KAMALAGRAD

Unless you are very, very confident in your stock picking ability, a stock index fund or index ETF would be a much better choice. This is what I am currently doing with my investments.

Perhaps you should check out bogleheads.org.

Hi greeneyes,

I made it into Columbia, USC, and Syracuse and didn't have that much better of a GPA than you (between 3.2 and 3.3). However, I had a TON of journalism experience (at least for my age, I applied when I was 22).

So given the info you've provided so far, I would say just focus as much as you can on getting your GPA up. After all depending on your school once you graduate your GPA is pretty much set so you cannot get it any higher. I'd say then you might want to take some time off before applying and really hone your journalism skills with some experience. However, you have not listed much information about your journalism experience so for all I know you might have a good amount of experience. I am going on the fact that you mentioned you are an engineering student, which indicates that you originally had a primary interest outside of journalism.

At any rate, get at least three or four really solid clips for your writing samples as this will be important for the application process. If you apply as an undergraduate or right after undergrad instead, it still might be possible to get a lot of acceptances, but the experience that I mentioned never hurts.

As for your schools I'd say you have a shot at CUNY, Syracuse and U of Wisconsin, Madison as long as your GPA doesn't fall at all. I think you might also have shot at USC if you get your GPA up a bit.

Berkeley and Columbia are very selective so if you apply to those then I would really try to get some more experience in. That way you can show your dedication to the craft. I previously looked into Medill and though I did not end up applying there they are about just as selective (maybe just a little less selective) as far as I can tell.

I'm unfamiliar with the specifics of Grady School and Georgia so I can't give you any information on those.

In regard to the GRE I wouldn't put too much stock in it and focus on what I previously mentioned moreso. That doesn't mean you should ignore your GRE completely, but it doesn't factor into the decision for at least Berkeley and Columbia. It also probably won't make or break you at the other schools unless you do either really, really bad or really, really good. The only thing is your GRE score would probably factor into scholarship decisions.

I just got into my number four choice for grad school after doing terrible on the GRE general test. I got a combined score of under 900. The only redeeming part was my analytical writing score, which was a pretty solid 5.0, but still not in the same league as some of the 6.0 posters roaming around here. Still, I got into Syracuse University, which has a great program in my field. It also has the top public affairs program in the country (another field I'm interested in), which I will be eligible to take classes in as part of my program. So those of you, worried about your GREs, keep your chins up!

I just got into my number four choice for grad school after doing terrible on the GRE general test. I got a combined score of under 900. The only redeeming part was my analytical writing score, which was a pretty solid 5.0, but still not in the same league as some of the 6.0 posters roaming around here. Still, I got into Syracuse University, which has a great program in my field. It also has the top public affairs program in the country (another field I'm interested in), which I will be eligible to take classes in as part of my program. So those of you, worried about your GREs, keep your chins up!

I just got into my number four choice for grad school after doing terrible on the GRE general test. I got a combined score of under 900. The only redeeming part was my analytical writing score, which was a pretty solid 5.0, but still not in the same league as some of the 6.0 posters roaming around here. Still, I got into Syracuse University, which has a great program in my field. It also has the top public affairs program in the country (another field I'm interested in), which I will be eligible to take classes in as part of my program. So those of you, worried about your GREs, keep your chins up!

I just got into my number four choice for grad school after doing terrible on the GRE general test. I got a combined score of under 900. The only redeeming part was my analytical writing score, which was a pretty solid 5.0, but still not in the same league as some of the 6.0 posters roaming around here. Still, I got into Syracuse University, which has a great program in my field. It also has the top public affairs program in the country (another field I'm interested in), which I will be eligible to take classes in as part of my program. So those of you, worried about your GREs, keep your chins up!