I need advice

[Rhea]

Well, just to give a background on myself...I have a poor undergrad record (cumm.2.5/sci.under2.5). I went back to school as a post-bacc and have been taking a mix of graduate level/undergrad courses at the same university where I did my undergrad. After a year, my gpa will be around 3.5 cumm./3.7 sci. I was a full-time student in the Fall qtr., took one course Winter quarter (studied for DAT...19acad/20pat), then went back as a fulltime student spring qtr. So in essence, I have 2 qtrs of good grades to show for myself. I have also done research at a biotech company, and am currently doing research for my o'chem professor. In addition, I have also been volunteering about 4hrs/week at a dental office...so far total of approx 80 hours.

My questions:

1. To all the people who advise applying early, should I wait for my Summer quarter grades and apply in September? Or should I just send in my application in July? Will a year of postbacc (2 fulltime quarters and 1 part-time quarter) get me any interviews?

2. Also, all the work I have done as a postbacc is showing up on my transcript as 'Graduate Academic Record'. Should I put everything under graduate work on the AADSAS app.? I had called up AADSAS and they told me 'do whatever you feel is right, since they are just a processing agency'.

3. I am planning on applying to 20-25 schools across the country since I don't really know what my chances are. Do you think I should split up and apply to the fisrt half, and if I don't get any interview invites then send in the app to the second half? How soon does one start getting invites after they have submitted the app to AADSAS?

Any input would be greatly appreciated, (especially from all the people who have been to interviews). I am currently working on my personal statement, and will start on the application May 15th. THanks!!!

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[sonigee]

Hey Rhea...i totally feel where you are coming from..first of all DON't give up ok?
here are the answers:
1. apply EARLY!! the eearlier you apply, the better chance you have..just make sure put"still taking class" in the summer grades section. As far as getting an interview..that all depends..just make sure to be VERY positive and stress that your improvement in your personal statement..

2.you need to put grad work under grad info and undergrad under the undergrad info...i think its important to do that b/c it emphasizes that you did in fact mature and improve and become more serious in grad classes...see what i mean?

3.girl,take it from me..do NOT apply to any public schools except for your state school..focus on private schools and save your $$$..i learned the hard way...any more ??? let me know..

good luck

 

[Regina330]

Sonigee summed it up pretty well. As far as your last question, I would apply to all of the schools in the begining. That way, all of your apps will be in early and you will be considered earlier at every school, improving your chances for interviews/acceptances.

 

[Rhea]

Thanks, sonigee and regina. I will re-evaluate my list of schools and eliminate a few out-of-state public schools. Also, I guess I will mail in my application end of June to all the schools, and keep my fingers crossed! Thanks for your input!

 

[al]

I agree with the previous posts that you should divide up the undergrad from the grad stuff, it does show improvement and maturity. Generally, you may have an easier time at the private schools, but I don't think it would hurt to apply to certain public schools. I didn't have the greatest gpa either, but I received interviews at uconn, buffalo, maryland, pitt (I know for sure pitt has no preference btw in/out of staters). I was worried about my chances as well, so i applied to 23 schools public/private. If application money is not an issue, I would advise to shotgun on this one, in my opinion. If it is, then stick with the private schools.

 

[deciduous]

Hey, I just wanted to answer the second question.

Be as honest as you possibly can. Go out of your way to be honest. Let them know the difference between you post-bacc. classes and your graduate degree classes. They may never say anything about it, but it's best to be able to answer with humble confidence rather than give a calculated answer that might be obviously baffling to them. (I hope that wasn't too baffling in itself)