Paying My Dues and Proving Oneself

Greetings once again!!! I have had a less than stellar undergrad GPA history and am finding it difficult to get into Master's Programs because of it. Are there any schools that are willing to take a chance on people like me so that we can at least get the opportunity to show what we can do? Thanks,O Learned Oracles of Wisdom!!!!!

 

I had a sub 3.0 as an undergrad, but didn't really have any problem getting into Grad School. Good scores on the graduate entrance exams probably helped... have you taken the GRE (or the MAT) yet? Performing well on those might help your cause a little.

I don't know of which schools in particular are more "forgiving" than others, though. So I guess I really didn't answer your question. But that was my experience.

 

Try the following:

http://www.amu.apus.edu/academic/programs/degree/1044/master-of-arts-in-history

or

http://www.amu.apus.edu/academic/programs/degree/1201/master-of-arts-in-history-capstone-option

or

http://www.amu.apus.edu/academic/programs/degree/1382/master-of-arts-in-history-practicum-option

or choose from any of the following:

http://www.amu.apus.edu/academic/programs/masters

 

He said GPA history, not GPA IN history. I'm not sure what sort of degree the OP is looking for.

 

Haha, I also had thought he said GPA in history. Must be some subconscious thing in the post.

 

Some schools accept 2.0... what is your GPA, perhaps we can find a program you're looking for.

 

A lot of schools offered students with less than stellar GPAs "conditional admission". They will let you take about 6 or 9 credits, and provided you do well in those classes, will admit you into the program.

Another option would be Heriot-Watt. They don't care what your undergrad GPA is, or even if you have an undergraduate degree at all.

Another might be UoP. I have never heard of anyone NOT being accepted that has applied.

 

Find a school you are interested in and get to know someone in the department. Many schools will let you take up to 12 hours as a "non-degree seeking student." Get at least a 3.0 GPA and many schools will admit you to the progrm. If you have done well with a particular professor they will often advocate for you.

 

There's a lot of decent online schools out there that have two major requirements:

1. You are breathing
2. You can write a check

Joking aside, I know National University is a very good, RA school and does not restrict entrance to those with lower GPA's. I'm pretty sure U of Phoenix is the same. I think that most of the for-profit schools don't worry about GPA as much. That is, unless it's really bad.

I goofed around in my undergrad, especially the first year, and graduated with slightly less than a 3.0. But I got into NU with no problem and earned a perfect 4.0 on my master's degree. You can do that too.

 

I graduated with a 2.3 GPA in communications/journalism - and did NOT have good GMAT scores, but I was eventually accepted into an AACSB MBA program. To do that I:

o took 12 undergrad business credits
o applied for conditional admission (took the advice of the grad advisor - applied for January admission instead of Fall).
o was accepted under probation
o completed 12 grad credits - went off probation
o graduated with a 3.75 GPA.

Talk to someone in the grad school where you plan to attend - you are not the 1st to want to go to grad school with low GPA. Good luck!

Shawn

 

I second this. My undergrad GPA was slightly over a 3.0 and I had a decent GMAT score (mid-600's) but my stats were at the low end of the range for all the schools I was interested in attending for my MBA so I took several graduate level business courses in the evening at The Citadel while I worked full-time (earned a 3.75 through 4 classes) and used that to prove I was capable of doing graduate level work. I got into the Owens School at Vanderbilt along with some other solid programs.

To the OP, you didn't provide a lot of information about what kind of graduate degree you're interested in pursuing. If it is a professional degree and you've gained some solid work experience that can be a huge asset in swaying an AdComm. The other thing I would recommend is to address the low GPA and why it was low. AdComms aren't going to miss that when your reviewing your application so don't avoid it, be up front and address the issue. In my case, I knew my GPA would be a red flag on my apps so I addressed it (my father was battling cancer while I was in college and passed away during my sophomore year).

Just remember GPA isn't the only thing factoring into admissions decisions. Cast a wide net and apply to multiple schools with programs that interest you. Something will stick. Best of luck to you and let us know how it turns out.