Horrible GPA as a freshman- Ruined my chances?

[maggiemay22]

Not aiming for Ivy League by any means but hoping to get into a decent MS Statistics program.

 

 

My background:

Degree: BA Statistics (lots of relevant advanced stat and math coursework)

 

Freshman GPA: 2.9

(School was competitive and I partied way too hard, I know…yikes)

 

Other yrs GPA: 3.8

(Transferred to a Big 10 school and switched majors. Got my act together and graduated a semester early  while balancing going to school full-time and doing an internship my last two semesters)

 

 

GRE: 159V, 161Q (Didn't study, too low?)

 

Technical skills: SQL, SAS, R, Excel, and Access

 

Work Experience:

Actuarial intern for 9 months in college, currently working as a non exam track actuary

 

 

Any ideas of what schools to aim for, and if should I write some sort of statement about my growth or just let my qualifications for themselves?

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this, any input would be appreciated!

Edited January 4, 2014 by maggiemay22

[biostat1256]

You didn't ruin your chances.  I majored in mathematics at a school with a great reputation and got a 2.9x GPA both overall and within the major.  I got a master's in statistics from a newish program that wasn't that well-renowned, but was very good for me.  I did very well and was able to get into a very good PhD program.

 

I didn't get my act together until after undergrad and you got yours together after just 1 year.  You may not get into every program, but work hard and you should be fine.

[DerpTastic]

I think a lot of people have a bad freshman year. It definitely looks better to have a rough start with a strong finish than a strong start with a bad finish. It is something that can be addressed in an SOP, or if they have a section for comments. It might hurt you, but I don't think enough that you should lose sleep over it.

[maggiemay22]

I really appreciate the feedback guys. I'm still debating whether or not to address my poor freshman yr grades in the additional comments section because I've heard some conflicting things.

 

Some people told me never to draw attention to negatives and just let my improvement speak for itself but others have told me to explain what caused me to so horribly and how I've learned/ improved from it, so I can emphasize my growth.

 

Any thoughts?