ocelli

I don't know anything about economics, but I am a bit familiar with D.C. and think that Virginia Tech would probably hold more weight there. I attended undergrad at a VA state school and know that people from VA schools tend to have a good track record with getting jobs in D.C. (partially since a lot of VA public universities are so great). Good luck with your decision! I'm currently deciding as well.

I sent you a message and would be happy to speak more about my personal experience applying!

people change paths all the time & mid-20s is definitely not late to decide what you want to do with your life! I know you probably feel so much pressure with all of this, but many people don't start grad school (or even undergrad, for that matter) until their mid/late 20s and it's totally normal and great. also for reference: I didn't apply for grad school last year (my senior year of undergrad), applied for post-bacc programs in the spring because I knew I needed more research experience, and am now loving the post-bacc program I'm in!! I think it's been immensely helpful in a lot of ways and I would be happy to answer questions about it. And I agree with @retrograde52! It's only been two and a half-ish weeks since most schools' deadlines so definitely don't give up hope!

hi! don't get too discouraged with the lack of invitations from schools - many schools haven't sent out invites yet, or maybe it's just not the right time for you. If things don't work out this cycle, working as a research assistant/doing a post-bacc could be great for your application! You expressed that you think that taking a gap year is risky, but taking a year to just do full time research can really only help your application and hopefully your personal/scientific development. GPA is just one of many factors that admissions committees consider and there's so much you can do to make schools consider you beyond that. Your GPA doesn't seem to be that low (from your previous posts) so if you really believe that this path is for you, you have to stay determined, as grad school is a lot of persistence/determination as well. There might not be any guarantees if you have to reapply next year, but persistence is really important and grad schools want to see it.

Hey everyone! I'm applying a bit later than everyone else to PREP/other post-bacc programs, but I've applied/am applying to: Boston University, Baylor, Case Western, University of Michigan, UC Santa Cruz, Tufts, University of Maryland, and Oregon Health & Science University (which has a neuroscience-based post-bacc program). I've been viewing this thread for a bit and figured I'd finally make an account and reply here. Also, in reference to @neurooooo's question, I'm not sure but I believe that at least UChicago should be sending out more interview invites, considering their application isn't technically due until March 31 and they'll likely be receiving applications until then.