Hi All…I’m a long time reader yet reluctant writer with a question. As the 2018 cycle comes to an end (congrats to all by the way) I have ramped up my own preparations for the fall of 2019. My question resides in whether you all think it necessary I take a statistics course to boost my chances? Whether it will be a lost cause regardless or prove needless.
I’m currently serving in the Peace Corps as an English teacher and teacher trainer at an Islamic middle school in Indonesia (I’m proficient in Bahasa Indonesia). I’ve begun to write my SOP’s/reach out to potential recommenders. It’s early, but I have oodles of time and want to make sure everything is done as well as possible. Prior to my time in Indonesia I was working for a rep. in the U.S. House of Reps for a year and a half as a recent college grad (think Staff Assistant role). I have a history of volunteering around the D.C. area as well as the more rural setting of the university I attended. While my resume is good on this front, I know it doesn’t scream out to admissions offices at the programs I hope to attend. I have a very specific path I hope to take following grad school but would rather not get into it. Know I will highlight these plans in my SOP’s and curb them to the specific schools I apply (Southeast Asia plays a role and I hope to ultimately take the foreign service exam in time).
So here’s the rub… my resume falls squarely on that pesky GPA from university (I’ll be 4 years out by the time I apply) and my years of immaturity (a few other factors I will make known…thankfully it has an upward trend). My GPA ended up a bit above the 2.9 mark. During my time in undergrad I did fine enough in my econ classes (think B’s) but took one statistics course for which I got a solid C. I have taken the GRE and pulled off a 160 on the quant. with a 165 on the verbal. I hope the GRE may help offset school’s worries since they take a holistic approach but I just never know.
So my question resides in peoples’ thoughts on me taking an online stats. course for credit to try and further separate myself from the underwhelming record I amassed as an undergrad? Whether it will help boost my chances at the schools below or whether I should rethink of applying to certain schools with the GPA I’m coming in with (particular programs fit me more than others for various reasons but I thought I’d keep it general for the sake of this post). Some schools may be a big ole reach but thought I’d try nonetheless. Thanks for any advice and I hope this can help others in the process!
Fletcher
SAIS
HKS
SIPA
MSFS
UChicago
Duke
Carnegie Mellon
