Worried about my chances

[Pantherpunk87]

I am applying to graduate school for an MA in religious studies. I am worried about my chances. I had a 3.8 GPA undergrad but then screwed myself and got a D in a class. It tanked my GPA to 3.13. I was devastated but it was my fault. I was immature. I address this in my SOP and take the blame. That was in 2011. Fast forward almost three years later and I feel that I have grown up and am ready to go back to school.  I have three LOR from my professors where I graduated. They knew me as a great student. I got a 4 on the AW portion of the GRE. Not as good as it could have been while I was writing during my undergrad but not to shabby either IMO.

 

Am I doomed?

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

 

Am I doomed?

Depends.

Pascal's wager is a sucker's bet. 

Oh. rereading... Doomed not "Damned"

Hard to say - great writing sample? other parts of the application strong? what did you do in your years off? how many places did you apply? 

No magic eight ball here.

[jamc8383]

If it is comforting in any way, I came into my MA with a 2.98 undergrad GPA (caveat: I was five years out from undergrad and had recently taken three courses through the university's extension program to prove my proficiency).  I had two colleagues that came in with even lower undergrad GPAs (they did not specify how much lower), who have since gone on to phD programs at top-25 institutions, UWisc and UChicago.  Keep the dream alive.

 

Edit: My GPA was sabotaged by a "D" in Online Health. Embarrassing. 

Edited January 15, 2014 by jamc8383

[Pantherpunk87]

Doubleshot,

 

I have applied to a dozen teaching positions that didn't require me to have a license over the past couple of years with no luck. I even applied to be an ISS teacher and couldn't get hired for that. I've just been reading articles and books to keep up to date in the topics I'm interested in. I've been working some really crappy jobs but they pay well and have been saving for grad school tuition. Trying not to go into crushing debt. I applied to UChicago, Vanderbilt, Georgia State and UNC Charlotte. 

[sacklunch]

Largely depends on what programs. UChicago (AM, I assume) is the hardest one you applied for, though still not insane (compared to many MA's with much smaller departments). I believe there is still time to apply to more, if you feel the need. As far as not going into debt, I don't think Chicago is known for giving a lot of full rides (esp. for the AM), and Vandy as well (for the MTS; though you might have applied to something like the MA in Jewish Studies?). Just for kicks you could always apply to some of the longer M* programs at Oxford or Cambridge (e.g. MPhil), or even something cheaper (but still great: e.g. Leuven). The Fed. will fund these programs just like any other American school and in many instances it is still quite a bit cheaper even with living costs (I think Leuven is something like 800 US a year for tuition). The European schools generally have much later application dates, so that is always an option (even as late as early summer, I think). Depending on your field, other options are also available (e.g. Hebrew U).

[cadences]

Doubleshot,

 

I have applied to a dozen teaching positions that didn't require me to have a license over the past couple of years with no luck. I even applied to be an ISS teacher and couldn't get hired for that. I've just been reading articles and books to keep up to date in the topics I'm interested in. I've been working some really crappy jobs but they pay well and have been saving for grad school tuition. Trying not to go into crushing debt. I applied to UChicago, Vanderbilt, Georgia State and UNC Charlotte. 

 

Hi Pantherpunk87,

 

His/Her nick's BowTiesAreCool, just fyi. "Doubleshot" refers to his/her 'rank' on the Gradcafe forums based on the number of posts s/he's put up. Newcomers often make this mistake, so I figured that I should tell you off the bat. Welcome to the forum, btw, and good luck for your apps!

[MBIGrad]

Answer to first question: "No."