Getting into graduate school with bad grades?

So I am a senior at UCLA, as a Psychobiology major (which is horribly competitive at this school.) I transferred here from a junior college with a 3.2 GPA. I am going to officially get my degree at the end of summer, which, after this quarter, will be 2 (or 3) quarters away. My UCLA gpa is a 2.4. I would definitely like to apply to graduate schools (I am looking at any Master's programs in Public Health or in Psychology, or a entry level Nursing Program.) I have a really good set of extracurricular activities, including research experience and clinical experience. But I am very concerned about getting better grades and my eligibility.





So here are my questions:


1. What kind of universities should I aim for?


2. How could I create myself to be a better applicant?


3. Just tips in being a better student in a competitive university would be very helpful.





Thank you very much!

Getting into graduate school with bad grades?
Most grad schools require a 3.0 undergrad GPA for admission, some will allow a conditional admission at 2.5 -- the reason for this is that grad schools require that you maintain a 3.0 or higher while you're there. This means that you will face a challenge in program selection from the start but you're not out of luck. Don't expect the best schools to be too welcoming if you're between 2.5 and 3.0; the extra effort to get that GPA over 3.0 will be worth it.





Master's degree nursing programs are not entry level - these are very advanced and will require that you already hold a BSN and an RN license. If you want to move to nursing then you'll want to find a BA-to-BSN transition program. These take about two additional years from your BA completion.





Since you mentioned the MPH and the MSN -- you may want to consider MHA (health administration) programs. These often would allow a BA in psych as foundation and will put you into the health industry as well.





Good scores on the GRE, MAT, or GMAT could make up for the less than stellar GPA. Many grad psych programs will require the GRE general and subject exams. If you can score very well on one of these, it will negate some of the negative of the GPA.





Getting published or presenting at a conference or two might help your grad application as well.





There are schools out there that don't have highly selective admissions as long as you meet the minimum GPA and often the test score requirements. They remain an option for you but you must work to bring that GPA up to your earlier level or your options become more limited. Many admissions committees look more heavily at the GPA of your last two years.





It seems to me that your list of prospective grad majors is pretty wide. This can be both good and bad. On the good side it leaves you more options, on the bad side it makes you appear unfocused. Graduate study is intended to be extremely focused. Consider doing some career research and narrowing your interest some. If you are truly interested in nursing as a career, consider changing your major now to nursing in order to ultimately save time to degree and therefor a lot of money.





Most important, evaluate why you want to earn a master's degree and whether it's required in the profession you aspire to. In professional psych it's almost essential. In most fields, a master's degree isn't a required credential and pursuing one just because you want to make more money is often a formula for disaster. That level of study requires a passion for the material and for academics.
Reply:Honestly, I'd work on bringing my grades up...a lot.





So to answer your questions...


1) A mix of programs....probably lower tier and mid tier. I usually tell people to apply to a couple top tier ones too, but I think that might be a waste of money for you--unless you can bring your GPA up more. Psychology programs I would avoid given your grades. A lot of Psych programs, especially Clinical Psych, are hard to get into even if you have above a 3.5 GPA.





2) Bring up that GPA. There is no way around it my dear. I'd try and get it to at least 3.0 if possible. If you have to pick up an "easy" major or minor to do it, I would. I KNOW that people have gotten into grad school with sub-3.0 GPAs, but I think you'd be much happier with your choice of universities if you can bring that GPA up. I don't mean to beat a dead horse here, but I am in graduate school (getting my PhD) and so I know that GPA is tied for 1st with the most important thing grad schools look for. The second most important thing is your research/clinical experience. Definitely. What about GREs you might ask? It depends on the program. None of the programs I applied for, except for 1, put much stock in GRE scores. Mine were decent--above average--but nothing stellar. They did not care. However, I was applying for a PhD in the sciences, and the GRE is more important for some humanities programs I have been told.





3) Don't think about the other students--focus on doing well in the course. Because really, if you start to feel inadequate because you think the other students are much smarter and better prepared, it's going to take a toll on your performance. The grad program I'm in is really competitive. I came in with a Bachelors of Sci in a totally unrelated subject area, while some of my classmates already had masters in related subjects. So when they knew something I didn't, I did my best not to feel stupid...because they had already had some prior training in this, while I did not. So my point is...you don't know how much work people have already put into their major. Another piece of advice? Don't miss class and write down everything your professor says. It works. I graduated with a 3.7, and you just have to bite the bullet and write down everything. Good luck!

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