Hello!
As of a week ago, I decided to follow my dream and apply to MS Geology programs. I currently work as a number cruncher in a cubicle for a prestigious bank. I dislike it. All my hobbies involve being outdoors...hiking, camping, kayaking, etc...and I am stuck in a windowless ro all day.
When I was a kid I wanted to be a geologist and play in the dirt. My end goal is to become an exploration geo for a mining/petroleum company and travel all over the world.
I've also been stuck in the same upper Midwest town for my entire life, and I need to get out and into the sun. I am targeting only schools in the southwest and hope that I can stay there when I'm not traveling.
I have a strange background: I started as Pre-Med so I have a good science background...calc 1, calc 2, chem 1, chem 2, bio 1, physics 1, tons of stats. I have never taken a college level geo course, unfortunately. I ended up graduating in Economics (I wrote an undergrad thesis) and went on to get a MS in finance. These are both from top 20 schools in business. Undergrad was a 3.2 and Grad was a 3.5.
I am taking the GRE this month. I scored a 90% on the GMAT, with a perfect verbal score. I hear the GRE math is easier, so I hope to be able to beat my previous percentile.
I want to apply to;
UT Austin
U Arizona
Stanford
UCLA
UCSD?
Maybe Colorado School of Mines
Am I delusional here, or do I have a chance at some of these?
I should also add I have tons of hobbies and extracurriculars and helped found a multimillion dollar startup.
What happens if I apply but I haven't taken any geo courses? Do they say OK, we'll teach you along the way? Or do they give me conditional acceptance pending completion of select courses? Or do they let me roll them into my masters program in a sort of bridge semester?
I am ready to be outside!
