# A question for grad school students



## NoDirectionHome (Oct 24, 2010)

I've noticed a lot of people on this board have been to grad school, which is awesome! Those of you with master's degrees should be so proud; it seems like such a daunting task to me and I'm frightened every day I won't be able to make it that far.

I'm someone that wants to eventually make it to grad school and get a professional job in the social work or mental health fields. I worry constantly, though, about not making it into grad school. Supposedly, it's tough to get a job with a BA in psychology or a BSW (two degrees I'm considering, with the eventual goal of either to get an MSW), so I'm worried sick about getting to graduation and having grad school not be an option. I'd be pretty scared of going out into the world with just a bachelor's given my scant work history in any field.

My questions are: Were any of you able to get into grad school without significant work experience? And what was your GPA when you went into grad school, if you don't mind divulging? Did you have to have a 3.9 or above or something extremely high like that? I'm a good student, but my generalized anxiety often causes me to do worse than I could. My GPA at the community college I attend (where I'm almost finished) is somewhere in the 3.8s, but it makes me worry that my eventual undergrad GPA could be far worse. It'd give me peace of mind (or maybe not! lol) to hear about what getting into grad school was like for anyone here who's been there.


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## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

NoDirectionHome said:


> My questions are: Were any of you able to get into grad school without significant work experience?


Yes. They didn't care about it, at least in my field.



NoDirectionHome said:


> And what was your GPA when you went into grad school, if you don't mind divulging?


They don't have GPA here. I think they allow you into grad school here with the equivalent of a minimum of B-/C+. For PhDs it's a minimum of about a B. They always advertise their requirements on their websites in my experience. My grades were above entry requirements.



NoDirectionHome said:


> I'm a good student, but my generalized anxiety often causes me to do worse than I could. My GPA at the community college I attend (where I'm almost finished) is somewhere in the 3.8s, but it makes me worry that my eventual undergrad GPA could be far worse. It'd give me peace of mind (or maybe not! lol) to hear about what getting into grad school was like for anyone here who's been there.


I went through hell at university due to my anxiety disorders. I could barely study. The undergrad (and later postgrad) professors assumed I lacked intellect and wrote it on references. I got into postgrad programs despite this because they mostly go by grades and, for PhDs, your interests and extracurricular achievements.

People tend to get higher grades as they progress through a degree in my experience, so unless the courses became much harder or your anxiety much worse, it probably wouldn't decrease by much. I don't know much about GPA but it appears you're doing well. When I did well, it surprised the professors. I could have progressed straight to a PhD but did a masters until ready.

Even if there were some catastrophe where you didn't make entry requirements, there may be the option of doing a couple of masters course units to earn a postgrad certificate, which could be used to progress to a masters. Some programs where you live might provide similar options.


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## ryanb (Nov 16, 2009)

*


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## NoDirectionHome (Oct 24, 2010)

Yeah, I've felt right at home taking psych and sociology classes. When a ton of math gets involved, though, like with economics (though I love econ), I tend to struggle a bit more. I could probably stand to improve on that front.

Anyway, thanks for the responses! They really brightened my spirits, as I realize I'm being a bit too hard on myself.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

I had no work experience at all when I applied to grad school, and it made no difference whatsoever (though maybe work experience is more relevant in some fields than it is in others).

My overall GPA was 3.5, though my GPA in my field (English) was higher than that.


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