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grad school help!
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Qiang1446
United States92 Posts
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Wampaibist
United States478 Posts
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Cornstyle
United States147 Posts
I also went to an "okay" school, UW-Milwaukee, and had a below average GPA for what I wanted to get into, a 3.45. Even though I got in the 90th percentile on the MCAT, which is the med-school equivalent of the GRE, I knew my GPA would be a heavily limiting factor to where I would get in, if I would even get in at all. I did however have a very extensive list of extra-curricular/ medical related activites to brag about which helped me immensely. Long story short, I applied to some really good medical schools (Northwestern and UW-Madison) and didn't get in, and applied to some average medical schools and did get in, including where I am now (Midwestern University). The fact of the matter is, without any connections or previous experience your likelyhood of a job is pretty low. Also, even with this extra year to boost your GPA you may or may not get into your ideal "Top 30" masters school either. In my opinion, I'd try the extra year if you are POSITIVE you want to get into a masters program in microecon. If you do that, and do really well, then go for a masters, but realize that you should maybe set your sights lower on the masters program you want to go into. It may seem like it hurts you a lot but most likely it won't. Work more on building connections and experiences, in the business world thats what matters most. | ||
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HardlyNever
United States1258 Posts
My situation was... well I guess it wasn't much like yours, my GPA was more like 3.5, but I had taken 2 years off from school. The thing with masters programs is that they don't intrinsically provide any funding (unlike a ph d program). Now that isn't to say there is NO CHANCE of getting funding (I've had 5 out of my 6 semesters here funded), but they won't guarantee you any funding for anything beyond a single semester. Why does this matter? Because school is expensive (it was about 10k per semester where I went, a tier 1 research university, but it isn't anything amazing). The problem is, unless it is a professional degree (MBA, MLS, something of that nature) a masters in something doesn't really open up a ton of additional earning potential. So going through an unfunded Masters program is basically just more debt, with not much additional opportunity. A masters in math doesn't open up that many more opportunities (AFAIK), perhaps being a high school math teacher (History MA has a similar option that you can be certified as a history/social studies teacher for high school level. I don't know anyone that actually did this). In terms of "getting in," because masters programs are generally a way for universities to MAKE money, it usually isn't that rigorous to get accepted. This might be different for really exclusive programs. Don't get a masters without either: A. A direct and obvious plan with what you can do with that masters to get a job or B. An extremely high chance that you will get most/all of it funded by the university/college. Anything outside of that is a waste of time and money, and you'll find yourself in a situation very similar to where you are now, with just +2ish more years of your life gone and $50k+ in debt. | ||
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Elegance
Canada917 Posts
On April 17 2012 10:12 HardlyNever wrote: Don't get a masters without either: A. A direct and obvious plan with what you can do with that masters to get a job or B. An extremely high chance that you will get most/all of it funded by the university/college. Anything outside of that is a waste of time and money, and you'll find yourself in a situation very similar to where you are now, with just +2ish more years of your life gone and $50k+ in debt. great advice here | ||
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Qiang1446
United States92 Posts
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ikl2
United States145 Posts
Ask yourself--and do it honestly--why you're doing not-so-well in your undergrad. If the answer's something like: (a) don't care--too easy (b) unmotivated (c) not interesting (d) any combination of motivational factors ...you probably shouldn't be doing grad school, unless you have very good reason to think you're not just going to do it again. | ||
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HardlyNever
United States1258 Posts
On April 17 2012 10:18 duckducktiM wrote: I'm fortunate enough that money for school isn't really a problem, but my plan right now is get a master's, do well then go into a phd, but if I decide I don't want a phd, does a master's in economics really have that little impact on my resume??? I don't know the economics field that well. I only know one person that went to grad school for economics, and she ended up getting a Fullbright scholarship and is getting a Ph D in the field. She wants to be an academic or work for some thinktank or similar organization (i.e. she won't be a business professional with the degree). In terms of what it will add to your resume, I can't really say. If you are interested in leveraging it into a a Ph D program, then yes, it will help. Someone with a masters in the field is more likely to be accepted to a Ph D program than someone with just a bachelors, if for no other reason because they are less of a risk and investment. What does it do in terms of jobs? I don't know, you have to research that yourself for that specific field. My sense is that there are few jobs that are looking for a masters in econ, but I could be wrong. AFAIK, it isn't a professional degree, in other words, there isn't a governing body that requires a masters in econ as a prerequisite for a job. | ||
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mynameisgreat11
599 Posts
I got into a fancy grad school without a very impressive resume because I was willing to shell out a billion dollars. Like the guy above said, make sure you have a specific job in mind when you plan for grad school. If what you want needs a masters, do it and feel good, but don't shell out the cash just because grad school seems like the next logical step. I know many people who shelled out as much for grad school as I did, but ended up being hardly any more marketable than they were with their bachelors. Ouch. Hot tip: many programs offer combined masters/phd programs that you can begin right after undergrad. Your chances of getting funding are much better if you can find something like that. EDIT: I wouldn't take additional undergrad courses unless a professor at a school you really want to go to explicitly says so. It will be another year of paying tuition, and I doubt it would really be enough to let you in somewhere you couldn't get in already. | ||
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Balgrog
United States1221 Posts
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Lebesgue
4542 Posts
1. Masters in economics in US has almost no value if applying for PhD - they would be only helpful if you did math or physics with very little economics so you use master to actually learn some basics but you have a stellar GPA and you have showed how good you are. I got to PhD straight from undergrad. 2. Boston University is a good school in econ - research wise it is considered to be in top 30 of the econ departments in US. 3. I'm not familiar with the master program at Boston University but really master programs in econ are not that hard to get in. Though your low GPA is a problem. On the other hand I think you can have a shot for some lower ranked master programs. 4. Anything to boost your GPA would be extremely helpful though preferably you should try to boost it before graduating. 5. Get at least 760 on quantitative section of GRE. Seriously, it's not that hard with enough practice. Damn, aim higher, like 780 or even 800. That would be a really good signal that you have ability to perform well (especially important since your GPA is low). And don't mess up verbal or writing either. Anything below 4.5 on writing will look bad since you're a native speaker. 6. Recommendation letters can make wonders. Even with low GPA. If you did very well in an econ class try to get a recommendation from the professor. A very positive recommendation can really make a huge difference. This is true for applications for masters programs and probably even more when applying for top PhD programs (as then everyone has stellar records and they need sth extra to differentiate candidates). If you're driven enough and willing to sacrifice time to boost your record then with enough motivation you will be able to do so. But do your best to score very high on GRE and boost your GPA as much as possible Now, regarding the value of master degree for finding a job I'm not sure. I see that your concern in a low GPA but in order to make the master matter I would expect you need to do well in the program. Otherwise I don't think the master degree in really worth your time and money. It's basically up to you whether you make it worth it or not. | ||
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Qiang1446
United States92 Posts
I'm planning on taking mainly courses in math/stats and SOME econ classes (just classes to get letters of recommendations from) this isn't gonna affect my undergrad GPA at all, but I'm gonna get a transcript with a GPA from the classes I take at UCI so I'll basically have 2 transcripts... my UCD one (low) and hopefully my more recent and higher gpa from UCI and @ Lebesgue: does a master's really have no weight when applying to phd programs? even the grad admissions adviser at my school says the majority of applicants here at UCD have a tleast a master's in econ before applying, the school I'm currently am isn't too shabby in the econ department either (it's like 31 or something) Right now I want a job in economics that isn't finance/invested related, and I feel that having just an undergrad degree won't let me achieve that... right now I'm most interested in Industrial Organization. | ||
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babylon
8765 Posts
On April 17 2012 13:10 duckducktiM wrote: Wow, thanks for the replies guys, but to clarify something: I'm planning on taking mainly courses in math/stats and SOME econ classes (just classes to get letters of recommendations from) this isn't gonna affect my undergrad GPA at all, but I'm gonna get a transcript with a GPA from the classes I take at UCI so I'll basically have 2 transcripts... my UCD one (low) and hopefully my more recent and higher gpa from UCI and @ Lebesgue: does a master's really have no weight when applying to phd programs? even the grad admissions adviser at my school says the majority of applicants here at UCD have a tleast a master's in econ before applying, the school I'm currently am isn't too shabby in the econ department either (it's like 31 or something) Right now I want a job in economics that isn't finance/invested related, and I feel that having just an undergrad degree won't let me achieve that... right now I'm most interested in Industrial Organization. A Masters gives you an opportunity to get better recs/connections and more course work under your belt, which might help in getting you into a PhD program, but tons of motivated undergrads have just as much (or more) going for them depending on how they spent their time in college. Sometimes you hear undergrads saying, "Oh, I'll have to compete with Masters students ..." but you hear just as many people with Masters groaning about how they have to compete with really bright, newly-graduated undergrads, esp. those from top schools with excellent econ departments. >.> Honestly, if you don't know exactly, to the dot, why you are going to grad school and how that will advance your studies/goal, then you shouldn't go, esp. if it's for an unfunded Masters. | ||
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Lebesgue
4542 Posts
On April 17 2012 13:10 duckducktiM wrote: Wow, thanks for the replies guys, but to clarify something: I'm planning on taking mainly courses in math/stats and SOME econ classes (just classes to get letters of recommendations from) this isn't gonna affect my undergrad GPA at all, but I'm gonna get a transcript with a GPA from the classes I take at UCI so I'll basically have 2 transcripts... my UCD one (low) and hopefully my more recent and higher gpa from UCI and @ Lebesgue: does a master's really have no weight when applying to phd programs? even the grad admissions adviser at my school says the majority of applicants here at UCD have a tleast a master's in econ before applying, the school I'm currently am isn't too shabby in the econ department either (it's like 31 or something) Right now I want a job in economics that isn't finance/invested related, and I feel that having just an undergrad degree won't let me achieve that... right now I'm most interested in Industrial Organization. Most of the foreign applicants yes, they have masters. In most of the continental Europe you spend 5 years at the university and then you graduate with a masters. It is changing slowly but I think it is still true. Regarding masters in US, people who do it are those who had done hardly any economics before so that they can learn basics before jumping into a deep water that is PhD. I can only say that I don't know any American student with a master degree in my department while it is true that most of the foreigners do have one (but from their home countries rather than US). | ||
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