Starting to consider master's, feeling lost, confused (long-ish)

[IntheCrease36]

Hi all! This is my first post here, and since I didn't see an appropriate introduce yourself section, I figured I'll try here.

I graduated in 2008 from a state college (not an overly big one, student population of under 10,000) with a degree in communications/journalism. I originally had no plans on going to grad school once I was done, but now my thinking is starting to change. I regret my choice of school, as the department was defiicent in a lot of areas and I did not get the education that best prepared me for a job in my field. I see only now I could have gone to a college with a stronger communications department and had more educational opportunities. I also never predicted the economy going downhill like it did, so I even though I have good writing/editing skills, I'm basically unemployable because I lack a lot of design and multimedia skills. My college also really didn't have any good PR or general communications courses , so I have a lot to make up for. Some of it is my fault because I didn't realize how many internships I needed, so I was hoping I could get a second chance at getting some knowledge and work experience by going to grad school.

My choice of field is either a master's in communications or sports management, as I became interested in the latter later in my college career. But again, I didn't realize how much work experience you needed to break in, and now I'm hardly competitive in that field at all.

I'm starting to look at programs and have requested brochures from various schools. I'm trying to set aside time when I'm not working to go through them and think of questions for department heads. I'm looking into both online and campus programs in my chosen areas of interest and have found some that I feel would meet my needs for career preparation. I am NOT interested in academics/teaching college, so I'm likely going to go into a program that has a non-thesis track or doesn't require one at all.

I'm worried about some things like letters of recommendation. Because I never planned on thinking about grad school, I didn't save any past papers that I could send back to my profs as a reference. I'm also worried they won't remember me and the fact that I don't recall some of my grades in their classes. I have the general concept down as to how to approach them for one, but I'm just nervous because I won't have much to show them to remind them how I did in school, and thus, they won't agree to write one. I'm also not sure I want to tell my current employer I'm planning on grad school, especially since it will be to prepare me for work elsewhere and not with their company.

Also, the thought of a GRE or a GMAT makes me sweat. I'm fine with writing/reading comprehension (I sure as hell better be seeing as it was a huge part of my major), but I hated math, so going back to learning math problems is nervewracking. I'm glad some schools don't require them, but I don't want to apply to just those programs.

Financing is another issue. My parents have said that while they are fine with me or any of my siblings going to grad school (one already did), they are not paying for it. This means more loans for me, and I'm prepared to not get funded because I'm not going to be an academic type. I would also have to work while going to school, and I don't think my employer will pay for it. I'm considered a contract employee and am not entitled to benefits. What if I can't manage everything?

How can I calm down and sort through all my options, plan for tests, letters of recommendations, etc.? I know even enrolling for fall 2013 seems unrealistic at this point, but what about spring of 2014?

[PolyWonk]

Take everything one step at a time. Talk to admissions people and directors at programs where you are interested. I've found that when I have to ask questions, the graduate school crowd tends to respond very positively. They will have many of the answers that you need... things about letters of recommendation, financing and more.

About the GRE/GMAT... I don't think anyone likes it. It's never fun, and the only solution is to study as much as you can. These tests are annoying, but they are able to be mastered.

Also, have you thought about, instead of grad school, just taking courses to learn many of the graphic design skills that you're missing? This isn't meant to discourage you, it's just a thought.

Good luck!

[HeatherC]

I am right there with you, but as PolyWonk mentioned just take it one step at a time. Talk to past professors or other people you have networked with. Connect with former students, or forums like there to get information. Review items for the GRE like the math section that you said you are weak on. The best advice I can offer is to make a checklist and as you complete the item check it off. Not only will this keep you organized but it will help with your sanity since you can see what you have accomplished. It is overwhelming but I am confident you can do it. Take a deep breath and tackle one item at a time.

[Jack4]

Well, this seems late, I was looking for these programs too, but since other people might look at forums for references, I might as well post something I know or saw from the schools' websites.

I live in California, so I know Cal State Long Beach has a MA in Kinesiology with a Sports Management Concentration. It requires a Bachelor's with GPA 2.75, and a GRE of 290 (145+145+3.5 writing). It's 18 months with 500 hrs internship.

San Diego State has an MBA in Sports, it requires Bachelor's with GPA 3.0, and it needs GRE/GMAT. It's 18 months, of which 4-6 months is internship. It is said that it's the only Sports MBA in California fully accredited by the AACSB International.

University of San Francisco has an MA in Sports Management. It requires Bachelor's with GPA 2.75 and no GRE/GMAT. It's 23 months though, which seems REALLY long; however, they do stress that their students get on average 1100 hours of internship.

Another one is fairly new. UCR Extension is partnering with the UEM Real Madrid Graduate School in Spain, to offer an MBA in Sports Management. It's said to have ties with the Real Madrid Football club, I don't know though. It's 15 months, 9 of the which is taught at UCR, the other 6 online by faculties at UEM. So the catch is that you can work while getting the degree. It requires a Bachelor's and no GRE/GMAT. It's about $30,000 the last time I checked.

The other ones are easy to find on their school's sites, but UCR Extension has been updating their websites recently so I'm attaching their program flyer's link here:

https://www.iep.ucr.edu/pdf/flyers/UEM_RealMadrid_International.pdf