applying from nontraditional school (no grades, no majors..)

[kdeck]

I recently graduated from the Evergreen State College with a BA in interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis on cultural studies, political economy, media studies, gender studies, and whatever else I feel like adding at the time.

Evergreen has no majors or departments. The only requirement to get a BA is to get 180 credits. The bulk of the curriculum is team-taught, interdisciplinary 16 credit programs (in place of classes). The only test I have taken since high school was when I studied Spanish at a language school in Argentina. And, perhaps most importantly, instead of grades, we get narrative evaluations. My transcript, then, is 30 pages long.

I am starting the application process for american studies/cultural studies programs, but I'm a little overwhelmed. I know that a lot of graduate programs LOVE Evergreen students; all of my friends that have applied to graduate school have gotten into their first choice program. However, their academic interests are very different from mine. However, it is very difficult to gauge where I fit in among other applicants.

I'm not really interested in what my chances are of getting accepted into particular programs, to be clear, I'm just really interested in hearing about the experiences anyone with a similar undergrad history had when applying to graduate programs. Thanks!

[RedPotato]

I started UG with a traditional major, and added a customizable diploma (36 quarter credits) in another related subject. The diploma is more than a minor, but less than a major, with two focuses. I was just planning on writing that I was passionate about the two topics, and that I believe that they fit together well, and i can apply what i learned in my primary major - so it all fits together - in my SoP. If you can speak about how all these different classes fit into your ultimate goal, it might make you more compelling than a traditional student.

[tarski]

This post on applyingtograd was about this topic, might be interesting for you.

http://community.livejournal.com/applyi ... 65302.html

[captiv8ed]

Hey! A fellow Greener.

I am at Evergreen, doing a fifth year, and will be applying for PhD programs in Sociology.

I don't have much to add, just commiseration.

I know exactly what you mean about having no idea what your chances are. And wading through schools and figuring out where to apply is hard too, because there are no departments or faculty advisers to talk to.

[savannahbee]

oh hello fellow greener!!! i feel your pain! i am, however, about to start grad school at my top choice school (applied to 2 and got into both) so i feel somewhat qualified to answer this.

i'm likely in a different situation than you because i knew all along i was going to go for a Masters in Social Work, which is a professional degree and not academic, so academics play a slightly backstage role, but here's what i did.

my senior year i went and met with one of the career counselors. we went throught my whole transcript and we made sure, credit-by-interdisciplinary-credit, that i met all the prerequisites for most MSW programs (we used UW as a guide, which is where i'm actually ending up). i saved that piece of paper for 3 years, because then when it was time to apply to schools, i could show that i had x number of credits for y prereq.

when it was time to apply, i called the schools i was applying to and asked what they would like me to do. they both said to fill out the forms as best as i could and in lieu of a GPA calculation, write a letter to include in my app that said i went to evergreen and to please see my transcript for an evaluation of my academic performance. UW gave me this answer right away because they are also a WA state school and thus are very familiar with evergreen. Portland State was a bit harder to figure out; the first person i talked to said, "ummm i know we've done this before, but i can't remember what you're supposed to do. email so and so" and then so and so took a couple days to figure it out and get back to me, but overall no harm no foul.

so in short, my advice would be to meet with a career counselor--mine was very helpful. it would probably be good if you knew where you wanted to apply, but i'm supposing they could probably help you out with that too. and then get in contact with someone in admissions at the schools you're applying to and ask them what they want you to do. if they aren't familiar with evergreen and how it works, have them contact the career center (find out from a career counselor if that's the proper place to direct them to, first). there is no reason that a nontraditional degree from a state school should hinder you from grad school. you just gotta get on the ball!

good luck!!!

[savannahbee]

oh hmm, i did not see that you had already graduated. as an alumni i believe you are still entitled to use the career center/career counselors, but it would complicate things if you no longer live in the area