I heard from a student yesterday who did not use our services when applying to graduate schools. This student's GPA was just below a 3.0 and the GRE test scores were not where they needed to be. My message today is about planning for your future by being prepared. It costs money to apply to college, whether you're applying for undergraduate, graduate or postgraduate studies--why bother unless you've put in the time, energy and effort ahead of time? You MUST be FULLY prepared for your applications or you will find yourself in a similar situation to the student I referred to earlier.

Had that student sought my advice PRIOR to applying to graduate programs, I would have discussed the importance of the GPA; for most graduate programs, the expectation is high for the undergraduate GPA--often a MINIMUM of 3.0 but minimum qualifications don't cut it in today's hyper-competitive world. But what happens when your GPA isn't where it needs to be but you find you need to go further with your education to meet your professional goals?

There ARE options--the first of which is to retake ANY classes where you received less than a B. Hopefully, that isn't much more than four or so classes--if it is, it may be cost prohibitive for you to retake say. an entire years worth of courses. SO, an alternative is to begin part-time graduate study at a program like BU's MET school; it offers graduate degrees in things like Computer Science, Actuary Studies, and a plethora of other fields that will be WELL worth the time investment. St. John Fisher in Rochester has an 18-month part-time graduate program in Education Science, where at the end of it, you're fully qualified to teach in your choice of subject areas including English, Social Studies, Math, Science, and Technology. Major cities like Boston, New York, and LA even have law schools where you can apply for part-time study. Once you've proven yourself academically, despite your GRE, GMAT, or LSAT scores, you can often apply to transfer full time either at your current school or maybe someplace even better. Berkeley, for example, allows transfers based on grades alone for their law school.

My other advice is about taking the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, or MCAT multiple times if necessary--don't feel you can get away with scores that aren't up to par for graduate studies--you're no longer in an undergraduate environment, where students are practically congratulated for simply being there. Graduate study is rigorous--and the tests are meant to "weed out" those students that simply shouldn't be there. That isn't a terribly fair system given that some people are better at test taking than others--however, your test score MATTERS so put in the extra time to study, take as many practice tests as possible--and begin the whole process leading up to the test AT LEAST ONE YEAR prior to the test itself.

You also NEED to show INTEREST in the area of study to which you are applying for. This means finding internship opportunities where yes, you basically work for free--but guess what? You need to PROVE yourself--unless you have a parent or family member in a particular business where you can more easily get your foot in the door, colleges like to see that you're COMMITTED to the area of study you're applying for.

In today's economic climate, graduate degrees are a MUST. Even if you have aparent who's employed without one, that WILL NOT be the case for you if you're under 25. SO, when considering graduate school make sure your energy and efforts in applying don't go to waste. Get the GRE score you need; if you don't get it the first time, try, try again...until you do. If your UGPA is lower than it should be, retake those courses you did poorly in. If that's not an option, consider alternatives to full time study, like an online degree, or part-time study with an eye toward full time matriculation. And be sure you address your level of voluntary interest in the area of study as well. Finally, my last most important piece of advice is this: DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, talk about your religion, disability or health history in your personal essay. You want to stand out? Write a witty piece or try to come out from a more creative angle--in the case of the personal essay--there are just some things better left UNSAID.

Good luck!

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