Looking for post-bacc Low GPA, High GRE ...

[Cornat06]

I'm in a bad situation. I'm motivated primarily at the moment of trying to get a job. I'm graduated from a top 50 flagship school about 2 years ago. At the time I got a double major of Economics and Mathematics. I really screwed up my GPA by lumping all my math courses at the last minute (taking 3 - 4 of them at the same time), I barely squeeked through (I couldn't take longer cause of funding/family issues). Anyways, prior to pursuing the mathematics portion of my degree, I had a 3.4 - 3.5, afterwards I had about a 2.8. My Economics major GPA is still relatively untouched, it's around a 3.4 after screwing up my second IO course in the midst of trying to juggle the math stuff. My Math GPA is around 2.7 (I failed a bunch of courses I didn't need but took with teh thought of doing well and improving the look of my transcript -big mistake).

So that has really screwed up my life thus far, i took a year and a half off to get my head together. I took the GRE, and recieved a 1500 (the only marginal bright spot of my life so far). I'm studying for subject exams right now but that's not the real issue. I've been trying to find a job recently and have found that I am locked out of the job market. As an entry level applicant, most jobs want a 3.0 GPA (and i've tried everyone gov't/private/everyone), and as someone whod osn't have this, I can't get into most jobs. Unfortunatly, most Grad schools also require a 3.0 GPA, and thus i'm locked out of those as well.

So, I hope the answer to my problems isn't that I'm going to essentially be relegated to washing dishes and working retail for the rest of my life (what I've been doing to survive thus far). I'm quite good at what I studied, and I know I could get at least a 3.5+ if i paced myself in math. My real intrest is in Economics, but I know that I don't even ahve a shot without addressing the math defencies.

So I'm wondering if given the goal of eventually going back to school (to pursue a masters to get a job; with maybe after establishing a means of survival of perhaps also pusruing a PhD), what people here would recommend I should do to work towards those goals.

I'd like to find a job in my area... but the economy is so depressed at this moment I find even being accepted into a grad program would be more likelly then that... which is very discouraging.

So the way I see it is 1. Need a real job to pay for further education

2. Need further education to get a real job.

I need help....

[t_ruth]

I didn't know GPA affected jobs so much...

From what I've seen, the job market is all about who you know. Have you tried a networking site like linkedin to leverage any connections you have (and your parents, family and friends have)?

Also, what about getting a teaching certificate and teaching a year? There are always accelerated summer programs to quickly turn out teachers for needed areas.

[MAN]

You have a few options available based on what you want to do.

If you want to pursue a career/job, go ahead and apply to positions that say "3.0 GPA required." Most of the time that is more of a guideline than a strict policy. Also, you can adjust your resume to show yourself in the best light possible (i.e. when discussing your educational history, use your 3.4 Econ GPA). If they have any questions about you overall GPA/Math GPA, you can explain it in an interview. The only issue I can foresee for applying for a job would be the current economic downturn. A lot of companies that would normally be looking Econ majors are on Wall Street. As you probably know, those are the companies that have been hit the hardest lately.

If you are looking to get some research experience you might want to look into the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). From what I've seen, they tend to have a few Economist/research assistant type of positions listed. So, this might be a good place to apply to get some experience that looks good on an application/resume.

Pursuing graduate school is a little more complex. Here are some options to consider (since you say you would like to pursue Econ, I'm focusing more on that than on math):

1) If you are looking to get a more job that uses applied economics, you can just go for a masters degree. There are some lower tier schools that have lower GPA requirements (I know the Illinois State econ department only requires a 2.6). Of course, getting a masters degree at a lower tier school makes it more difficult for you to find a job post-graduation.

2) If you ultimately want to get an Econ PhD, I'd say apply for a masters in math. This would give you the chance to A) show your proficiency in math (this is huge for an Econ PhD) and you would be able to submit your Masters scores when applying to Econ programs. If you end up kicking butt in the math masters program, you will show you are capable of grad level work. Thus programs are more likely to be interested in you.

Note: If you want to pursue an Econ PhD, do not apply to an Econ masters program. The Econ masters programs are usually more of an applied nature than PhD programs. So, it doesn't really help out your application to the PhD programs.

If you want to look further into Econ graduate schools, I've found this link to be a huge help:

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AEA/gradstudents/Schools.htm

You can also check out this site:

http://www.econphd.net

[Cornat06]

You have a few options available based on what you want to do.

If you want to pursue a career/job, go ahead and apply to positions that say "3.0 GPA required." Most of the time that is more of a guideline than a strict policy. Also, you can adjust your resume to show yourself in the best light possible (i.e. when discussing your educational history, use your 3.4 Econ GPA). If they have any questions about you overall GPA/Math GPA, you can explain it in an interview. The only issue I can foresee for applying for a job would be the current economic downturn. A lot of companies that would normally be looking Econ majors are on Wall Street. As you probably know, those are the companies that have been hit the hardest lately.

If you are looking to get some research experience you might want to look into the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). From what I've seen, they tend to have a few Economist/research assistant type of positions listed. So, this might be a good place to apply to get some experience that looks good on an application/resume.

Pursuing graduate school is a little more complex. Here are some options to consider (since you say you would like to pursue Econ, I'm focusing more on that than on math):

1) If you are looking to get a more job that uses applied economics, you can just go for a masters degree. There are some lower tier schools that have lower GPA requirements (I know the Illinois State econ department only requires a 2.6). Of course, getting a masters degree at a lower tier school makes it more difficult for you to find a job post-graduation.

2) If you ultimately want to get an Econ PhD, I'd say apply for a masters in math. This would give you the chance to A) show your proficiency in math (this is huge for an Econ PhD) and you would be able to submit your Masters scores when applying to Econ programs. If you end up kicking butt in the math masters program, you will show you are capable of grad level work. Thus programs are more likely to be interested in you.

Note: If you want to pursue an Econ PhD, do not apply to an Econ masters program. The Econ masters programs are usually more of an applied nature than PhD programs. So, it doesn't really help out your application to the PhD programs.

If you want to look further into Econ graduate schools, I've found this link to be a huge help:

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AEA/gradstudents/Schools.htm

You can also check out this site:

http://www.econphd.net

Thanks for the advice, I know of econphd.net. Unfortunatly, everoyne on that site has the "perfect" at least on paper, application, and there isn't much I can relate too to those applicants. As for the BLS, i've applied to litearlly every potential job that would use an economics degree. And I contacted the BLS specficially, and from my understanding they are looking for either a masters degree student or someone who has the Superior Academic Achievement (3.5 Major GPA or 3.0 general GPA) , so I'm shut out of that agency at least.... and i suspect for most of the other gov't agencies.

I would love to apply to Math Masters, but my Math GPA is way worst then even my Econ GPA. And given that most (if not all) masters program have the 3.0 floor... I don't see how I'm going to get into any program. For instance I applied a while ago to a low level math program and didn't get in. Of course, I might have to apply to more then one, but I suspect I'm shut out off this too.

So yeah... I've come on thsi board as a last resort, I don't like to share things like this with others, but I have litearlly exhausted (as far as I can see) all my avenues of pursuit... I've applied to well over a few dozen if not a hundred positions. I'm hoping it's not as bleak as i see it, but it's starting to raelly seem that way. I'm in some sort of low-equalibrium trap. And the only jobs I may eb able to pursue are jobs that don't even require a degree... if I"m not considered "overqualified" for those....

[Cornat06]

I didn't know GPA affected jobs so much...

From what I've seen, the job market is all about who you know. Have you tried a networking site like linkedin to leverage any connections you have (and your parents, family and friends have)?

Also, what about getting a teaching certificate and teaching a year? There are always accelerated summer programs to quickly turn out teachers for needed areas.

I don't have much family connections, my grandparents raised me, and they were laborers/farmers for most of their working lives. I know about teaching... but I really would like to hold off on that option as much as possible. I'd almost rather shoot myself then become a secondary school teacher.