California schools? (MSW)

[msw2011Cara]

I want to apply for Fall 2011.

I have a horribly low undergrad GPA 2.3 but it's from UCSD, which is a hard school.

I have TONS of work and volunteer experience and related coursework and bilingual-Spanish and personal statement material. I expect a decent GRE, nothing amazing though.

So my BIG problem is the GPA (there is no way to raise it)

Am I totally screwed??????

I'm really really interested in SDSU, but i'll be applying to most of the cal states.

Thanks!

[jeanjeanwong]

I want to apply for Fall 2011.

I have a horribly low undergrad GPA 2.3 but it's from UCSD, which is a hard school.

I have TONS of work and volunteer experience and related coursework and bilingual-Spanish and personal statement material. I expect a decent GRE, nothing amazing though.

So my BIG problem is the GPA (there is no way to raise it)

Am I totally screwed??????

I'm really really interested in SDSU, but i'll be applying to most of the cal states.

Thanks!

I think related experiences weigh AS MUCH AS GPA in the application of MSW. BTW, most schools demand a GRE to fix GPA under 3.0. Thus, Getting high score in GRE could help your situation a lot.

[Red Rock]

I want to apply for Fall 2011.

I have a horribly low undergrad GPA 2.3 but it's from UCSD, which is a hard school.

I have TONS of work and volunteer experience and related coursework and bilingual-Spanish and personal statement material. I expect a decent GRE, nothing amazing though.

So my BIG problem is the GPA (there is no way to raise it)

Am I totally screwed??????

I'm really really interested in SDSU, but i'll be applying to most of the cal states.

Thanks!

Are you a typical student? Because if you are, even if you think you have TONS of experience, it probably isn't enough to make up for your GPA. My best advice to you is to take a couple of years (at least) and really dedicate yourself to social service programs full-time (either volunteer or job) and then apply. I went to Berkeley, had a 3.5 GPA (and had all the same qualifications you do) but I only just applied after graduating in 2007 because I knew how much more competitive having full-time experience makes you. Good luck.

[kobe36]

hey msw2011cara let me just jump in here. I have the same GPA as you but from a state school and i applied for fall 2010 and I was rejected from all schools except for one which was uw (and i dont want to jinx myself here since i havent gotten an official notice yet) but I dont know why I was accepted. I did have 4 years of fulltime case management experience and i am also bilingual. my experience so far this season is that all the ca state school I applied to (sac state, sjsu, sfsu) automatically rejected me because my gpa did not meet the minimum. the other ones I applied (loyola-chicago, hunter, nyu, fordham) was also denied but for what reason i don't know. I do think especially for the field of social work that work experience is really important and so is your personal statement. I have been consitently working at the same non profit for the past 3-4 years now as a case manager working with low income families. I am hoping it was this point that got me into washington. I don't think all hope is lost for people with low GPA (granted I might say something different if I got rejected across the board) but I love what I do and I think that showing that in your personal statement is really important. if you have any questions, you are more than welcome to PM me.