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undergrad GPA low (finance major)
grad school seems hopeless, so how about a graduate certificate (4 classes)
applied to graduate certificate
denied admission to graduate certificate
it seems if i don't have a 3.0, nobody seems to want me. i have 5 years of professional work experience directly related to the degree and had 3 letters of recommendation with my application for the graduate certificate.
i'm planning on calling the admissions office to see what i can do. do you think they'd let me take 1 class? should i beg? sometimes classes aren't filled, right?
is there something i can do? just found out today that i did not get into the certificate program
I can't tell you what to do about your situation.
I can tell you about mine - perhaps it will encourage you to think outside the box and to realize, with waivers anything is possible.
My undergrad Electrical Engineering (BSEE) degree was way below 3.0 from a no name state university (Cal State Northridge).
After working a few years, I applied for and received an academic fellowship from my employer to UC Santa Barbara (a pretty good engineering school). I got a pretty high GRE and I took some of the MS classes without being a student but still they'd be eligible for credit. I got two As and later when I applied, they overlooked my crappy undergrad GPA and I was accepted (actually denied at first but the dean who was also the instructor for those two courses went to bat for me). I ended up up earning my MS in Engineering from UCSB, paid for by my employer full time for a year while I received full salary even though I was on campus the whole time. Nice deal.
I can tell you about mine - perhaps it will encourage you to think outside the box and to realize, with waivers anything is possible.
My undergrad Electrical Engineering (BSEE) degree was way below 3.0 from a no name state university (Cal State Northridge).
After working a few years, I applied for and received an academic fellowship from my employer to UC Santa Barbara (a pretty good engineering school). I got a pretty high GRE and I took some of the MS classes without being a student but still they'd be eligible for credit. I got two As and later when I applied, they overlooked my crappy undergrad GPA and I was accepted (actually denied at first but the dean who was also the instructor for those two courses went to bat for me). I ended up up earning my MS in Engineering from UCSB, paid for by my employer full time for a year while I received full salary even though I was on campus the whole time. Nice deal.
So, there is more than one way to skin a cat.
I'm definitely gonna say that you're in the minority there. But congrats to you for catching all the breaks.
I'm definitely gonna say that you're in the minority there. But congrats to you for catching all the breaks.
It's not THAT much the minority, in the sense that what he described is the standard advice given to those with low undergrad GPAs who want to go to graduate school.
Take classes on your dime without being admitted and prove to them you can do the work by getting As. Blow the GRE out of the water.
If you do those things you can still get in, typically. It won't work at say, the most exclusive PhD program in your field (like the OP probably can't finagle their way into MIT with that method) but it will work at a lot of other schools.
It's not THAT much the minority, in the sense that what he described is the standard advice given to those with low undergrad GPAs who want to go to graduate school.
Take classes on your dime without being admitted and prove to them you can do the work by getting As. Blow the GRE out of the water.
If you do those things you can still get in, typically. It won't work at say, the most exclusive PhD program in your field (like the OP probably can't finagle their way into MIT with that method) but it will work at a lot of other schools.
He didn't take the classes on his dime, he got a fellowship through work. He had a professor bat for him with the dean of the school. And as he said, "paid for by my employer full time for a year while I received full salary even though I was on campus the whole time. Nice deal." Still get paid WHILE you're at school??
All I'm saying is, I've never had that kind of luck..and I don't know anyone else that has either.
He didn't take the classes on his dime, he got a fellowship through work. He had a professor bat for him with the dean of the school. And as he said, "paid for by my employer full time for a year while I received full salary even though I was on campus the whole time. Nice deal." Still get paid WHILE you're at school??
All I'm saying is, I've never had that kind of luck..and I don't know anyone else that has either.
I dunno, maybe it's me. But I do know a lot of people who gt their masters paid for (or at least partcially subsidized) through work.
And getting the professor to advocate for you is part of the reason you take the class and get an A. Or so the reasoning goes. :O
He did get lucky that this professor was the dean though. LOL!
I dunno, maybe it's me. But I do know a lot of people who gt their masters paid for (or at least partcially subsidized) through work.
Getting your masters paid by work is very different from getting a fellowship. When work pays, normally you have to take directly relevant coursework leading to a degree while doing company guided research owned by the company. A fellowship is a blank check. You can take any courses you want to pursue whatever program and research you want.
Getting your masters paid by work is very different from getting a fellowship. When work pays, normally you have to take directly relevant coursework leading to a degree while doing company guided research owned by the company. A fellowship is a blank check. You can take any courses you want to pursue whatever program and research you want.
I know what a fellowship is. LOL
My only point was it is not that unusual to have an employer pay for graduate coursework. The poster I was replying to said the person not paying for this class himself was some kind of lucky break, and I was saying its not really all that unique. My reply was not about the type of funding, it's just that he got some.
Bottom line, I didn't want the OP to think the general situation described by the poster with the fellowship was some kind of unattainable fantasy only had by the lucky few. Taking graduate level coursework without being matriculated is a common strategy, as is having an employer fund all or part of a masters (whether its a fellowship or not). It can be done. He shouldn't get stuck on the word fellowship and miss the big picture.
I had a low GPA in undergrad and the Grad School program I enrolled in let me appeal my admission by writing a strong letter as to why I had a low GPA, background, etc. and then they put me on academic probation for my first 1-2 classes in the program, and then once I passed those classes with at least a B, I was ok from then on.
I know several people who were success doing it that way.
Take one class as an unmatriculated student and get an A. That or do a post bac program.
They need to see some proof that you are now capable of being successful in an academic setting. Without that they won't admit you.
I think that's what a classmate of mine did, and she ended up doing very well in grad school. Graduated with a 3.8+ GPA, I think.
Last edited by stradivarius; 11-23-2013 at 01:30 PM..
Reason: Took out unnecessary quote.
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