My chances of getting into Grad School

[warwick]

Hello everyone,

I need some advice/inspiration from you all. I am a longtime lurker as I have been preparing over the year to apply to Grad School, and I have finally decided to post. I need to know what my chances are of getting into Grad school. I know the answer to this is usually "it depends" based on a lot of variables, but I would like to ask you all and see what you say. This website has given me TONS of information that I find imperative to my journey in going to Grad School.

I want to apply to a Masters in Criminal Justice, possibly a PhD in Criminal Justice/Criminology. I don't want or expect to get into a top 5 program, I would go anywhere as long as there is funding and the program suits my interests.

 

Basically my resume looks like this:

Bachelors of Science degree in Criminal Justice from a mid-table SUNY school

GPA: 3.45 Overall, 3.47 Major

GRE: I have been studying for 2 months, plan to take it in 2 more months on June 15th. The Magoosh practice exam I took 2 weeks ago was a Q148 and a V149. 

Research Experience: I have none right now. I plan on getting a job or volunteering as a RA for a year before applying.

Relevant Work Experience: I have been a Security Guard for 5 years. I have been a supervisor at a 1,000+ kid baseball summer camp. I was the supervisor of overnight shifts for 3 years. I currently work as a Security Supervisor for my county offices building and Department of Social Services. Monitor CCTV, security checkpoint and "wanding" people who enter. The basic airport TSA security stuff. I also have had various jobs before this. Basically, I have worked my whole life since I was 16, during summers when I was not in school and sometimes during college. 

Letters of Recommendation: I have VERY strong references. One is a Professor at the school I graduated from. I have helped him setup Sociology conferences/panels at the school when I was President of the Sociology club. I have gone out to dinner with him, met many other professors through, him including another Sociologist from Penn State. Another reference is a former NYPD Police Officer and Detective with +25 years of experience on the force. I have known him through both of my security jobs. I can get other references either work related or university, however these two seem to be the strongest out of them all.

Statement of Purpose: I am an excellent paper writer. That was my biggest strength in college. I have no doubt I can write a stellar SOP with time, tinkering, and patience. 

Extra Curricular: I was president of the Sociology club for 2 years at my University. I organized and participated in volunteer work for the local community, animal shelters, historical sites, raised money to donate to charity, organized student movie nights, organized and spoke at inter-disciplinary conferences with college professors from different departments at my University, as well as organized various other events. I also play in a band, and took bass lessons in college for 3 years. 

 

I feel that my GRE and GPA are my biggest weaknesses. I have never been a good test taker, which is why I am studying my butt off for the GRE. I've been putting in 2+ hours for 5/6 days a week, even studying at work. When I take the test June 15th, I will have been studying for 4 months. I am guessing I can get above a 300 combined, but I know I still have a lot of work to get there. My GPA was low because I got low grades in some of my extra-curricular classes, and a few Major-related classes my Sophomore year. 

I really want to go on to Grad School. I think becoming a professor is an appealing idea to me because I want to help inspire students just like those have done to me. Conducting research is very interesting, and I love to learn about new topics in my field. I would also be happy with my Masters. Every professor who I've talked to has said that I should continue my education regardless. They see that I am a smart person because of my ability to have a conversation with them, and I can pretty much hold my own when talking to them about Criminal Justice/ Sociology topics. I am hardworking and dedicated to get this. I have spend countless hours helping that professor from my letter of recommendation create posters for the conferences, raise money for the guests, book venues, and various other projects. I have worked my way up in my job and have gained the respect of my co-workers. My hard work and passion is why my letters of recommendations are strong.  

I hope the graduate school admissions sees this and acknowledges my hard work and determination. Do you think I have a shot? Thank you for your advice and support. Have a good night.

[sjoh197]

11 hours ago, warwick said:

Hello everyone,

I need some advice/inspiration from you all. I am a longtime lurker as I have been preparing over the year to apply to Grad School, and I have finally decided to post. I need to know what my chances are of getting into Grad school. I know the answer to this is usually "it depends" based on a lot of variables, but I would like to ask you all and see what you say. This website has given me TONS of information that I find imperative to my journey in going to Grad School.

I want to apply to a Masters in Criminal Justice, possibly a PhD in Criminal Justice/Criminology. I don't want or expect to get into a top 5 program, I would go anywhere as long as there is funding and the program suits my interests.

 

Basically my resume looks like this:

Bachelors of Science degree in Criminal Justice from a mid-table SUNY school

GPA: 3.45 Overall, 3.47 Major

GRE: I have been studying for 2 months, plan to take it in 2 more months on June 15th. The Magoosh practice exam I took 2 weeks ago was a Q148 and a V149. 

Research Experience: I have none right now. I plan on getting a job or volunteering as a RA for a year before applying.

Relevant Work Experience: I have been a Security Guard for 5 years. I have been a supervisor at a 1,000+ kid baseball summer camp. I was the supervisor of overnight shifts for 3 years. I currently work as a Security Supervisor for my county offices building and Department of Social Services. Monitor CCTV, security checkpoint and "wanding" people who enter. The basic airport TSA security stuff. I also have had various jobs before this. Basically, I have worked my whole life since I was 16, during summers when I was not in school and sometimes during college. 

Letters of Recommendation: I have VERY strong references. One is a Professor at the school I graduated from. I have helped him setup Sociology conferences/panels at the school when I was President of the Sociology club. I have gone out to dinner with him, met many other professors through, him including another Sociologist from Penn State. Another reference is a former NYPD Police Officer and Detective with +25 years of experience on the force. I have known him through both of my security jobs. I can get other references either work related or university, however these two seem to be the strongest out of them all.

Statement of Purpose: I am an excellent paper writer. That was my biggest strength in college. I have no doubt I can write a stellar SOP with time, tinkering, and patience. 

Extra Curricular: I was president of the Sociology club for 2 years at my University. I organized and participated in volunteer work for the local community, animal shelters, historical sites, raised money to donate to charity, organized student movie nights, organized and spoke at inter-disciplinary conferences with college professors from different departments at my University, as well as organized various other events. I also play in a band, and took bass lessons in college for 3 years. 

 

I feel that my GRE and GPA are my biggest weaknesses. I have never been a good test taker, which is why I am studying my butt off for the GRE. I've been putting in 2+ hours for 5/6 days a week, even studying at work. When I take the test June 15th, I will have been studying for 4 months. I am guessing I can get above a 300 combined, but I know I still have a lot of work to get there. My GPA was low because I got low grades in some of my extra-curricular classes, and a few Major-related classes my Sophomore year. 

I really want to go on to Grad School. I think becoming a professor is an appealing idea to me because I want to help inspire students just like those have done to me. Conducting research is very interesting, and I love to learn about new topics in my field. I would also be happy with my Masters. Every professor who I've talked to has said that I should continue my education regardless. They see that I am a smart person because of my ability to have a conversation with them, and I can pretty much hold my own when talking to them about Criminal Justice/ Sociology topics. I am hardworking and dedicated to get this. I have spend countless hours helping that professor from my letter of recommendation create posters for the conferences, raise money for the guests, book venues, and various other projects. I have worked my way up in my job and have gained the respect of my co-workers. My hard work and passion is why my letters of recommendations are strong.  

I hope the graduate school admissions sees this and acknowledges my hard work and determination. Do you think I have a shot? Thank you for your advice and support. Have a good night.

Are you applying for the fall 2017 semester?

If so, I would start researching the departments you want to apply to now and start reaching out to faculty by late summer. Also, I would start writing your SOP now, put it away, and pull it out the more research you do. The longer you work on it, the better it will be. 

Having a GRE score below 300 isn't particularly good, so I would really really try to get above that 300 mark. Your GPA and (hopefully above 300) GRE score won't have as negative of an impact as you think, so long as your SOP and LOR's are really strong. 

 

[Neist]

I wouldn't necessarily call your GPA bad, but as @sjoh197 has noted, I'd focus on improving your GRE. It's definitely not the only metric admissions committees consider, but you want at least high enough of a score that they don't immediately exclude you from their consideration.

I know nothing of criminology or criminal justice, but given your experience, I think you have a solid shot of getting in, especially if you can improve you GRE.  

[warwick]

You guys rock, thanks for the help! Yes, I am applying for Fall 2017. I plan on doing research into programs and advisors this summer. I've started looking around, but my main focus right now is getting above that 300 GRE mark. I will research more in-depth when I am done with my GRE. I will re-take it if my scores aren't the best but I am confident I can bump my practice score up 3 points before then.

 

Is my lack of research experience/publications a bad thing? I do want to RA for a year if possible to get that on my resume. At my university, the research positions for my program were few and far between. I figured I can do research/publications/TA during my Masters program in route to a PhD. 

[Neist]

11 minutes ago, warwick said:

Is my lack of research experience/publications a bad thing? I do want to RA for a year if possible to get that on my resume. At my university, the research positions for my program were few and far between. I figured I can do research/publications/TA during my Masters program in route to a PhD. 

Glad to help!

Also, I have no clue as far as research experience is concerned. This is probably discipline specific. It's also probably school specific. I'd presume that it's not overtly damning, especially given your relevant work experience, but it's difficult to say. As far as publications go, I can only speak from within the humanities, but it's very, very uncommon to for a humanities undergraduate to be published. On the far other end, it's not overly uncommon for STEM people to be published, because published papers in STEM fields can have quite a few authors. Again, I'm just presuming, but I don't think a lack of publications would be overly damning.

You might try posting in the Criminal Justice sub-forum here, but it doesn't look like it's overly active.  

[warwick]

Just an update: I took another Magoosh practice exam today and I got a Q155 and a V150! I am very happy to see my progress, and it looks like my method of studying is paying off. I am very happy with this, and I will continue to study diligently until I continuously score even higher on the practice exams. If I can score above a 155+ for both sections consistently, I will be very confident going into the exam! 

[Neist]

8 minutes ago, warwick said:

Just an update: I took another Magoosh practice exam today and I got a Q155 and a V150! I am very happy to see my progress, and it looks like my method of studying is paying off. I am very happy with this, and I will continue to study diligently until I continuously score even higher on the practice exams. If I can score above a 155+ for both sections consistently, I will be very confident going into the exam! 

Congrats! It's always nice to see results.  

I studied Magoosh exclusively, and I found their estimations to be relatively accurate (within their range).

[warwick]

BUMP:

So, I took the GRE today and I got a V:154 and a Q:152 awaiting my essay score. Should I study more and try to get a higher score? (I hate tests, more of an essay person) Are my chances good for getting into a graduate program, or possibly a Ph.D program in Criminology?

I know a lot of variables are impacting this (SOP, Letters of recommendation, budgets) but I am curious to hear anyone's thoughts. Thank you!

[sjoh197]

From some decent programs (to my understanding)

Michigan state

If you are applying to the Criminal Justice masters program and your overall undergraduate GPA is 3.2 or higher (or you have already completed a graduate degree), you do not need to submit GRE scores.

Florida State

• Most Students accepted into our program have GRE scores between 148 and 160 on both the verbal and quantitative tests. Please note that the GRE score is one element of your application and the program considers the entire file in making a determination of admission.

Rutgers

Average GRE score breakdown

150 verbal 149 quantitative 3.8 analytical writing

A lot of other programs don't even seem to state a minimum. I think that since you have passed the 300 minimum that is common place in grad admissions... you should weigh whether you continued effort will actually be rewarded with a much higher score, or if you will just inch up a point or so. If it is the latter, you would likely be better off spending that time and energy beefing up the rest of application. 

[waterrockz]

I'm actually attending WSU in the fall to get my MA in Criminal Justice & Criminology. There are "minimum requirements" that you have to meet when you apply to program. Mine had a minimum GPA of 3.5 and satisfactory scores on the GRE (I believe once you went into the application there was a 160 minimum but I can't remember). I had 140's for the verbal and quantitative sections. I took the GRE twice and only improved to 150Q and 155V. 

The way it was explained to me was that they (admissions panel) consider you as a whole and weighting different aspects more heavily than others. My GPA (3.7) and letters of recommendation outweighed my low GRE scores and lack of experience in the CrmJ field. But as MA students, I'm not quite sure how much experience you "should have" when applying.

PhD students, however, must have higher GRE scores. My program director told me that they give MA students more leeway in GRE scores. PhD students are expected to have relatively high scores. Basically, if I want to get my PhD (which is a strong possibility) I will have to retake the GRE.