grad program has nothing to do with UG

[OhLaLaSam]

One place in which I'm faltering a little is that I can't explicitly talk about how my Undergraduate studies pertain to what I want to pursue in grad school because they have nothing to do with one another. I studied English and French in college, and am applying to Higher Education Administration programs for a Masters. I have a lot to talk about on what got me to arrive at this conclusion (perhaps even too much!), but I can't draw a connection between my UG academics and that path. Does anyone have any advice on how to address this? Or how to finesse it? Thank you so much!

[amlobo]

I am also applying to a different discipline for grad school than what I studied in undergrad. I say if you genuinely can't make a connection, don't try to force one. Though, sometimes it requires looking at things from another angle. Are there any skills you gained from your studies that will help you succeed in your prospective program? The subject matter doesn't have to be the same to be able to draw a connection. Surely the analytical and critical thinking skills gained in your studies has helped prepare you for the graduate program. Also, maybe very briefly address why you chose not to pursue your undergrad areas of study, without saying "I didn't like it" or "I didn't know what to do with my degree." Something along the lines of: "While pursuing a career in teaching English or French may have been the more obvious path, I found myself drawn to the administration side of education because ...." That way you are acknowledging that this is a departure from what your studies were.

But, you obviously have a reason you are choosing the program that you are... and I would spend my time talking about that. The adcomm can see that you didn't major in Education... and trying to create a tenuous connection where there is none will probably make that fact stand out more. But, I feel like higher education administration has much more to do with experiences that influenced your decision vs. coursework, especially if you didn't major in Education. But, that's obviously just my opinion. Good luck!

[leftover cheese]

I'm in the same boat, I majored in Linguistics in undergrad and I am applying to Biological/Physical Anthropology programs (I want to do forensic anthropology). Linguistics and Biological Anthropology are both in the realm of anthropology, but my linguistics program was based more on the science of speech and language, and we had no anthro. classes (though, I've since taken some). I had no idea how/if I absolutely need to bring up my UG major.