Q: I decided about a year ago that I wanted to go to graduate school. The only problem is that I really didn’t give a sh*t my first couple of years of college and now I think I might have screwed myself over. Is there any way I can still get into a good school?
RegretfulA: Waiting until the last minute, are you? I advise you to start filling out your applications right now . right after you read this column, that is. Most graduate schools’ application deadlines for fall 2007 admission are in March, so you may want to get started really, really soon.
A lot of students are in your same predicament, I’d say. They’ve realized, a little too late, that they’ve wasted away their college years drinking or socializing or playing video games when they should’ve been studying. Or maybe that’s not you at all. Maybe you just couldn’t bring yourself to be excited about school until you found something you truly enjoyed studying.
To answer your question, you have not completely screwed yourself out of graduate school, but it’s safe to say that the Ivy Leagues are out of the question at this point unless you get a perfect score on your entrance exam (GRE, LSAT, MCAT, etc.) and win a Nobel Peace Prize before March! There are plenty of private schools you could still have a shot at being accepted to and there are almost certainly more public institutions where you could continue your studies.
Public universities are also cheaper, making them all the more attractive. Check out sites such as www.princetonreview.com for information about different grad schools and find ones with requirements you can realistically meet.
Speaking of entrance exams, you need to sign up to take the appropriate one for your choice of graduate school ASAP. I know the deadline for taking the exam for entrance in fall 2007 has already passed for some tests (the LSAT, for example), so you might want to check and see if you can even get your scores back in time by now. It usually takes roughly one month to receive your exam scores back from a test, so if you took it tomorrow, you would barely have enough time to get your score back by the deadline.
If you’ve already taken an entrance exam, you still have hope. Play up your best attributes on your applications. Hopefully you’ve also gotten at least a little bit involved in activities with ETSU or something otherwise related to your future career choice, like an internship.
Some graduate schools, like business and journalism, even require a minimum of one year of real world job experience, so check about any such requirements before going through the trouble of filling out applications.
If you can meet all the requirements of your chosen graduate school by the deadline, you will need to prove to the admissions committee that your prior grades, though adversely affecting your GPA, aren’t an accurate reflection of your potential as a student.
If you really have changed your ways and found your right career path, explain that in your personal essay. Give the committee proof (grades, test scores, extracurricular involvement) that illustrate the marked difference between your pre- and post-motivated self.
If you can make this argument convincingly enough, backed by strong test scores, you will be surprised at how forgiving they might be. College grades are important, but they are not everything.
If you’ve worked hard at a job, by all means use that your advantage to show that you are a hardworking individual.
Another thing you’re going to need are two (or three, depending) very glowing letters of recommendation. Find ETSU professors who can attest to the 180 degree turnaround you’ve made and vouch for your continuing success as a student.
I can’t emphasize enough how you really need to play up the fact that you’ve changed. Drill it into the admissions committee’s collective skull. You’ve got to make them forget, and even understand, your less than stellar academic record.
If you can, throw yourself into a couple of nice resume-building activities in the next couple of weeks before you turn in your applications. Do some volunteer work. Join an honor society. Submit an article to the East Tennessean and get it published. Anything. It can only help you.
If you can’t apply for fall admission because of a test or work experience requirement, there is still hope for you, only at a later date. Take the time off until the spring or even fall 2008 and find yourself a good internship to bolster your resume. ETSU has several offices that can help you find a great internship.
Check out both the ARC, located on the second level of the Culp Center, and the Career Placement and Internship Services office, located in rooms 211-213 in the Old College of Medicine building near the newly renovated Roy S. Nicks Hall.
Best wishes to you and all the other panicking seniors still trying to figure out what they’ll be doing this fall.
Send your questions or comments to et_enchilada@yahoo.com and have your question featured in an upcoming column.

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