What are my chances with this Graduate School Admissions

Graduate School
1

<p>I was recently offered a GA position within the athletic department of the university I will be applying to. So I would be getting my masters for free. However, I have to go through admissions just like anyone else and I don't think I would be getting preferential treatment because of the job offer. My potential Boss said that most of his GA's take the Sports Management masters program. That is a degree that I have been wanting to get for some time. </p>

<p>I looked at their admission process and requirements and already started the application. They require only a 2.5 undergrad gpa, 3 letters of Rec., Statement of purpose, Resume and relative work experience report. They also require the GRE which I am taking next month. </p>

<p>Since they are only requiring a 2.5 gpa, does that mean admissions is fairly easy? I graduated with an accounting degree. My gpa was a crappy 2.7 but I finished off strong. How heavily with my GRE be weighed in the admissions process? </p>

<p>Since the program is a sports management program, they want applicants who have work experience within the sports industry. This is where I think I am above everyone else. During my undergrad, I worked for the Athletics Department and football team. Prior to that I worked for two other minor professional teams. And Just recently I worked in the NFL. </p>

<p>With all that being said, Should I be fine with admission to this program regardless of the gre score? I know I will score at least average on the GRE but I don't know if I will get close to a stellar score. Also, does my gpa hurt me even though their requirement is a 2.5?</p>

<p>I know I just typed a lot and I apologize for that. I was just seeing if the odds are against me or with me taking into consideration all that I just said and that if I need to score really high on the gre or below average to average. thanks</p>

<p>also, in my Statement of Purpose paper I need to submit, Should I mention that I got offered a GA position for their athletics program?</p>

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<p>I’m curious to know how you got offered a GA position without even applying to the program. Are you sure that this was a formal offer, or was this an athletic director or coach saying that he or she would like to have you on as a GA should you come to the school? THese two things are very different. I ask this because it’s very unusual to offer someone a GAship before they have even been accepted to the school, much less before they have even applied.</p>

<p>The lower limit does not mean that admissions is easy. My school’s master’s program has no lower limit, but that doesn’t mean that the admissions aren’t competitive. Their lower-bound may be much lower than their actual average - for example, the lower bound may be a 2.5, but perhaps their average GPA is really more like a 3.3, and they only admitted a very few people with lower than a 3.0 in the last 5-7 years. The best way to find out would be to ask how competitive your application would be with a 2.7 GPA. (Likely the answer you’ll get, though, is “It depends.”)</p>

<p>Even if you did have that information, though, I’m not sure how it will change how you proceed from here. You seem to want the degree and already seem bent on applying. Your goal in taking the GRE should be to get the highest score you possibly can, not aiming for something average.</p>

<p>I think it’s appropriate to refer to your connection with the athletics director or whoever you talked to, but first you need to get some clarity on what his “offer” actually constitutes: did he offer you the position or did he sort of informally suggest that you should apply and would be a shoo-in for it? You should address it in the statement but the way you do so will be different depending on that.</p>