Applying to Master's Programs, but don't meet GPA Requirements

[jokerjoe]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm a current 5th year senior and I have recently discovered what I want to do with my life. I'm really hoping to continue to graduate school to get a Master's in Student Affairs/Higher Ed. I'm nervous about the application process, since about 90% of my experience has only occurred during my 5th year, and I still don't meet the 3.0 GPA requirement that most places ask for.

 

Some backstory, I am staying a 5th year by choice. I could have graduated no problem last year, but didn't decide until the fall that I wanted to pursue graduate school at all. My GPA has been steadily increasing since my sophomore year. Fall of sophomore year was the worst and I changed my major to Sociology, since I was doing so badly and my GPA plummeted during my worst semester. On my transcript, my grades are still across the board, but thankfully no Fs.

 

My GPA History:

-Freshman Year: (Fall) All Bs, (Spring) 3 Bs, C, D+

-Sophomore Year: (Fall) 3 Ds, C, B, (Spring) A, 3 Bs, C

-Junior Year: (Fall) A-, 4 Bs, C, (Spring), 4 As, B

-Senior Year: (Fall) 2 As, 2 A-, 2 Bs, (Spring) 2 As, B, D+

-5th Year: (Fall), A, B, C, C-, (Spring) Probably will get a 3.0

 

Does my GPA not reaching the 3.0 minimum requirement that is usually stated in applications hurt me? My in-major GPA is a 3.1, but my Cumulative GPA is about a 2.8. To balance out my GPA, my GRE is good and I think I'll have some decent letters of recommendation from my activities for this year.

 

I am also nervous about my experience only being in my 5th year. I wasn't really interested in anything at school until this year, so nothing was really worth getting involved in and I couldn't find a job I liked. I am really interested in continuing on this path now, so I really need to get into graduate school.

 

I am currently applying to: Loyola-Chicago, Vanderbilt, NYU, Columbia, George Washington, Stanford, UCLA, University of Virginia, and Michigan.

 

Can anyone provide insight on my concerns with GPA and how I've only been really experienced for one year? Thanks alot!

[Loseric]

OP, I wish I could offer you some more helpful advice, but I'm basically in the same boat as you, right down to an identical GPA and schools I'm applying to. Honestly, when I was starting out in the application process I could written a virtually identical post - so, solidarity!

 

I see you've taken the GRE and have a good score - that's important. I drove myself crazy studying for the GRE because I believed that a high score could hopefully balance out my GPA. (I made sure my scores surpassed the average GRE scores at all the schools I'm applying to, so at least I know I'm in the top group for something!) The jury's still out on whether the GRE idea works or not (applying right now) but I've emailed with enough admissions departments to believe it can only help. They've all insisted that the applications are viewed holistically, which I hope is true. Even the schools with the 3.0 requirement have said that it's not a hard and fast one, and an application won't be thrown out solely for that reason. If possible, sell that 3.1 in-major GPA as much as you can - schools like to see that your area of focus was also your strongest one.

 

Don't worry about the majority of your student life experience being only in your fifth year. Plenty of people who are successfully admitted to these programs don't have any higher ed experience at all, so it's certainly not a requirement. Admissions will only view your experience as a plus, and won't hold it against you for a silly reason like it being in your fifth year. Breathe a sigh of relief on that one, okay?

 

Focus on writing a compelling personal statement, getting as many higher ed experiences as possible so you get a good feel for the field (this will help with writing your personal statement too), and getting to know recommenders and expressing your graduate school aspirations to them so they can write great letters for you. I hope that helps. Good luck!

[lilgreycells]

I agree with Loseric. I applied to two of the programs mentioned in your list for my M.Ed. and was accepted at both (can PM me if you want). You mention your fear that you only have experience from your 5th year. I think if you can mention how you've changed and become more focused on higher ed it can just be seen as a plus to your file (esp since as mentioned not everyone has experience).

I will say that with those grades it might help to write an addendum to your application. When I was in a similar situation as you (grades not what I wanted but knew I wanted graduate school), I made sure my recommenders knew how serious I was about the programs and then included an addendum explaining, not apologizing for, any poor grades I earned from undergrad. Some people will choose to include something in their personal statement but I personally wanted that to only highlight my strengths for the program (hence why I created a separate document to send).

And it's an n=1 so who knows for sure but I know for a fact my high GRE scores showed that any poor grades in undergrad were an anomaly and I was more than capable of the work. Depending on your distance from the institution and your comfort, you can always think about having a conversation with a faculty member about this. When I visited the two Master's programs and spoke with the faculty member in charge, I made sure to feel the conversation out. I told myself if I found an opening I would make sure to mention the grades in a direct manner and reiterate my addendum (no apologizing just making sure they are aware I was capable of more and that personal circumstances created the drop). Wound up doing this at both programs and they both told me later, after I was accepted, that this conversation, and my GRE scores, did help me.

Good luck in the process and like I said PM me if you have any other questions.

[jokerjoe]

yea, my GPA overall is right around 2.9, so I'm barely missing the cutoff. I've also been kind of nervous since my GPA this semester was just above a 2.5. Makes me feel like I hurt myself staying this extra year since I could've graduated last spring. My GRE Scores are: 160V, 150Q, and 4 Writing, so I hope that makes up for my GPA.

 

Thanks for all your advice guys! Comforting to know I'm not the only one that's had to think about this!

[ZeChocMoose]

If you get in, you might end up being a conditional admit if your GPA is not above the recommended 3.0 either set by the department or the university.  This happened to one of my cohort mates in my master's program.  He just had to get a certain GPA by a certain amount of credits.  I think it was a 3.5 by 12 credits.  Also, he could not preregister during his first semester.  Instead, he had to wait until his grades came in before the department will allow him to register for the spring semester.  It didn't end up being that big a deal for him, but there was a 5+ year gap between his undergrad and master's program so he could better argue that his grades from his undergrad don't reflect how he'll do in the program.  He also ended up taking 1-2 courses in the program as a non-degree seeking student to show that he could handle the course material.  (Of course this is all very program specific but I won't be too surprised if other universities have something similar to the conditional admit status.)

 

My only concern with your GPA grade history is that you are still getting some lower grades in your latter years (C, C-, and D+).  What is going on there?  Are these similar type of courses?  You'll just want to make sure that you'll be able to handle the amount of reading that you'll have to do and then writing multiple 15 - 20 page papers at the end of the semester.  Not all of the programs that you listed are that intense, but a couple of the ones that you are applying to that is the typical work load. 

[jokerjoe]

ZeChocMoose: The only in-major course I struggled with was a sociological theory course, that I got my C in this semester. The other two bad grades from these past semesters were required for my major, but they were electives in other departments. I had to take one course online, which was an ethnic studies course. I learned that online learning is definitely not for me, hence the D+. I struggled with the material so I didn't do well on the exams, and also missed a few assignments (which is my fault entirely). The other C- grade was attributed to a bad participation grade (difficult to get in a class of 60). For that class, I got really good scores on the papers and reading reflections, but my participation and presentation grades were not up to par.

 

I would definitely understand a conditional admission, that would also probably help me prove myself. I've done really well in my other in-major courses (Research Methods, Political Theory, Social Inequality, etc).

 

Another concern I have for graduate school is funding and affordability, of course. Do funding opportunities usually go to students with higher GPAs, or more higher ed experience, or are the requirements varied? I do know that some schools don't offer any funding to Master's students, but I'm applying to a lot of schools so hopefully it won't be too big of an issue for me.

[michigan girl]

Most merit-based scholarships require a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

 

I am concerned that your bad grades are based on lack of participation and presentations. Most graduate-level courses may have up to 30% of your grade dedicated to attendance and participation. If you truly care about your studies, then you need to improve in this area quickly. I used to be a very shy student in high school, but I've learned over the years that it was more important to appear that you have something to say every week (even if it doesn't sound intellectually-stimulating) rather than just sit throughout the entire lecture and not say anything at all. Just showing effort AND attending nearly all your classes will ensure you won't earn less than a B grade.

 

While my graduate program doesn't require online courses, I have taken a few at other institutions during my undergraduate experience. Distance learning requires time management and organization on your part. Some higher education and student affairs master's programs require hybrid (online + classroom) instruction. If you apply to any programs where students take these hybrid courses, then I highly recommend you improve in this area. You may also want to consider higher education and student affairs programs whose admissions standards won't penalize your sub-3.0 GPA (consider the regional universities that have a 2.5 or higher GPA requirement). While these are not highly-ranked programs, they do offer assistantships that can pay your entire way through graduate school. 

Edited December 22, 2012 by michigan girl

[jokerjoe]

I understand what you're saying completely, michigan girl! The online course format does not seem to be the right kind of learning environment for me, so I'm not planning on exploring it further in the future. Most of my other classes that require participation (Political Theory courses especially are discussion based) weren't a problem for me, so I'm hoping that class was a fluke.

 

What regional universities are you referring to? I'm from Maryland, and I've looked at programs around my home area as well, but haven't looked too much in depth aside from University of Virginia.

[michigan girl]

I recommend that you visit NASPA's Graduate Program Directory Search and select Mideast (DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, PA). Some of the schools listed in the directory are regional in nature and may have more lenient admissions standards (accept GPAs under 3.0) than the flagship publics and highly-selective privates. Other local schools that come to mind that offer higher education and student affairs master's programs are George Mason and George Washington Universities. You have to be realistic with your options and cast your net wide. I also recommend you browse schools in the Midwest and New England regions too.
 

[ZeChocMoose]

I agree with michigan girl about branching out a bit and also applying to some programs that will have less strict academic requirements.  The programs that you listed in your first post are some of the more popular, well ranked institutions for the field.  A couple of them have really tiny master's programs too so that might make it even harder to gain admission.  If you have a better blend of programs (in terms of selectivity), you might find that you'll fair better when you receive the results.  Your current list of programs are also more academically focused as they tend to emphasize theory and research in the classroom.  Do you want this?  What do you hope to do after you graduate from a higher ed program?  

 

There is not a lot of merit aid for master's students.  The ones that I know about are focused on academics (GPA and GREs) as well as your SOP.  It might be difficult to get a merit scholarship with your GPA though.  The assistantship process (on the other hand) is all about the experiences that you have in the field and how you come across in the interview.  Usually, you'll be invited to campus sometime in the spring (Feb - April) and you'll go through a series of interviews with different offices to secure an assistantship.  Your potential supervisors don't see your transcripts (usually) just your resume and they tend to select based on how well suited they think you are for the position.  This is when having decent practical experiences in the field can really pay off.  

Edited December 23, 2012 by ZeChocMoose

[michigan girl]

I am currently applying to: Loyola-Chicago, Vanderbilt, NYU, Columbia, George Washington, Stanford, UCLA, University of Virginia, and Michigan.

 

Can anyone provide insight on my concerns with GPA and how I've only been really experienced for one year? Thanks alot!

 

From an admissions perspective, you are most likely to receive a rejection from a majority of the schools listed above. You stand a better chance with Loyola-Chicago and George Washington, although these two schools have become more selective since my undergraduate days. You should branch out because you haven't shown a gradual improvement in your grades during your five years of college, which will raise a huge flag to admissions committees. Since most full-time students graduate within four years, the fact that you haven't shown improvement in your fifth year may hurt you more so. Most admissions officers will overlook a couple of Cs, but you have at least 10 grades that are a C or lower.

 

Are you looking for a master's program in higher education or student affairs? This is important because majority of the schools listed in your original post are heavy on research and theory (Michigan, in particular, requires a research course for master's students). I know Vanderbilt and Virginia have a student affairs concentration, but Harvard, Michigan, UCLA, and Stanford are all general higher education.

 

I am currently attending Michigan, and its 1.5-year master's program is very rigorous. From my own experience as a master's student, I read ~1500 pages of materials this past term (!) and wrote over 15 papers that ranged between two and twenty-five pages. Now, I did extremely well (almost a 4.0) in my courses because I was very organized throughout the entire term. I can imagine programs like Harvard and Stanford are just as difficult because you have to condense more courses in two semesters. If you are not used to this kind of workload, then I highly recommend a less selective program.

[StephanieM]

*Disclaimer: I am not in education so I'm unsure if my advice would apply to you, but I'll tell you in case it can be of any help*

 

Your grades haven't improved that much, this shows a lack of commitment, interest, or bad time management. You need to find a way to address this, either by getting A's and B's from here on out or by trying to do some type of work related to your field.

 

If I  were you, I'd take a break from school after graduation, focus on getting experience, then pursue a grad degree, as you'll have a better resume than just a few activities here and there and a not so stellar GPA. If you're dead-set on going straight to grad school, it's better to apply to many different schools, including less competitive ones.

[jokerjoe]

Thank you everyone for your input.

 

To clarify, I am more interested in a Student Affairs or practice-based master's program. I would like to go into academic or career counseling, but want to get more experience in other offices and departments on campus that I am unable to get as an undergrad. University of Virginia's program is appealing to me because of the internship component and ability to do work in places at the University during the year. On the other hand, I have completed research at the undergrad level and have presented at several conferences both at my school and at other schools. I enjoyed doing research with faculty with a background in Higher Ed, so I would not rule a research/theory master's program out completely either.

 

I will look into other schools definitely, but I'm also hoping to get some consideration since I am right below a 3.0 GPA. As of right now, my overall GPA is a 2.92 and my in-major is actually at a 3.2 (just checked earlier). If you look on my transcript, I've had a GPA above a 3.0 from Spring 2010 to Spring 2012, with two semesters at 3.7 and 3.6. Only three of my semesters have been below a 3.0. Additionally, half of my low grades come from before I changed my major. Do those low grades really hurt that much, even if the semester GPA is above a 3.0?

[PhDreams]

Ultimately, you are going to do what you want. However, everyone on here has excellent advice, but it really is all about how you frame your application. If you can somehow show that you are supremely dedicated to the field, that can sometimes overcome low GPA's or GRE scores. But the point is that you have to have something to highlight. My undergrad GPA was a smidge lower than 3.0 which is the unoffical cutoff (sometimes official "published"cutoff) to most programs, but I had about a decade's worth of experience in a combination of research and practice. I know that the experience is what helped me score entrance to several top programs including quite a few on your list. Grad school should really be about going to the best place where you can get the best experience to make you a better professional. If you're just not ready this year, it's ok! You can take some time off and gain that experience that shows the "upward trend" and "dedication to the field" that people talk about. Best of luck!

[lilgreycells]

Every one has given really thoughtful and relevant advice. I think jokerjoe that yes for a number of those institutions (leaning towards saying all) the grades before you switched your major do matter. For some programs they'll care more about your last 2 years, some your major specific and others all four years. That's why people have been suggesting broadening the scope of your selection of institutions to apply to.

I do think UVa's practice-based SAPHE program is a great choice for people that want to work in the field and normally they are not as stringent with the cut-off gpa if you can display a genuine passion for the field (what my last post and PhDreams were trying to get at). But the others are right that seeing your grades adcoms will pause, especially at some of the more competitive institutions.

[michigan girl]

Taking a break from school is another good option. Your grades become less important if you have significant post-bachelor's work experience in your area of interest (in this case, higher education).