<p>I am going to make this sort of stat based.
Me: Junior, African American Female
School: Top 15, known to have grade deflation
GPA: I'll probably have in between a 3.2-3.5 by graduation
Major: International Relations with Econ Minor (taken up to Calc 2 and 8 econ classes)
ECs: 2 Exec Boards, started economics tutorial to teach middle school kids, studied abroad in Paris for a semester
Research: RA to History Prof
Internships: Small businesses and this summer I will intern at a major media company</p>
<p>Those are the basics. I am a bit confused with what to do with my life at this point. My interests keep changing and that scares me deeply. I dont want to do anything in IR anymore but the interdisciplinary nature of the major has given me skills I can apply elsewhere. Things I've considered:</p>
<p>Law School: But is my GPA even high enough to be admitted to a top one? Is there a way to boost GPA through a masters program, etc or is Yale, Harvard, NYU, Columbia, UCLA just out the picture for me?
Public Health (Masters): I took a class that focused on Health Economics and I loved it--best course ever. Sparked a new interest in Health, I would want to run Hospitals and focus on the business side of it all.<br>
Gap Year: just to figure out my life
Getting a job: Yup
Grad School: Not sure what I would study yet though</p>
<p>Any help would be greatly appreciated! Its hard not to feel like a failure when I have no idea what I want to do or whats possible for me to do at this point.</p>
<p>Plan on getting a job after graduation. Do NOT go to grad school to just fill time because you can’t figure out what you want to do next - get some real world experience doing something - and go to grad school if and when you’ve got the motivation that comes from knowing why you are attending grad school.</p>
<p>And you are NOT a failure. You are just a normal young person who has every right to spend more time exploring and experiencing life. </p>
<p>You are right that the skills and knowledge you got with your major can be applied elsewhere. A real, full time job will change your perspective and provide a learning experience. It might result in you finding your true passion, or it might result in your simply figuring out what you don’t want to do – but either way you will become a more grounded and mature person.</p>
<p>And don’t think in terms of a gap “year” - my daughter worked for 3 years after college graduation before applying to grad school, my son had a 4 year gap. </p>
<p>Thank you for the responses! Part of the reason I feel like a failure is bec of my lowish GPA—I feel like I have limited options bec I am not in the 3.7 range. I want to be able to go to a top top grad school or do something prominent with my life.
You are right about rushing into grad school altho I am not yet set with something I def want to study</p>
<p>Your test scores – LSAT, GRE, or GMAT will be an important part of a grad school application - maybe more important than your GPA – but it depends on the school. Many types of grad programs will place high value on your work experience, whatever it is. There’s a very broad range of jobs that could be considered relevant to your interests – and if you can’t find a job in a field that seems relevant, you can always bolster your credentials with volunteer work. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that you don’t have to go to a “top” school to have a career in a specific field. You’ll be fine in many areas with “pretty good” as opposed to “top” – especially if your “pretty good” school is a state university. So your grad school options may be a lot better than you think.</p>
<p>I’m a former lawyer and I would NOT recommend law school to anyone unless you are absolutely, positively certain that you want a law career and you have a pretty good idea of exactly what you would want to do as a lawyer. So put that idea on a back burner for now. </p>
<p>I 100% agree with Calmom. If you are confused, the worst thing to do is go to grad school. Instead, try to find a job! You have internship experience, so hopefully you can parlay that into a full time job after you graduate.</p>
<p>You don’t sound interested in law school. If you have a new-found interest in health care administration/finance/business, why not try to find a job in that field. There are many administrative jobs at hospitals (and clinics, and departments of public health, and think tanks and consulting firms that do research/organization of health issues) that will hire people with general BAs. As you work, you can observe what others do and try to figure out where you want to be 5-10 years down the road. That will guide you in whether you need a grad degree, and - if you do - what to get it in. But remember, most people don’t have a grad degree and never get one.</p>
<p>Also, your GPA is great and don’t feel like a failure. I’m finishing up a PhD at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health (top 5) and my undergrad GPA was a 3.4. Most MPH program admissions aren’t competitive enough that you need a 3.7+; a 3.2+ (especially with 2-5 years of work experience in health care) will make you plenty competitive.</p>
<p>Your GPA is respectable for getting a job. This is a very good year for new graduates. You should try to get a job asap while you are still fresh. I wouldn’t advise you to sit out while you are trying to find yourself. After the summer, as you get closer to the holidays, it will be much harder to get a job. employers will also wonder why you don’t have a job yet. You may still be able to get a good offer because some students may decide not to take the job.</p>
<p>I do agree that you shouldn’t go to grad school because you have nothing better to do.</p>
<p>Another person saying to get a job…figure out what field and industry interests you and then and only then work on an applicable graduate degree that perhaps could be funded at some percentage by your company.</p>
<p>Don’t rush into law school just because you don’t know what to do. Law school will always be there if you decide in the future that you want to go there. For law school admissions purposes, additional classes after undergrad will not affect the LSDAS GPA computation, which is the only GPA that matters. With a high LSAT score, your GPA won’t stop you from being able to get admitted to Top 20 law schools, but probably not Top 6 law schools. Check out Law School Numbers to see scattergrams of admitted students. </p>
<p>Please, please don’t think of yourself as a failure. You did well at a top 15 school! Do you have any idea few people have accomplished what you already have? And you’re just getting started </p>
<p>I want to be able to go to a top top grad school or do something prominent with my life.</p>
<p>Most people have not attended a 4-yr college, let alone have a degree from a top school. You are already one of the elite. Take a breath and find work to pay the bills, that will help you explore other ways to use your skills that youve just polished up in college.
With a broader perspective, you will have a better idea in a few years what you want to do and whether grad school is the way to get there.</p>
<p>City Year or Teach for America? Some Americorps or Peace Corps program? That would be going in the gap year direction, buy you some time to think.</p>
<p>My kid’s friend who attended one of the HYP school is teaching English in Honkong to pay back his loan. His major was history, IIRC. I’ve heard he had a lucrative deal.</p>
<p>@strongbeans12 you have a great major and minor. My suggestion - think very hard before you apply to law school. Very few jobs and massive massive debt. Google it. Same with grad school (at least for now). Get a job. Every graduate feels the way you do. So did I back in the day. Also re: MBAs, also google that. A lot of talk that unless it’s one of the top ten universities in the country, you will never benefit that much and be in debt. Not saying not to get an MBA if you want one, but wait a bit and think about it. If you were my daughter I would urge her not to get an MBA. Your field has some great universities for research. </p>
<p>While you’re at your internship this summer, talk to people about job prospects for after you graduate. Set up informational interviews with people at the company you’ll be at. If the company hires BAs for entry-level positions, find out what they like to see in their candidates.</p>
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<p>Not to be harsh, but this is not a good life goal. You’re thinking in terms of what other people will think of your life – is she in a top grad program? Is she doing something really impressive? Don’t think that way – it’s no way to live. What you need to do right now is figure out what it is you want to do, and that someone will pay you to do. If you don’t really know what you want to do, then just find something somebody will pay you to do. Many of us parents ended up working in careers that we never would have predicted for ourselves when we were in school, but that have worked out perfectly for us.</p>
<p>Final note: unless things have changed since I went to law school, having a few years of work under your belt can make up for a less than stellar GPA. Law schools are swamped with applications from students looking to enter directly from undergrad – being a few years out and having that work experience will set you apart.</p>
<p>Maybe Cal Newport’s NEW book would help? “Cal Newport is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, and the author of So Good They Can’t Ignore You, a book which debunks the long-held belief that ‘follow your passion’ is good advice.”</p>
<p>Your wide range of interests could serve you well in journalism. Have you considered that field? Look up the graduate journalism program at Columbia (it’s not that hard to get into) AND the graduate public health program at Columbia. Consider getting a joint M.A. in journalism / Master of public health. You are a rising college senior. Join your college newspaper your senior year. If there are any health or healthcare stories to cover, make sure you get assigned to them. Or create a healthcare beat. After you graduate, get a job at a newspaper, magazine, or web publication with the goal of applying to the double masters program at Columbia. I think NYU as both of those master’s programs too.</p>
<p>I second the advice given above regarding getting some real world experience and not going to grad school without a solid goal. My first job out of undergrad (in journalism) was an unmitigated disaster. I went back to school for a masters in sociology because I enjoyed the classes I took in college, and also to hide out for a couple of years, lick my wounds and regroup. And it was good for me in those respects. But I’ve been all over the place career-wise and will probably never live up to my full earning potential. I do think working for a year and a half between college and graduate school gave me a maturity and perspective some of my fellow grad students lacked. But don’t invest the time and money in graduate school until you have a general idea of what you want to be when you grow up. I still don’t know.</p>
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