rvict

I see a lot of people who never progress beyond QA. Pay sucks. 2.2 GPA is a show stopper for most MBA programs. Research is not terribly important for an MBA, since it's much closer to a professional program than an academic one. Here's another option: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Science_in_Information_Systems The important thing to look for is what sort of internships or work experience opportunities people in the program are getting. Experience is far more important than education in IT. Are you still in your UG program? Your first post is a bit unclear--you reference wanting to make some $$ before graduating, but also refer to graduation as a past event. If you're still in, the only focus should be pulling your GPA up. If you're serious about MBA, a very high GMAT score and a few years in the industry (doing manage-y type stuff, not QA/tech support/coding) may give you a shot at a decently ranked program. If you're thinking about any graduate-level education, retake the GRE to fix your scores. I honestly think that the 2.2 GPA is too big of an obstacle, though. You may be better served by doing a 2 year degree in a business-oriented computing program. Students from my local CC do work terms as things like jr BA or project assistants, which give you a career path to grow from. Do you know anybody working in IT who could give you a leg up or take a chance on you? That would be more beneficial than any MBA imo edit: it goes without saying that I have not looked into pursuing an MBA so my advice may not be 100% in agreement with the realities of business school admissions. However, I think the general advice given here about having weakness in 1 of 3 important metrics (GPA, GRE, research for MA/MSc/PhD; GPA, GMAT/GRE, work exp for MBA) holds.

What do you consider to be IT? What path are you wanting to go down? If you're going the MBA route, I assume you're talking about higher end consulting. That's why I'm a bit confused about the "IT training" thing--most IT certs are strictly low level stuff and you don't want to go down that road. GPA is low; are you sure you actually have an interest in biology? If you're serious about IT, move into a technical/vocational program or a degree that is computer-related. CS, MIS, whatever. MBA admissions at top schools require a strong GPA, test scores, and some good work experience. I would not count entry level IT as good work experience here unless you're doing something like jr PM. The more work experience you have, the less GPA matters.

Look up a grade conversion chart for your school and schools you are interested in for yuor PhD. It *should* allow you to figure out how your school's scale relates to other schools' scales. Some schools do A+/A/A-/B+/B/B- etc., while some omit the minus grades, some omit the A+, some omit plus and minus, etc. Some use a 4.33, some don't even come close to a 4.0 scale, etc. I wouldn't rely on "general" conversion charts--e.g., I'm looking at one that gives a 90% A as 3.5... Not many schools actually publish percentages. Also look at the schools' documentation on graduate student performance; most schools I looked at specifically mentioned minimum grade requirements and went into some detail about how poor grades are dealt with (review etc.). Most of the variation is in the +/- grades and whether A is the top grade or not. B is usually a 3, however, and the general rule is that a B is borderline. If you're getting Bs in core courses (say, literature, or the field you're wanting to pursue), it's not a good sign, even if there are things that are as important/more important than grades (say, research experience). I, personally, would wonder whether somebody who's not performing well in a broad range of courses could produce quality, impactful research. On the other hand, I seriously question whether a prof (or, more likely, a TA) can actually tell the difference between B+ and B work, or even marginal A and high B work, without over-reliance on quantitative metrics, so whether grades actually reflect performance is another matter;)

You're assuming that they even bother to look at missed calls;) Odds are, they have old phones from the 90s with no call display. My desk phone at work is older than me and this is par for the course for many organizations. If it ain't broke, don't throw it out!

Course-based may limit your options for PhD, since you'll have less opportunities for research/publishing.

Low grades in intro courses is a pretty weak reason to reject someone. They're basically saying that another student(s) had your exact same profile, but an A instead of a C in some 1st year courses (that, by nature, are either irrelevant or are continually reinforced/required for upper-level courses). Or they're saying that they put a lot of weight on 1st year courses. Sounds like they're just looking for a concrete reason to give you for rejection. Everybody's told they're 2nd place. Interesting that 2 programs mentioned the same reason, though; maybe I'm wrong. My main reason to post, though, is to remind people who may find this topic via Google to not to restrict themselves to the "official" documents. I had some schools that only allowed me to upload a single SoP document. Didn't stop me putting an addendum in to emphasize my strengths in areas that were not addressed in the word-limited boxes on some of the applications, or that were not appropriate for a SoP. I'd be surprised if any candidate could give an accurate picture of their suitability with some of the terrible application processes... If you reference the addenda in your SoP, you increase the chance of somebody reading it. I would personally consider something to the effect of "my first year grades are bad because I was adjusting to univ life; plz consider my strong upward trend (as demonstrated by a x.xx gpa over x period) and a x.xx gpa for core courses as evidence of my academic suitability for graduate studies" to be sufficient. It's not a perfect reason, but unless you have a legit excuse (parents died, illness), you're best off putting it on the table and trying to distract the ad comm with proof of academic excellence outside of a few bad 1st year courses. This goes for anything negative; always always always explain how you overcame it or how it's not an issue. This is something I see posted here often, but in both my academic and professional life, I see so many people leave Bad Things unadorned on a CV/resume/SoP/whatever. You are losing points by addressing anything negative, but sometimes you are forced to, such as with your transcript. Your task is damage control. It's like the "what is your biggest weakness?" interview question; you can't win on the actual answer, but you claw back ground by explaining how you cope with/are learning to overcome/mitigate the weakness. That is, in fact, the reason many interviewers ask it. "I [bombed] Calc I and was not happy with the grade; my critical analysis of the outcome led me to take a university skills course, because I was comfortable with the basics of calculus, but was mismanaging my time on assignments and exams. I incorporated skills learned from this course, and passed Calc II and III with an A and A+, respectively. All of my courses since the 1st year were calculus-based, and my very high grades demonstrate my mastery of Calc I/II/III principles and my suitability for advanced studies of [whatever]."

Does UBC have any opportunities for TA/RA, even if you would not have priority? I believe TA positions are priority-based (i.e., certain groups have priority, and if you weren't "guaranteed" a TA position, you are not in the top group), but I don't know much about UBC's program. I stupidly did not apply there as my ug advisor scared me away with tales of very high requirements, and some friends with weak profiles were rejected, seemingly confirming that... Aside from questions about which is the better fit for you (program-wise, opportunity-wise, research-wise), UBC is a better ranked school. period. All else equal, go for the higher ranked school. Since it's course-based, does one school offer more courses that you want to take? It's also worth asking UBC if they'll give you money. You never know and asking will have zero impact on the offer or your reputation, should you choose to attend. Funding may be directed toward students pursuing a thesis, but that doesn't mean you couldn't potentially get some. 20k isn't huge. Is it interest free? Do they want it paid back?

You actually did a good thing. Letting schools know you have other deadlines is a good idea. Either they want you and this will make them realize they need to move more quickly to secure you, or they don't want you and now know that you have other options so they can feel less guilty (do they feel guilt? who knows! ;P) about informing you of a decision that was inevitable. I firmly believe that no school is going to base acceptance/rejection on whether they want to clear you off their table faster. Giving the committee a nudge is akin to ripping a bandaid off--the wound will be healed or it won't be healed, but I'd rather not feel every hair coming out. If there was a first round of acceptances last month, you've been put on a waitlist without being informed. Not unusual... And if you're on a waitlist and they get back to you and tell you it's probably not going to have movement before your other deadlines, it wasn't going to have had movement whether or not you tried to follow up. gl!

Student loans don't go away with bankruptcy except in certain exceptional cases. A bad credit rating will dog you for a long time. If you're in doubt about your ability to pay off debts, don't take them on! You'll be 30 by the time you graduate. You'll be 5+ years behind where you should be, income-wise, with 50k in debt, in an expensive city. You mention making "5k" with your undergrad--I assume you mean 50. In your field, is an advanced degree a requirement, or is on-the-job experience more useful? You mention being able to earn 70k with more experience. If the only people making more than 70k are those with advanced degrees, then it may be worth taking on the extra debt. It can also depend on what sort of stream you're after; management-level tends to be more about soft skills. Money isn't everything, but I'd hate to try to live in Vancouver on 50k (I'm just automatically assuming you're in Vancouver ). You have an opportunity cost here, as well. Not only do you take on debt, but you lose 2 years of income, 2 years of work experience (that may allow you to compete for 70k/year jobs), and 2 years of being professionally active. Not to mention, you may be putting your life on hold depending how demanding your program is. Does your program have co-op placements? Is your current employer willing to foot any of the bill? Is there a job at the end of this?

He eats a lot. Plus, Canada tax. Wet food is more expensive than dry. Perhaps $100 is too high an estimation, but 80 at least. I don't try too hard to keep track. It's rather irresponsible to take on two cats 2 years before grad school tbh, but most pet owners are less than ideal. I try not to judge people wrt their attitude about owning pets, but ugh. A cat is a 15+ year commitment. If you think that's too long, your local shelter has plenty of choice to show how many people don't get this...

Cats also cost $$$ per month. I'd say mine eats at least $100 of food a month. Plus litter, unexpected vet bills, etc. Hard decision for sure. Do you have friends or family who would take them until you finish your program?

Does the sshrc scholarship mean that you will be able to graduate w/o debt? I'd go with the thesis option if this is true, assuming: - the thesis option is necessary for the sshrc scholarship - the coop work terms don't pay enough to erase any debt you will incur, nor does funding (ta, ra, scholarships, etc) It's better to graduate with no debt and weaker job prospects than debt and slightly improved job prospects. Coop does not guarantee a job after graduation. Is there a reason you can't do a thesis, get the scholarship, and do a coop? I guess I also don't understand what a Folklore coop would be. If coop is virtually necessary to get the experience to get a job, the above advice is flawed. What do you hope to do with your degree? Edit: typosss

I was able to successfully negotiate better funding from my top choice. I dont know if it's common to try this or not. I intended to do it before even sending my applications in lol When I inquired about revised funding, I was asked to provide the offer letter from the school offering better funding. I sent it and about 3 hrs later, had a revised offer sent to me. They were not able to match dollar for dollar, but they came up several thousand. The funding was a sticking point for me, since both schools were roughly equal overall to me. I did not turn around and try to get one of my other schools to counter my revised offer. If I were a better salesman, I may have tried to pull that off. As it was, I waa happy that I had something to push me to accept one school over the other. Timing is a big thing here. I was fortunate to have multiple funding offers at once and with reasonable deadlines. Good luck!

I'm sure you did this in your SoP/whatever, but for others: If your GPA in the last 2 years or your major GPA is better than your cGPA, mention it! If your GPA has been steadily climbing over time, mention it! You're not lying by mentioning this, especially since your transcript is appended, so don't let your mediocre cGPA just sit there as if it's "honest". Sell yourself wherever possible. (Edit: don't omit cGPA from written material if you mention other stats, since that looks suspicious) You may be surprised by how much better these stats are. No, they're not a substitute for your cGPA, but many adcomms will put some weight on progressive improvement and GPA in relevant courses. I was surprised how much my first few semesters dragged down my GPA... I definitely was much more focused in my 3rd and 4th years. I know some universities actually only look at (or at least officially consider) last 2 years GPA. These may or may not be a strong fit for you so ymmv

Depends whether the program is academic or professional. Purely academic programs do not like professional references. Not having academic LoRs could sink you if your program of choice has a largely academic/research focus. Check out profiles of current and former students in the program to see what their backgrounds are. Edit: read your professional experience. Sounds like it isn't related to your areas of interest unfortunately. Mightmake it a harder sell. Talk up the skills you learned. PM experience is great (eeverything is a project!) and so is professional writing experience

Is the admissions coordinator a professor? I'd try asking a prof you were in contact with, since they may know more and will have a better understanding of your personal situation re: the waiting. I believe American universities have April 15 as the deadline for first round decisions. However, some offers may have been declined in the interim, so you should contact somebody to ensure you're fresh in mind. The office staff who are probably sending most of the emails (even when signed under a prof's name) really do not have any impact on the admissions process. Of course, you may find some who are very helpful, so ymmv!

The waitlist is essentially a physical reality--there are X number of people the university made an offer to in the first round. They do not expect all X to accept, and have a target of "accepts" in mind (probably between 30-60%) that is based on things like supervisor availability and money. If the % of X accepting doesn't meet the target, they turn to the waitlist. There's nothing much you can do to influence how many of the first round offers accept or how fast that happens. The fact the waitlist is unordered means that, once the university starts doing call ups from the waitlist, there is no set criteria for who they call first. This is good new for you, because it means you're not ranked by something fixed like GRE or GPA. This is where having a competing offer could start to come into play. I haven't started grad school yet, but I highly doubt anybody would ever know you were on the waitlist (as if that is some stigma in the first place). The professors perhaps, at least the ones on the admissions panel, but why would they care if you are able to demonstrate competency? That goes for anybody, whether they were the top of the first round of offers or last to come off the waitlist. Admissions decisions often happen before you've even set foot on campus.

Send the email now and say that it was great to talk to him and you are pleased that he wants to make you an offer, blah blah blah, and that you wish to reiterate your interest in the program. Emphasize whatever it is that you think you didn't convey in the phone (?) call. Do not wait a few weeks to contact him again, even if he has a firm deadline he's working with. You want to be in his mind when he's deciding what to do when that other student declines the offer. Edit: Also, "faux-casual"? Not the time or place for games. You can't worry about appearing too desperate, even if it's your only school. Obviously don't tell him that he's your only hope for glad school, but in trying to appear too aloof, you risk appearing uninterested. He might have more than 1 student who he's wanting to make an offer to. He's looking for someone who wants to work with him, and you run the risk of appearing uninterested if you are acting like you don't care one way or the other. Yes, his hands might be tied by bureaucracy and finances, but *in my opinion* you're better off appearing a little overeager/hungry/desperate than the opposite.

SoP is a sales pitch. You need to be confident--write as if you're already accepted. Demonstrate your qualifications and accomplishments to back up your claims. I'd also recommend incorporating details about the university and its program into your SoP. Use this as a springboard into why the university is a good fit for you and how you are qualified for it. I didn't read all of your sop because the inconsistent formatting was offputting (i think i read the marked up version above), but I did see you using the word 'esteemed'. Avoid sycophantic language!

Common wisdom I've read here is that McGill has poor job prospects due to the language policies in place in Quebec. After you graduate, you'll have a hard time finding employment in Montreal unless you speak French. Someone else can correct this since I am probably missing some subtleties to this. UBC is a highly ranked school. If you want to go to school in Canada, UBC is an excellent choice. Edit: You have multiple offers. Try to use them to negotiate better funding packages.

Definitely easier without the GRE, although I'm sure we could have winged that one too;). The GRE at least forces American students to think about grad school further ahead. Nobody writes letters until the last day anyway..!

About 2 weeks before deadline (Jan 15). Asked LoR profs back in December but didn't produce anything until January. I applied to middle of the road schools, though, so ymmv. Didn't have to have a supervisor lined up ahead of time either. I didn't even start considering grad school until late November. I got in to my top choice with good funding, but I feel I sold myself short by not applying to better schools. I wish I'd started thinking about grad school sooner than 3 weeks from the end of my last semester. You can definitely succeed at winging the whole process, but you should aim for more than succeeding imo... lesson learned; too bad I won't be doing this again haha

(for other people who may come across this) It's absolutely appropriate and it never hurts to send updated information. Frame it as having new academic or professional achievements that you wish the admissions board to take into account. Do not say anything about submitting the wrong copy (even if it were true!). My other advice for your SoP is to finish it and never ever look at it again, because you can always find something to tweak. I think I did a draft, sent it to one of my profs and a colleague who's good with words, and one more after that. Haven't read the damned things since, because OCD tweaking will kick in.

Doesn't logically follow from the bribery bit, unless I'm misreading that? I admit it's a bit unclear. Perhaps OP can clarify? I interpreted it as the OP is being hurt in the job market by a low GPA despite having a good grasp of the material. Most people trying to get a job with a BA/BSc rely on a mix of undergrad performance and work (co-op, intern) experience to demonstrate their aptitude. Entry level jobs especially are subject to the HR drone scanning resumes/transcripts, and many such jobs specifically ask for a transcript as they're intended for new graduates. In any case, undergrad is done for the OP and he can't change anything about it. The important thing is next steps.

I think you're incorrect on this one. Canadian schools have quite generous funding for Master's degrees, with STEM being an even better chance for good funding. Where on earth did you go to school where systematic bribery was the norm? There were a ton of avenues you could have pursued to shine some light on that. Now that you're out, you're basically stuck with your GPA, but a strong GRE and LoRs will negate a lot of that. You're probably a little late for more applications at this point (at least for most Canadian schools). Did you apply to other schools? Your only real option here, besides waiting for the next round or applying to schools with late deadlines, is to ask Oregon to offer you some funding. Did they guarantee a TAship or anything? Emphasize that going to Oregon will require you to move and that you would not be able to afford living costs without some sort of assistance from the school. Funding is based on many things, including academic scores and anticipated relocation costs.