I only applied to my undergrad institution...What was I thinking?!?...am I screwed?

[DarkHorse27]

So, yeah, I only applied to my undergrad institution which kind of seems like it might not have been the best choice. I majored in Recreation Management and now am applying to their Natural Resource MS. I have heard that some programs specifically shy away from readmitting grads. Anyone know if this is true?

 

I had a decent UG record, CumGPA 3.92, MajGPA 3.9, GRE 161v, 150q, 4aw. Good LOR from department faculty, and a decent SOP. I am hoping that this will be enough! I think I should have applied to more schools! Does anyone have experience, good or bad, with returning to their undergrad school for grad?

[selecttext]

do you have an advisor who is willing to supervise you? if so, given your record, i would say that you have a pretty good chance of admission.

lots of people get their bachelors and masters degrees at the same institution - i am.

[uromastyx]

It's not so much that grad programs don't want to accept undergrads from their institution. It's more an issue for you.

It's generally assumed that getting degrees from varying institutions is best for exposure to multiple scholars, methods, frameworks, etc. This is more a concern for people remaining in academia.

That being said, people do it. It shouldn't be a problem. Honestly. Especially considering your nice numbers.

Don't stress about it.

[VBD]

No stress, I'm sure you're fine.

 

I earned my Masters at my UG institution, and the application process was relatively harmless, as I had talked to professors there before I even considered my Masters. Let's hope you'll enjoy the interesting combo of grad school life + undergrad familiarity. xD

 

[midnight]

I don't think that this will be an issue in your particular field.

 

And if you don't get in for whatever reason, yes, definitely apply to a few more programs next time. I don't know if you need/want to stay where you are, but there are good natural resources programs around the country.

 

Good luck!

[TakeruK]

While there are some grad programs that will flat out reject their undergrads simply for that fact, most programs will just "strongly encourage" you to apply and go elsewhere. For most people I know, the profs at their undergrad institution would check if their students got into a good school (by asking the student) and if they said yes, then they would either issue a rejection letter or really really strongly encourage you to go elsewhere. 

 

But more and more people (profs as well as students/postdocs) are saying that it's not really a big deal anymore to stay at the same place, especially if your undergrad school has a decent research program. I wouldn't stress about applying to the same school unless you know for a fact that they don't accept their own students.