Afraid I won't be able to get in

[Jersey_Steve]

I want to go to grad school, but I'm afraid that I won't be able to get in anywhere. I've been reading a lot of stuff, and it sounds like it's only possible to get in if you've planned for it your entire undergrad career.

I only know two of my professors, when I need at least 3 letters of recommendation. I need like a 3.5 GPA, while my overall was only a 2.9 (though my major GPA is a 3.2 and my Psych GPA is a 3.5). I have to take some test that I should have already taken. On and on and on the requirements pile up.

I'm really flipping out here. Is it still even possible to go to grad school even though I've graduated 18 months ago? Is it my fault that I didn't know I wanted to go to grad school until a couple of months ago?

[CTGirl]

What have you been doing since graduation? I know some of the people in my grad program took a year off from school in between undergrad and grad to work, and see if they wanted to be in this field, and the university took that into account with their application.

[wordsmith]

People go to graduate school at a pretty wide range of stages of life.

[CityGal]

OMG. That is so me. Although I knew I always wanted to go to grad school, I never truly prepared for it in undergrad because I didn't know how. My overall was also a 2.9 and my major was a 3.2 as well....so freaky. I knew that I had to compensate for my poor gpa by doing some work in the field so that's what I did. I attended a field school to get some 'experience'. There are several ways to get into grad school. Have you tried taking a grad course? If you take a course in your intended field and do well (has to be a B or better) they def. take that into consideration. Don't fret. I applied last year and didn't get into anywhere but I also did apply to very competitive schools. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, and try again. If you are interested in psych see what kind of research projects you may be able to get on. Also, the person in charge of these projects can vouch for you and give you a rec. You'll be fine. If you need some help, I could totally be of assistance. My second time around and I think I am a bit better equipped then the first time.

[Jersey_Steve]

I've mostly just been working since I graduated. I'm not doing work in the field I went to college for though, since I just kinda took the first job I found. I can try taking some graduate level courses though, shouldn't be too bad even with a full-time job.

I have some appointments with the two professors I still know coming up in the near future, so perhaps I'll be able to do some work with them or someone else they know who could use a hand.

I tried emailing one professor was doing some work similiar to what I went to school for, but he hasn't replied. What's the procedure with that? Try emailing him again or wait another week or so because he could be busy?

[CTGirl]

What is it that you are looking to get an advanced degree in? The field can make a big difference in the way things are handled and viewed.

[Jersey_Steve]

What is it that you are looking to get an advanced degree in? The field can make a big difference in the way things are handled and viewed.

I want to do research psychology. Specifically in the areas of computing and cognition. They do have advanced degrees for something along these lines, but those focus on the computing aspect more than the psychology aspect. I should know, that's what my undergrad studies were. Ended up being a lot of business and project related stuff though while I wanted to do more research and experiment stuff.

[CTGirl]

I want to do research psychology. Specifically in the areas of computing and cognition. They do have advanced degrees for something along these lines, but those focus on the computing aspect more than the psychology aspect. I should know, that's what my undergrad studies were. Ended up being a lot of business and project related stuff though while I wanted to do more research and experiment stuff.

lol, we should have traded undergrads - I wanted to go into I/O psych (which I did) but I went to a research/cognition-based undergrad.

So I'm assuming you're gonna go for a PhD then?

[Jersey_Steve]

lol, we should have traded undergrads - I wanted to go into I/O psych (which I did) but I went to a research/cognition-based undergrad.

So I'm assuming you're gonna go for a PhD then?

Haha, we should have. I did HCI, or Human Factors, or I/O psych, or whatever the "trendy" term for it is now. Mostly because I already had 2 years of computer done at a technical school. So my psych grades are "A"s and my CS courses are, to be generous, "C+"s.

I figure the only way to do some real research is to get the PhD. So it's Doctor-or-bust if I ever get in.

[CTGirl]

Haha, we should have. I did HCI, or Human Factors, or I/O psych, or whatever the "trendy" term for it is now. Mostly because I already had 2 years of computer done at a technical school. So my psych grades are "A"s and my CS courses are, to be generous, "C+"s.

I figure the only way to do some real research is to get the PhD. So it's Doctor-or-bust if I ever get in.

Well Human Factors and I/O are very different actually.

I wish you the best of luck with the PhD though, you've got a crapload of work ahead of you there. If you live near a major university, you may wanna try getting into some research work there (where I live, for instance, people get jobs doing research at Yale, even if they dont go to school there). Otherwise, I'd try taking some courses elsewhere to bump up those grades.

[Jersey_Steve]

Well Human Factors and I/O are very different actually.

I wish you the best of luck with the PhD though, you've got a crapload of work ahead of you there. If you live near a major university, you may wanna try getting into some research work there (where I live, for instance, people get jobs doing research at Yale, even if they dont go to school there). Otherwise, I'd try taking some courses elsewhere to bump up those grades.

Really? I just always lumped them together as being similar. Perhaps not the same, but all in the same vein.

I live in Northern New Jersey... plenty of colleges around here. Rutgers is the big one, but I'm sure I can get something at the one college that is 5 minutes from my house.

Yea, I know it's going to be a lot of work... but that excites me. Because I know I'm going to be learning something new every day and coming up with ideas and testing them and all this stuff that'll interest me. Sure the writeups will be a pain, but I like writing, so I think I'll manage.

I guess the first step is taking to my old professors?