Really unrealistic…

Really unrealistic…

I am committed to my education at this point, and I spend hours studying, reviewing, and doing school work. My reward is the high GPA I have in received for my work. Now that I have retaken half of my college requirements I have been asking myself the same question many undergrads asks, “What Next?” Should I get a Masters degree, PH.D, or just skip it and get a job? I have placed myself in a position where I have the grades to have choices to further my education, so I am going to get my Masters for sure, but I am on the fence about committing time to acquire a Ph.D.

All of these options are a very real consideration for a student like me.
There are other students who have higher GPA’s and better pedigree, but I know I am realistic about the possibility of being able to get into a graduate program. There is a very strong possibility I will be accepted to a handful of well respected colleges. I have worked hard for the opportunity to be ready for this, and now I am. However, I was rather shocked to actually talk to some other students who are clueless about the options they have going forward. I went to speak to one of my professors this week about my options, and to ask about different programs that were available to help get me into a more competitive program.

I went to talk to my professor during his office hours, so two other people were with me. We were going over grade requirements, research ideas, tests that we needed to take, and deadlines to achieve all this before applying to a grad school. The other two students also needed the same info, but I was under the impression they had better grades than what they admitted to. In class the teacher stated the requirements needed, and again repeated these requirements in office hours, and these two students just don’t have the grades to even be considered for a graduate program in psychology.

One student has a GPA lower than a 2.5, and the other student is having problems passing his classes. Some classes he has taken but not passed he is repeating currently. The student with a 2.5 also refuses to look for programs out of state, but even more specific she wants to stay in Southern California. The one who keeps failing his classes is looking into many different programs that he is not capable of being admitted to. I have no idea why either of them are looking into graduate school. The minimum requirements are gpa’s of 3.5 and higher, and extremely high scores on the GRE.

My GPA is a 3.5 and I know there are programs that will reject me for my GPA for sure. I am realistic about where I will be able to apply, and where I have better odds of getting in. If the two students apply to any of the schools I am applying to I easily blow them out of the water. Maybe they should apply to where I am applying to it increases my odds of getting into a better program.