This summer I will graduate college with a GPA of 2.4. I am aware it’s is extremely low and It’s low because of lack of study. During college i never though about my future. I choose criminology as a major and ended liking it but I preferred playing games than actually studying. After a long time of losing my time I decided now to take actions and change this life style. I know it’s really late to fix my grade so I am looking for another way to make it to a graduate program. I am posting this because I would really appreciate some help specially because I don’t really know about the education process and opportunities in the US. I was raised in Latin America so I have a vague Idea of how the system works. Right now in my plans I have taking the GRE as my first step, after that I have no idea of what to do next. I would really appreciate any options or suggestion you can bring. I would preferably like join a master that is related to criminology. Also it can be in any state or international for example Canada and funding is not problem.
Well, first of all, you said that you want an MA “related to criminology.” Does that mean that you don’t know what you want a master’s in? And if so…why do you want a master’s in the first place? A master’s degree is a career credential - you get one because you want to do something specific, or enter some specific career field. For example, if you wanted to enter public administration and the public sector, you might get an MPA.
What you don’t want to do is just get a master’s degree because you feel like it’s the next step or that you have to or because you want to “learn more.” You can learn a lot by reading books or articles or sitting in on interesting lectures. But because MAs cost a lot of money, you only want to invest if you are going to get a return on that investment.
With that said, with a 2.4 GPA, the best thing you can do is give yourself TIME. You need to put some distance between yourself and that 2.4, so that you can explain to the program that the performance then isn’t reflective of your attitude and potential towards school now. I would recommend at least 2-3 years before you can convincingly say that, during which time you need to do other things to demonstrate interest - working or interning in criminology, perhaps taking a few graduate-level courses as a non-degree student to prove that you can achieve in them, and getting really solid letters of recommendation from professors who believe in you (and can maybe also write that your prior performance is not indicative of your full potential).