Confused Undergrad. No Masters = doomed for life? :(

[bonny]

Hi everyone, 

 

I graduated in 2014 June from UofT majoring in health studies and human geography (B.A.), and have a passion in changing lives and helping people. I figured I would love to work for the the NGOs or hospitals for jobs like program coordinator or health promotion related jobs. However even the entry level positions these days require a masters degree everywhere. Therefore I applied to grad school for Masters of Public health in my last undergrad year, unfortunately got denied to all of the schools I applied .

 

I learned about the 2nd entry nursing programs (bachelor) from uoft and yorkU and applied for 2015 fall entry because I wanted to work in healthcare settings anyways, it is always beneficial to have of some professional registration. Sadly since it only takes 2 years and people are more interested in nursing these days, the program is as competitive as masters program, and I already got denied by York U I guess I have a brief idea on uoft's application.

 

My last year's gpa is 3.04 and cgpa is only 2.58 (I had a hard time during the first two years). Since basically universities only look at your undergrad gpa for applications, that means I am hopeless for getting a masters in my life unless i do another 4-year degree?? Anyone know about any easy acceptance masters programs (Canada/US/UK..) that is kind of related in my field?

 

Now I am just applying to full time jobs while waiting for acceptance from nursing, and I am hardly getting any interviews. With my degree, and even college diploma in the future.. i fear i cannot get very far for my career I am doomed for life? can never afford a house? I need to change field? doing another 4-year undergrad is a lot of money and time too... what should I do?

 

Please help me out and give me some suggestions, no matter you know about a job opportunity, or a program, or even some suggestions in life. I would appreciate it a lot. 

 

[Sigaba]

Hi everyone, 

 

I graduated in 2014 June from UofT majoring in health studies and human geography (B.A.), and have a passion in changing lives and helping people. I figured I would love to work for the the NGOs or hospitals for jobs like program coordinator or health promotion related jobs. However even the entry level positions these days require a masters degree everywhere. Therefore I applied to grad school for Masters of Public health in my last undergrad year, unfortunately got denied to all of the schools I applied .

 

I learned about the 2nd entry nursing programs (bachelor) from uoft and yorkU and applied for 2015 fall entry because I wanted to work in healthcare settings anyways, it is always beneficial to have of some professional registration. Sadly since it only takes 2 years and people are more interested in nursing these days, the program is as competitive as masters program, and I already got denied by York U I guess I have a brief idea on uoft's application.

 

My last year's gpa is 3.04 and cgpa is only 2.58 (I had a hard time during the first two years). Since basically universities only look at your undergrad gpa for applications, that means I am hopeless for getting a masters in my life unless i do another 4-year degree?? Anyone know about any easy acceptance masters programs (Canada/US/UK..) that is kind of related in my field?

 

Now I am just applying to full time jobs while waiting for acceptance from nursing, and I am hardly getting any interviews. With my degree, and even college diploma in the future.. i fear i cannot get very far for my career I am doomed for life? can never afford a house? I need to change field? doing another 4-year undergrad is a lot of money and time too... what should I do?

 

Please help me out and give me some suggestions, no matter you know about a job opportunity, or a program, or even some suggestions in life. I would appreciate it a lot. 

 

Have you considered getting an AS in nursing, working for a few years, and then pursuing a MS in nursing?

[Guest]

One thing I've noticed about some people with low GPAs on this site this that they were able to compensate the low GPA with years worth of work or volunteer experience. Either that or taking 'post-baccalaureate?' courses/programs and doing well in those courses in order to make up for their GPA. I wouldn't do another bacelors if it isnt absolutely neccessary...perhaps the aforementioned post courses or other alternatives.

[Saila09]

Now I am just applying to full time jobs while waiting for acceptance from nursing, and I am hardly getting any interviews. With my degree, and even college diploma in the future.. i fear i cannot get very far for my career I am doomed for life? can never afford a house? I need to change field? doing another 4-year undergrad is a lot of money and time too... what should I do?

 

Please help me out and give me some suggestions, no matter you know about a job opportunity, or a program, or even some suggestions in life. I would appreciate it a lot. 

 

Woah, woah, woah. No, you are not doomed for life.

 

You don't have to jump into another career. Try to breathe and think this through. It's perfectly fine to work a few years before getting a master's or not getting a master's at all. Give yourself time to figure things out.

[RunnerGrad]

Have you considered getting an AS in nursing, working for a few years, and then pursuing a MS in nursing?

Canada is not the U.S. Associates degrees don't exist in Canada, the way they do in the U.S. Nursing is a bachelor's degree in Canada. Practical nursing is a college diploma, but you won't get into a master's in nursing with a college diploma in Canada. You need a bachelor's with at least a B+ standing (and it is usually higher) in your last two years of a bachelor's to get into a master's program in Canada. Or you need a B average with plenty of work experience.

Lots of people in Canada do a second undergraduate degree to make themselves competitive for health professions.

[SublimePZ]

I suppose it's a different process in Canada, but speaking as someone who had a sub-3.0 gpa in undergrad, the best way to distance yourself from your GPA is with other strong stats (e.g. GRE, work experience, etc.). I had a lot of internships and took a gap year to do research in order to bolster my profile and speaking to a few people on adcoms, they said that while my gpa was a risk, the rest of my application was quite strong.

 

The best advice I can give you is to try and get some work in the field of public health - work in someone's lab at a university if possible to get experience in the field and then re-apply to MPH programs or nursing programs (if that's your passion) in the future. Don't be afraid to take a few years to work.

 

I agree with Saila09 though, don't feel as if you're doomed, there is always another path to succeed in whatever field you want to. It just takes hard work, time, and a little bit a luck.

[brown_eyed_girl]

A lot of people don't find work work in their field right out of undergrad, so I don't think you should despair yet. Since you're not getting many interviews, I would also consider finding an internship or volunteer position in your field to augment your resume and give you some relevant experience as you continue applying. You should apply broadly to jobs in related fields - for example, since you're not qualified for coordinator jobs yet, consider applying for general admin and receptionist jobs in hospitals, nursing homes, etc. Starting somewhere will help you get your foot in the door.  

 

As to schools, in the US I believe a number of universities offer postbac nursing and/or med school preparation programs of varying lengths that may be worth looking into instead of doing a full second bachelors, if you decide to go that route. Before you apply anywhere, though, I would suggest finding some courses in your field that you could take to raise your overall GPA. A lot of schools require at least a 3.0 overall for admission consideration. You may also find some useful info in the sub-3.0 GPA acceptance thread:

 

 

Good luck! 

[Sigaba]

Canada is not the U.S. Associates degrees don't exist in Canada, the way they do in the U.S. Nursing is a bachelor's degree in Canada. Practical nursing is a college diploma, but you won't get into a master's in nursing with a college diploma in Canada. You need a bachelor's with at least a B+ standing (and it is usually higher) in your last two years of a bachelor's to get into a master's program in Canada. Or you need a B average with plenty of work experience.

Lots of people in Canada do a second undergraduate degree to make themselves competitive for health professions.

 

Thanks for the clarification.  I'm provincial. I see U of T and I think Tennessee.

[fuzzylogician]

In general, one way to make up for a low GPA is with work experience. The farther removed you are from undergrad, the less relevant your grades are. Instead, programs start to look at what you've been doing since you graduated and your grades are looked at in that perspective. More specifically, in your case, I would suggest going about this in the opposite direction that you have been so far: find some programs that you might be interested in, read up on their admissions requirements, and see how you can go about meeting them. In addition (or, alternatively), seek out people who hold the kind of job that you would like to have in the future, and find out what path they took to get to where they are. It's possible that you'll have to do a second Bachelor's degree, but I think there have to be other options too, like volunteer experience, post-graduate courses, or work experience. 

 

Either way, though, you are definitely not doomed for life. There are many opportunities for you out there! 

[Sword_Saint]

Hi everyone, 

 

I graduated in 2014 June from UofT majoring in health studies and human geography (B.A.), and have a passion in changing lives and helping people. I figured I would love to work for the the NGOs or hospitals for jobs like program coordinator or health promotion related jobs. However even the entry level positions these days require a masters degree everywhere. Therefore I applied to grad school for Masters of Public health in my last undergrad year, unfortunately got denied to all of the schools I applied .

 

I learned about the 2nd entry nursing programs (bachelor) from uoft and yorkU and applied for 2015 fall entry because I wanted to work in healthcare settings anyways, it is always beneficial to have of some professional registration. Sadly since it only takes 2 years and people are more interested in nursing these days, the program is as competitive as masters program, and I already got denied by York U I guess I have a brief idea on uoft's application.

 

My last year's gpa is 3.04 and cgpa is only 2.58 (I had a hard time during the first two years). Since basically universities only look at your undergrad gpa for applications, that means I am hopeless for getting a masters in my life unless i do another 4-year degree?? Anyone know about any easy acceptance masters programs (Canada/US/UK..) that is kind of related in my field?

 

Now I am just applying to full time jobs while waiting for acceptance from nursing, and I am hardly getting any interviews. With my degree, and even college diploma in the future.. i fear i cannot get very far for my career I am doomed for life? can never afford a house? I need to change field? doing another 4-year undergrad is a lot of money and time too... what should I do?

 

Please help me out and give me some suggestions, no matter you know about a job opportunity, or a program, or even some suggestions in life. I would appreciate it a lot. 

 

I don't think I saw this anywhere in the other responses:

 

Some institutions (in my discipline) will only look at the last 2 years of your undergraduate degree, like the last 60 credit hours. Specifically, Simon Fraser in British Columbia Canada calculated my last 60 credit hours when determining my acceptance and financial aid.

 

I have a family member who finished their B.S. in biology with a 2.8'ish GPA but was able to take another three semesters of school, get a B.S. in geology / oceanography and raise their overall GPA to the 3.0 area. You definitely are not hopeless or a lost cause! If I were you I would just focus my statement letters on some of the difficulties or whatnot that resulted in a low GPA, then work to ensure my GRE was good.

 

Considering a couple years of work experience / volunteer / research isn't bad either, an then just re-applying. 

 

You got this!

 

Edit: I mentioned this in another thread; there are a lot of technical or trade workers that make considerably more money than individuals with bachelor's or master's degrees. Not that money = happiness or success, but you shouldn't hinge your life prospects on a master's either.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Sword_Saint

[Jay's Brain]

Hello fellow UofT 2014 Alum!

I'm sorry for your current predicament. I know a lot of people in our cohort who also seems to have had such existential crises arise. First of all, don't think that this is it and everything you've worked through for the past 4 years at UofT was wasted on your GPA (sometimes it feels like that, but it's really not). 

 

I very strongly agree with all the suggestions so far. Rather than apply for a graduate program in my 4th year, I made the decision to take one year off. It was a hard decision to make, due to financial reasons and such, but I think this has paid off greatly as I'll be entering a Master's program this coming September in a field that I very much envision my career to be found. I really think it's worthwhile to contemplate the numerous options that are available, and the first one that is a bit more obvious is getting those experiences that will make your application standout regardless of your GPA performance. The program I'm going into is highly competitive (as most are), but I really believe that my experience really supplemented my GPA. Don't feel obligated to rush into a field just yet. I know a lot of people who had to apply more than once, but they still find a way to make it work for them. It does take a bit more time, but never give up on the end goal.

 

Since you're very interested in working in a health-related field, take a look at the opportunities that are available for volunteering and working. Even if the jobs you find at the beginning are not necessarily within the domains of your overall goal, just remember that the transferable skills you accumulate will be very important when you do look for jobs that are much more related. In your future applications, you can use those skills to help the graduate committees identify your willingness to work hard and commit to a field such as nursing or in the allied health professions. Take additional courses at Seneca, Ryerson, etc where you can get the knowledge and the practical experience that will help you academically and professionally.

Don't give up! It's not going to be easy, but if you are really interested in what you are doing you WILL find a way through. Feel free to PM me for any other advice/support!

 

[motrax]

Nah, you can still do internships/volunteer in the field of your choice or work in something related and use it as a way to hop toward getting some experiences that would look nice.

 

Anyway, hate to scare you but I personally know homeless/broke PhDs, so the MS/PhD alone isn't going to save your hide from this apocalyptic economy. Do it because that stuff is interesting and ultimately those letters after your name complete you for some odd reason.

[nugget]

With a bachelor's degree in health sciences, you could try to get a job as a pharmaceutical sales rep (giving samples to doctors and trying to sell the company's products) if you could see yourself doing this kind of work. I knew someone who also did this kind of work for a (disposable) contact lens company and he was quite successful. The best ones can earn a six figure salary annually. I'd also recommend volunteering in a research lab if you still want to try to get into grad school one day.

 

If you want to go ahead with the nursing plan, try to work as a personal support worker for a while (preferably in a hospital or long term care facility for seniors) to give you a taste of the field before pursuing it further. It will also look good on your applications to have this kind of experience. You will probably need to take a course first to work in a hospital. But working for a temp agency, privately or (I think) a long term care facility should not require a certificate of several months. A short one of perhaps 2 weeks should suffice. Temp agencies pay low but the good thing is that they will give you training at no charge and they sometimes hire people without experience.

[tingdeh]

Hello fellow UofT 2014 Alum!

Hello, UofT 2014ers! Glad to see we are plenty here. And judging from OP's program combo, probably Scarborough campus, too.

I wholeheartedly agree with what's been said--take the year off, work and have time to unwind/deinstitutionalize, and just breathe and focus.

[Nanolol]

Goodness, not at all! On the flipside, having a Master's may be more limiting than not having one because many positions may not want to hire you simply because you would appear overqualified. Quite a Catch-22.

 

Besides YorkU and UofT, have you considered nursing programs out of province? My lab partner from UofT has just completed a 2-year BScN at the University of Alberta.

 

Additionally, there are nursing programs available at colleges that are shorter - the one that comes to my mind is the 2 year BScN from George Brown college.

 

Have heart - contact the Career Centre at UofT to explore careers and other options The staff there are very experienced, trained and extremely helpful.