Change in Interests

[brainman]

Hi folks,

 

I would like to request some advice from those of you who are more familiar with the grad school admissions process than I am...

 

I am a junior neuroscience major at a small liberal arts college and currently have a 3.8 GPA. Since the start of my college career I've been pursuing the ever-so-popular pre-med route, but I have found that my interests have changed substantially. Over the past few years, I have become more and more involved with my admissions office as a student ambassador and now find myself happiest in the college admissions setting. I've decided that this is the career I would like to pursue.

 

That being said, I have a few concerns. First, for a career in college admissions, is it preferable to get a job after graduation and then going to get a higher degree later? Or is it better to go to grad school directly out of college?

 

Second, I am assuming that my masters would have to be in higher education administration (or something related). I am concerned about this since my bachelors degree will be in neuroscience, a field completely unrelated to anything having to do with education administration. Will this essentially make me unqualified to apply to higher ed programs???

 

Any advice would be appreciated. I'm rather stressed out with the major career path change, but after thinking it over extensively, I think this is the right decision for me.

 

Thank you! It is very much appreciated.

T

[iphi]

No, it's not a crazy switch - education takes people from all disciplines! Just explain to the AdCom (in your Statement of Purpose) as you did to us what precipitated the change in your path so they don't think this is your backup plan or something.

 

Congrats on figuring out what you want to do, and good luck!

[lzs]

I'm in a similar situation, and from what I've read, higher ed admin programs care a lot about your relevant work experience, and it's not uncommon for recent graduates to get jobs in admissions. In fact, a number of student affairs professionals have recommended admissions to me as a good pre-grad school job.

[hesadork]

My strong advice would be to seek full-time employment in higher ed (in your case, in admissions) prior to graduate school.  It will give you time to decompress from undergrad, obtain practical experience and get a better sense of what you want your career to look like.  It will also make your grad school experience much richer, since master's degrees in HE/SA take a very practical, applied approach.

 

You may also find that admissions isn't a good fit or that your future isn't in higher ed.  Far better to figure that out BEFORE investing in a graduate program.

 

Your undergrad major is irrelevant.

[JBums1028]

I'll second what everyone else is saying. I think what might be tripping you up is that most higher education programs don't have requirements for certain prerequisite courses to be taken during undergrad the same way medical schools do. So a student from any major can apply, and actually a lot of programs like to have students from very diverse backgrounds (including undergraduate major).

 

So I'm making a big assumption here, but I'm assuming you're a college senior right now? My personal advice is keep your options open going forward. My big mistake during my senior year was limiting my self to "I'm either applying for graduate school OR I'm looking for a job..." Why not do both? Applying to grad school now doesn't mean you HAVE to start Fall 2014. If you happen to be admitted, you could explore the possibility of deferring for a year to gain some work experience (I'm pretty sure most schools allow this). Even as a prospective applicant now I will probably consider applying for some jobs this spring...