LunarSilverStar

To be honest, I want to be able to work overseas and in the United States. But I am more worried about if these schools will even look at my application despite my GPA.

I graduated from a Public Ivy back in May 2011 and have spent my time teaching English overseas for the past two years. During these two years teaching english, I spent my free time taking graduate economic courses at a local university. I took those courses because I didnt want my academic skills to deteriate while working. Since my contract will be ending in 2013 I want to begin applying for graduate school next month. I am looking to get a masters in Finance or Economics. However, I have some serious hurdles. 1. My cumlative gpa is a 2.5 but my major gpa is 3.4. Major : Political Science Minor : Japanese and Computer Science 2. I have no work experience in the finance field since I spent my undergrad primarly doing research, going to conferences, and getting published. 3. I took the GRE and got a 300. But I will try again in October. Now what I would like to know is if I should spend my energy applying to LSE, Bocconi, Warwick, or Oxford (doesnt hurt to shoot for the stars). If you have any suggestions for other schools let me know.

Hello, As the title suggests, I currently live overseas and will begin applying for graduate school next month. However, I have a predicament. My main problem is that I have been out of college for about a year and 4 months and I am unsure how to approach a former mentor living in my home country about graduate school. I would love to just schedule a time to meet however living more than 6000 miles away is a problem. Therefore, I would like some advice on how to ask for LOR after not seeing said mentor for close to a year and half. Also, is it normal for professors to send LORs to graduate schools overseas through snail mail? One of my programs don't do online applications so my recommenders will have to send actual letters. So another question is does the recommender pay for postage or should the person asking for the LOR pay for postage. Thanks for reading LunarSilverStar

Simple. Cheaper tuition compared to programs in the U.S. and provides an excellent overseas experience.

Again thanks for the advice Orangeman. I will be sending a conference paper I wrote to see if I seem a least bit attractive despite my shortfallings.

In your opinion from attending schools in the UK, how would a 2.5 gpa be viewed from a top 100 university? I know it is not stellar but my gpa for my Political Science major is 3.4 but as said earlier it was my Computer Science major that just destroyed my GPA.

Thank you OrangeMan for the list. I will look into these colleges. I am just hoping the work experience I have gained from teaching English Overseas helps me get into grad school and my past research.

Hello orangeMan, I am looking to do my masters in International relations or Public policy. My undergraduate GPA was a 2.5 but that was because I was being foolish and decided to major in Political Science and Computer Science while minoring in Japanese. Unfortunately, this did not work out and I ended up changing my Computer Science major into a minor but by then my GPA was decimated. If possible could give me the links to some of those programs I would like to go through their curriculum? I was looking to do a program in Japan but colleges in Japan do not do many evening classes. The lack of evening classes make it impossible since I work full time.

Would applying with a below 3.0 gpa be appropiate for any of these schools? Since 3.3 or 3.6 seems to be the cut off. Currently, I live work overseas as a teacher but I want to go to overseas university since its cheaper.

Thanks for the awesome information. I was thinking of getting my masters in Canada at Carleton University or University of Toronto since they give funding to masters students. Guess I will be contacting these schools after April 15th. Is there anyone familiar with masters programs in Canada? Or in the U.S. that give funding to students? P.S. Sorry for the mistake, I meant Fall of 2012.

I plan on taking a year off to teach overseas. However, I am thinking of applying Fall of 2013 for grad school. Are any suggestions for people in my situation in regards to grad school? Should I even waste time trying to apply in 2013 if I have such a low cumulative gpa?

Hello, my name is LunarSilverStar and I am at huge predicament in my life. I want to get my masters in political science but I am unsure if its even worth me pursuing. Mainly for the fact, that my undergraduate gpa is 2.4 but my major gpa is 3.4. The reason my undergrad cumlative gpa is so low is because I was a double major in political science and computer science with a minor in a Japanese. However, as I entered my senior year of college I changed computer science from a major to a minor because it was sinking my gpa. Now , I will graduate with a major in political science with two minors in Japanese and Computer Science. I believe I am grad school material because I have done extensive undergraduate research with a professor, presented papers at political science conferences, been published in an undergraduate magazine, and I have worked with teams of engineers to pioneer new technology. But, I still feel my undergraduate GPA will hold me back. Therefore, I am seeking advice by asking if will graduate schools look at my major gpa and my accomplishments? Or am I better off taking a year off to work overseas? Any kind of input is useful.