Study abroad ... still any chance for grad school?

[light10491]

Hi everyone,

I graduated a year and a half ago from a top 4 liberal arts college where I double majored in Economics and Biology as a first-generation college student. I did Biology research 3 of my years there, which led to a biology peer-reviewed publication where I was first author, and my professor (head of lab) will write me a glowing recommendation anywhere.

Here is the problem. I wasn't the best student and had difficulties in my study abroad program in South Africa, especially because one of my friends in the program who I became friends with early on passed away in a freak accident, which was challenging for me to deal with, and also to be truthful I could have focused more on my studies/academics. Overall my GPA was a 3.23, but that doesn't include my 3 study abroad courses in which I passed 1 (C) and failed 2; all in economics and biology. I calculated my GPA today based on that, and it is hovering around 2.94 if I calculated correctly.

After college, I ended up in a small healthcare economic consulting firm (which is strongly research based) in the Boston area. I was promoted twice in the past year and a half. Also, for an economic model project with a medical device firm, I was given first authorship in a peer-reviewed manuscript since we are publishing the findings. Besides this publication, I was given first authorship in a statistical analysis methods abstract for a big healthcare conference, co-authorship in another abstract on drug effectiveness for a different conference, and will be co-authored on at least 3 new peer-reviewed manuscripts in the next year. My company's president and my manager offered and would be willing to write strong recommendations.

 

Q.) Do I have any hope in going to a decent graduate school? I'm not sure where I am necessarily applying, but thoughts were a Masters in Econ, Masters in Biostatistics, MPH, MBA, MPA. What types of schools should I be thinking about, or should I avoid grad school altogether. I didn't take many math courses in college (just Calculus II) so will Masters in Econ be especially hard to get into?

Q.) Do I have to show my study abroad transcript? Right now on my college transcript, you just see 1.75 credits for the passed course, and 0 credits for the 2 failed courses (meaning you could interpret those failed courses as just non-transferrable ...). I wish they would focus on the 3.23 ... What would happen if I don't send my study abroad transcript?

Q.) You guys are more familiar with the application schedule. If I began taking the GRE now and getting in recommendations, when would I have to submit to, and when would I be starting graduate school? I've been so scared to think about graduate school because I messed up my life with study abroad.

 

 

Sorry for the many questions, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Edited February 20, 2016 by light10491

[rising_star]

1) Sure, there's hope. It will depend on what you want to study and why. It's impossible for us to tell you which degree you should pursue without knowing what your interests are in going to graduate school in the first place.

2) Most schools require you to submit transcripts from every post-high school institution you've attended. Because of that, yes, you would likely have to submit your study abroad transcript. There may be schools that don't require this so you could ask and find out.

3) At this point, most deadlines for starting in fall 2016 have already passed. There may be programs where you could start in spring 2017, which would mean deadlines around mid-October of this year. But, the most likely option for full-time enrollment, especially if you want funding, would be to start in fall 2017. In that case, you should take the time to study for the GRE to ensure you do well on it. To start in fall 2017, I'd aim to take the GRE no later than August (in case you want/need to retake) and to start asking for recommendations around the same time.

4) I have no idea why your income would make you ineligible for graduate school or why you would think that it would. Given that you have a good job which you seem to like, would you consider doing a part-time master's program? Does your employer offer any financial assistance for attending graduate school?

[light10491]

rising_star thank you for your reply, I really appreciate it. I am just unsure how my circumstances will impact my graduate school admissions, or how admissions committees will view me.

Do you think my research experience and publications will allow me a decent fighting chance, despite my GPA/fail circumstance? I am considering an MPH, or MBA. I think a Masters of Econ is out of reach for me. Would directly apply for a PhD out of line?

I've been hesitating to apply because my new publications have yet to be published. Was waiting it out a few year, a smart move, such that by the time I apply my publications will have already been released and mentionable in my application?

 

 

[rising_star]

I still really have no clue what you want to do or why you want to go to graduate school, so it's unclear to me what degree you could or should apply for. You have to base the decision on the type of research you want to be doing. 

For more on the GPA question, see this thread: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/28621-the-sub-30-gpas-acceptance-thread/ . I'm pretty sure there's another, similar one but, I can't remember the title of it.