markt

Thanks for the input TakeruK. The school I want to get into is the Colorado University. I don't have extensive research experience that would make my application competitive which is why I kind of wanted to work on that front. I was hoping to move nearby and volunteer at a lab while working, taking what i can get, before applying for graduate admissions. mark

hey, i graduated with a less than desirable GPA due to a lack of direction my first couple years. For most good schools, it doesnt meet the requirements for a regular degree seeking student. It is above a 2.5, however, and allows me to apply as a provisional student to some. The degree I got was in ecology, evolutionary, and environmental bio. Right now, I've been working in population management up in alaskan fisheries for the better part of the last year; however, it's not what I want to research. I was planning on applying not as a provisional, but a non-degree seeking student to take classes and hopefully get on some profs good sides in the area I would want to pursue. If I'm not mistaken, it doesn't go through the same application process. Along those lines, is the application for provisional students as stringent as regular applications? I mean, at first glance, who are the candidates that get accepted into a provisional status if grad school itself is extremely difficult to get into? Then if I do get in, is it possible to use LOR from current faculty at the university? or is that frowned upon? I was hoping to know if anyone else had gone through a similar scenario getting into grad school through the back doors and how it played out. I am planning to take the GRE's and the bio subject test in the fall. I'll also probably continue working another year since this is coming out of pocket initially. Hopefully later I can find some support if things work out. I took a few graduate courses as an undergrad since it was required and got a few A's and B's. At that point, though, there was no saving my GPA. Either way, I know I can meet the GPA requirements that transition provisionals into a regular status academically. Thanks, Mark