so it looks like no grad school for me

[aphibeach]

i graduate in december and i have had my heart set on going straight into graduate school starting in january. i worked my butt off, pulled up my gpa, did well on the GRE's and applied early. i only applied to one school because in NC, most grad schools wont start students in January but this one school did. well i received a phone call on friday from an admission's counselor telling me not to worry because i had been pretty much unofficially accepted. it even said so on my online application status. so i get all excited, tell people it looks like i'm moving to Charlotte in January, and how nice its going to be to not have to move back to Raleigh.

well i receive ANOTHER phone call today from the department i applied to telling me they did not accept me. i told her it couldnt be because the admission's counselor pretty much told me not to worry. well the director of the dept (who was one who called me) gets all furious and says that the counselor should have never called me and they're not supposed to say anything.

the director tells me i'm not smart enough to be in their program and maybe i should look somewhere else. i told her my gpa wasn't high because i transferred twice and before anything else could be said, she says, "well if we made exceptions for everyone, we would have to let everyone in." it basically meant to me that i wasn't good enough for her program and never will be.

i worked so hard. i had over a 3.0 culm, a 3.3 within my major and i came with 60 points of their minimum on the GRE.

now it looks like i have to start completely over and figure out where i am going from here. so if you know of anything, i'll even move out of state, that would be fabulous. but anyways, thought i would share

[OleMissGlitter]

What sort of program are you looking for?

[winneythepooh7]

If I were you I would request to meet with the Dean. She sounds like an administrative person who doesn't know anything. And by the way she spoke to you she seems totally out of line. I was constantly given the run around when I was in grad school by unionized college employees who had no class and no people skills. They even treated the Dean like crap. It's worth a shot though.

[aphibeach]

Originally posted by OleMissGlitter
What sort of program are you looking for?

i'm looking for Sociology program and i'm going to be honest with yall, the school i was applying to was not some ivy league school. i know other states has what NC when it comes to public colleges being a part of a system (our's is the UNC system) and i was going from UNCW to UNCC......wich not only is in the same system but is based through the same programs.

the more i think about it, the more this woman was out of line. she acted like her program was some all-high mighty program and yeah i think it was a great program, but this isn't like i was trying to get into Yale. i know when i think i can handle something and i may not be the smartest person in the world but i am extremely dedicated to everything i do......and i think the school made a huge mistake by denying my admission.

as of the dean, i really don't think there is much they can do. they will probably tell me to reapply for the fall. the director of the soc department told me to take some post-bach classes but i think that's pointless......it would take me years to get my GPA up to "their standards."

my mom thinks there's something better out there for me although i still feel like i've put all my eggs in one basket. now i'm back to square one. i just thank God that i have a great group of friends......one of them has been with me all day.....he brought me lunch, went shopping with me, and now we're watching Oprah.

[winneythepooh7]

Sometimes "non-ivy league" schools are the worst. I choose an expensive private school to go to for my MSW and the main reason was because Hunter College, which has an excellent reputation for Social Work only lets a select few in to their program because of the simple fact that the tuition is so cheap. When I attended the open house the admissions people "talked down to everyone" and made it clear that they were only going to accept "the cream of the crop" which I think is completely ridiculous because as we all know, book smarts and high GPA's don't mean a whole lot when it comes to people skills in the social services field. I know your bummed but this may be a blessing in disguise. You are probably better off going elsewhere. Who knows what else you'd be up against if you were a student in this program which obviously doesn't seem well-run.

[MelodyCat]

Oh. hon. *huggles*

I feel your pain - I applied for Ph.D programs the past two years and got shot down twice, even going in from a MA to the Ph.D.

It isn't the end of the world, though. You might take some time off to work in something related to your field before trying again; a lot of times, a school will look at both your GPA and your real-world experience.

I agree you might talk to the dean, but keep in mind that spring admission is very, very unusual, and it's possible they may have met their quota already. :/

[aphibeach]

yeah i completely agree about the whole spring admission deal.

i just wanted to go straight from undergrad to graduate school so i wouldn't change my mind. and with what i want to do, they pretty much wont hire you (even at a basic level) unless you have a masters degree consisting of a lot of research classes.

maybe this means i really shouldn't even deal with sociology

i love the program and the classes but if some crappy program is going to treat me like that, then i dont want to have anything to do with them

[winneythepooh7]

Originally posted by MelodyCat


It isn't the end of the world, though. You might take some time off to work in something related to your field before trying again; a lot of times, a school will look at both your GPA and your real-world experience.

MelodyCat has a good point about work. I was a sociology major in undergrad and now work in SW. Some real world advice is that getting a job in the field is very valuable. Nowadays especially people coming into the field with only their "education" under their belts are getting turned down left and right in our field for jobs. This just happened the other day in my agency. My friend, I am trying to get her a job as the other Social Worker in my program. She has her license (I don't) and has been working at one job since she got her Master's. She's a great girl, but my supervisor is concerned about hiring her because she doesn't have WORK references-- from supervisors--or work experience--she's only worked at the one job since graduation and it is a completely different population from the one we deal with. I also think that most graduate programs weigh in your work experience because it shows your dedication to the field you choose.

[aphibeach]

Originally posted by winneythepooh7
Nowadays especially people coming into the field with only their "education" under their belts are getting turned down left and right in our field for jobs.

and while that's true, they said nothing about me having to have work experience before applying. because if they did say that, then i would have never applied. i had talked to the woman before i sent everything off to make sure i stood some sort of chance. i was very upfront with her and she told me that with my GRE score, my cumulative GPA, and my major GPA, that i had a great chance. Well, i'm sorry but there's a HUGE difference between a 3.0 and a 3.8.

and Glitterkitty, i came 60 points below the minimum but i called the department and personally asked them if they thought i should retake the GRE's before applying again and they told me no, that with my GPA, i should be fine.

Basically, i feel like i was lied to because i would not be making a big deal about this if i knew i didnt stand a chance. But i was strung along into thinking i could get in.

and yall are right, there is probably something 10 times better out there for me. i just hate the fact that i feel like i'm starting over with 2 months left before i graduate.

[astroAPhi]

I'm really sorry that you feel all jerked around.

I know it's probably too late to apply for Spring semester, but if you really want to go to grad school, apply somewhere else! Do you really want to be part of this program after the way they just treated you?

Apply for jobs for now, and apply for schools for next Fall. If you find your dream job, don't worry about grad school for now, or find another program near you! If you don't get a good job, go ahead for grad school elsewhere. You still have lots of options at this point, so don't feel bad!

[winneythepooh7]

I guess I am also talking about the importance of work experience as a rule, not just "to get into grad school", although it is a bonus IMO. I think as a rule it would be difficult to get a job in "sociology" without the degree as you mentioned. There are lots of related jobs, but not too many that specific. I know you are disappointed too about not getting in straight out of undergrad but that doesn't mean you won't get in, and sometimes it is a good thing to take the time off and not focus on school. Besides, I was the youngest for the most part in all of my classes and I started grad school when I was 25, graduated at 28. The average age of the entering grad student I have read is between 27-32. Since I took classes for the most part with people who worked and used their job as their placement, most students were more like 40 and 50 years-old in my classes. I am a strong believer that everything happens for a reason and I think that if I went into grad school directly out of undergrad, which was my initial plan, I wouldn't be where I am today, or as successful in my field as I feel I am at this point in time. I also recently had dinner with my first year field instructor and she told me she actually prefers and has requested "older" students with work experience to supervise because they are easier to work with for the most part in her opinion due to their experiences outside of undergrad. Take some time to yourself over the next few months and enjoy your last year of school. It goes by way too quickly and you will wish you spent more time focused on that then on grad school.

[wrigley]

Originally posted by aphibeach
i had talked to the woman before i sent everything off to make sure i stood some sort of chance. i was very upfront with her and she told me that with my GRE score, my cumulative GPA, and my major GPA, that i had a great chance. Well, i'm sorry but there's a HUGE difference between a 3.0 and a 3.8.

and Glitterkitty, i came 60 points below the minimum but i called the department and personally asked them if they thought i should retake the GRE's before applying again and they told me no, that with my GPA, i should be fine.

Basically, i feel like i was lied to because i would not be making a big deal about this if i knew i didnt stand a chance. But i was strung along into thinking i could get in.

When you say you talked to a woman who exactly was she? Was she in the admissions department or a professor from the program you were trying to get into?

From your first post it sounded like the admissions people did lie to you. If that's the case then someone in admissions or wherever should be held accountable for giving you false information. I doubt you're the only one this has happened to for this program. I have no idea what grad school applications cost but I'd see if they would give you a refund. I'm sure if they had been upfront with you, you wouldn't have wasted your time and money.

Take heart there are other programs. Retake the GRE if you feel you can improve on your score.

When God closes one door he opens a window.

[aphibeach]

the woman i dealt with most of the time was one of the directors of the soc dept at the school

but the woman who called me and told me i was unofficially accepted was on the admissions board

i really think this whole grad school thing is a wake-up call for me. i am really starting to think maybe i dont want to do sociology. i've always been torn between wanting to do a few things career wise and thankfully my parents support me 100% (even when i mentioned jokingly going to the college my uncle works at in California)

i just dont like being lied to and wasting money that i could still have and now i wont get back. i wrote a letter to the dean of the graduate school just letting him know what happened. i dont want him to reverse the decision at all.....i just want him to be aware.

[Sistermadly]

Originally posted by MelodyCat
It isn't the end of the world, though. You might take some time off to work in something related to your field before trying again; a lot of times, a school will look at both your GPA and your real-world experience.

This is excellent advice. Get a little real world experience under your belt, attend some conferences, or maybe, consider asking some of your former instructors to let you work with them on papers that will be submitted for publication. Getting into graduate school isn't all about grades. In a lot of cases, admissions officers want to bring some sort of balance to the program, meaning they want people from a wide variety of backgrounds with different experiences.

Being turned down is not the end of the world. It sucks, but ultimately you'll get in. Don't let this deter you.

[aphibeach]

see problem is, i need to get out of Wilmington. there's nothing left for me to do here after graduation, otherwise i would stay and work for one of my professors

but i'm starting to have an epiphany and realize that maybe i shouldnt persue sociology fully. i talked to the greek advisor of my school today, whom i love, and she told me about a possible position that a UNCW alumni is currently working at but leaving in December. so it could be a good opportunity but i need to learn more about it.

plus i would like to work with Alpha Phi some, even though i know to be a greek advisor (which is something i would like to do eventually) you have to have a masters degree (except for some small schools with very small greek systems) and the president of my chapter was mentioning something about a Canadian chapter looking for help, which could be something different.

but hey if you ladies know of any opportunities that could point me in a direction, i am open to anything and going anywhere. thanks for all the support!