How do you start all over?

[id quid]

Some of you may have seen my intermittent drama with trying to track down a faculty member and correct a grading issue on my transcript (it was an I which lapsed to an F -- but it shouldn't have, and it just takes paperwork to correct). Whether I get this issue resolved or not, the sheer amount of stress this situation has been causing me has brought me to consider Plans B, C, D, and et cetera.

 

How do you start all over?

 

If you have to abandon your previous degree -- for GPA, for field, for lack of courses in the subject you want to pursue, because you can't get letters of recommendation, because you finished your last degree 20 years ago -- what's the optimal way to move forward? Do you get a second B.A.? Do you take non-degree courses from extension? Do you apply to bottom-tier programs for a Master's?

 

 

[Guest |||]

Find where you want to go for grad school and what they value most.  Sometimes that is grades, sometimes its not, so itll be up to you to find that out!

[ProfLorax]

Hi id quid. The situation you are in sucks! I really don't think you should have to shell out more time, and more importantly, more money because of one faculty member's disappearing act. It's just not fair. Have you contacted the chair of the department or the dean of the college where this professor works? They could help you track this person down or put pressure on her/him. 

 

As for Plan B, could you have one of your letter writers explain the F? 

[id quid]

I still have some attempts left for my individual situation -- going to drop in on Elusive Professor's class next Friday; can snail mail stuff to her to at least get her attention -- but it's running thin, and obviously time is running out. The department chair is no help, unfortunately. This all seems to boil down to "my department is in the top 5 so no one has time for this insignificant stuff," especially since I'm no one's star pupil.

 

I could have one of my letter writers explain the F, but it would be FAR less than ideal and likely still represent a waste of money in app fees for two reasons:

 

1) Neither professor taught the course in which I have that F

2) With that F -- in my major, in my junior year of courses -- my GPA tanks. It's something like 3.2 with the F, 3.6 without it. I'll more than likely get rejected on a first pass, before anyone even gets to the letters.

 

It's why I'm looking at other options. It'll take me until I'm 50 to get my degree if I have to work around this, but it's something I want to do, damn it! I'll go crazy if my entire working life is devoted to selling random crap to people who are being tricked into buying it (yay marketing).

 

--

 

For the bigger picture, I think it might be helpful to hear some stories about people who have had to get around their undergrad degree in some way. There are undoubtedly resources and "best practices" for handling this kind of thing, and I'm positive I'm not the only person having the kind of problem that forces you to, essentially, start over.

Edited October 31, 2013 by id quid

[heliogabalus]

One, even if you tank one class--it's an anomaly. Explain it to the adcomm or in your SOP, and you will probably still be fine. Also, if you're afraid of not getting into the top PhD programs, consider an MA from somewhere like WMU which has a great medieval program.

Next, and I think of this a lot when I read all the posts on here about problems with apps and GREs, do you really want to go to grad school?

Why? Sure, it can be great, but unless you're getting a PhD from one of the top programs--and even then it's iffy--you're doing so in the hope of getting a job (after 8 years of making welfare-level money) with a terrible salary at a school you have no real hope of turning down, which can be in a horrible place you would never move to if you had a choice. And there's a good chance it's an adjunct position, which pays less and has fewer benefits than if you were working there as an entry-level custodian. How much of all the people on here feeling the need to get a PhD are just succumbing to inertia and can't imagine a life not doing what they are doing now in undergrad.

[id quid]

I'm 4 years out of college, so it's not inertia driving me. I genuinely miss the academic setting, and contributions that feel -- to me -- far more meaningful than the marketing work I do for a video game company. Don't get me wrong, it's kind of neat to be part of pop culture, but it's so hollow sometimes.  

 

Even if I don't end up in academia, I will probably still end up in a menial wage job. "Meaning" holds a much greater place in my heart than comfortable living. I lean toward writing and art (I actually ended up in Marketing purely by accident; I started in Editorial at a publishing company), and heaven knows those concentrations aren't noted for their high salaries.

 

I only have two letter writers. If I can't track down this professor, I'm limited to programs that only require two letters. (This, kids, is the danger of specializing too early in school!) IIRC, York is the only school on my list for which that is true. I'll submit the app there if it comes down to it, but that's banking my future on a long shot! So it goes, and so it will continue to go if I want to stay in the field. I may as well get used to it now.

 

--

 

Maybe I'll go back to school for a second bachelor's in computer science, artificial intelligence, or cognitive linguistics. I did always want to work with robots...

[Seeking]

Well, I know a case where an A was made into a B+ - not erroneously, but because of politics. The person managed fine with good grades in other courses, publications, research etc, but of course there is a difference between a B+ and an F. But you can imagine the shock on seeing an A turned into a B+ - and being told it was a conscious decision. The student was ill for some time, but managed fine.

 

If it's only about an F that was erroneously recorded, you don't have to go the full 4 years length of a 2nd Bachelor's degree. If I were you, I would just take some non-degree credits - this will also give you a 3rd recommendation letter writer.

 

In your statement of purpose, you can always say that your F was erroneously recorded and can't be corrected now. If you do well in your non-degree credit courses, your statement will be quite credible.

 

Of course, this means that you apply in the next cycle, after completing your non-degree credits.

Edited November 1, 2013 by Seeking