Advice for an Undergraduate?

[CageFree]

Oh, the rivalry is definitely... something. Funny thing? My fiance is a Trojan (USC). It's rather interesting.

At any rate, I've had people on here tell me that I can apply to a Ph.D. program... and looking at the things I've done, plus some things that do make me stand out (8 years of secondary teaching experience that includes AP AND teaching fields outside of anything I've focused on... my background in modern U.S. is actually pretty good right now, and I teach political science/government); I have family heritage directly related to the area AND events I want to research, plus I've lived in the country in question and speak/read the language... I am gonna try for a couple of "reach" schools and see what happens.

Your story really irked me because I ran into that same BS when first got back here after 11 years. I was in high school. I had been a stellar student back "home," and wanted to get into advanced classes in fields that I didn't need strong English for (like physics), to strengthen my college applications. Now, I wanted to go to UCLA since I was a little kid... my parents made sure I could do it However, my counselor took one look at my transcripts (12-13 subjects per year. School over there is TOUGH.) and said... "honey, a school like UCLA is impossible for you. It's very hard to get in and you don't have the education. It says you have three years of biology, and physics but... they don't do physics down there like we do here.... I can't put you in any of those classes. You should focus on trying to find a job first... maybe try a trade, (like... get this.... COSMETOLOGY. Really! She said that!) Then you can try a community college and maybe you can try to transfer to a university like Cal State Dominguez.... but UCLA? That's really not realistic for you." And then she put me in "fundamentals of physics and chemistry." I had three years of each discipline in my pocket and here I was, hanging out with all of the potheads and dumb surfers.

I sure showed her! I took my SATs, wrote a good essay, and got into every school I applied to. And that's when I learned that NO ONE gets to tell me that I can't do something. If I want it, I can make it happen.

As for the job market... I did the predictable thing and became a teacher. I've always wanted to teach. I still do I just learned how to be a TEACHER. But my first job out of college was in a purchasing department for a small corporation

Edited July 28, 2011 by Teacher4PhD

[Sigaba]

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