume you've studied the relevant USF web pages so you know that the scores we're talking about here far excede their minima.</p>
<p>I got into USF chemistry in 1993 with a 1020 GRE. Had to retake it last year and got a 1200+ to get into U-Florida MBA program, though. I raised my quant score by ~ 200 points and know left at least 30 poonts on the table, so, I would say only study the quant if you want to score high! Good luck!</p>
<p>17% of the admits may to that very respectable school may have had 700+ in verbal, but the percentage of test takers at large, across the US, who get that score is far lower. The entire breakdown is available somewhere deep in the ETS website in a pdf file that I looked at a year ago or so, when I was preparing for the test. </p>
<p>800 quant is achieved by roughly the top 8% of test takers overall. Common? Not really since at least 91% of test takers aren't able to achieve that. About 1 in 3 test takers with a background in economics gets this score, but for other majors that number is much lower. Also keep in mind that a considerable number of econ majors retake the exam until they get 800.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for their imput. I am defanatley working on my GRE score.. I have letters of reccomendation, I have three years of relative work experience ( I work in a hospital) Now is there anything else?</p>