Sean - I think you also need to consider what you want to do when you get out of grad school. That also will determine what program you apply to/enroll in. When you investigate schools, also find out what jobs their graduates end up in. That will also tell you whether the graduate program and your interests intersect.
And I agree with previous commenters, your undergraduate grades will not prevent you from going to graduate school. Show that you can be a successful student now, and many schools will weigh your current academic success more heavily than your behavior as an undergraduate more than a decade ago. Diane Henshel On Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 6:09 PM, David L. McNeely <[email protected]> wrote: > ---- Sean <[email protected]> wrote: > > Having graduated with an abysmal GPA from Colorado State University back > in 2000 ( wildlife > > biology 2.7), I have found it very difficult getting into graduate > school. Two winters ago I > > completed two graduate level classes at Oregon State: Forest Wildlife > Management and a > > graduate Statistics course. Unfortunately just a B+ on the statistics > but A on the wildlife. Of > > course I have a ton of field experience going back 14 years in lots of > different taxonomic > > groups. Having just turned 36 I'm at my wits end trying to move > forward. So I am soliciting > > advice. Would a non-thesis program like the field naturalist program > at U. of Vermont be > > worthwhile? Frankly at this point I want to get into something > permanent. I'll always engage > > my naturalists interest regardless of the employment I have. If I do > something unfunded (such > > as non-thesis) I would really need to have good employment prospects > coming out of it. > > Sage words of wisdom are welcome! I'm completely open to any and all > advice. My ideal > > situation would be a thesis based M.S. on any of the many taxa I have > experience with (birds, > > butterflies, amphibians, bats, plants etc). > > Sean, is your interest in continuing graduate school for a Ph.D., or is > the M.S. intended to be a terminal degree for you? That can make a > difference in where you go, and what degree you seek at the master's level. > > There are lots of regional state schools that admit students like > yourself, and some of them are well connected for state and other > employment opportunities. Perhaps you are trying for schools that may be a > bit of a competitive reach. Your work experience should speak well for you > in state regional institutions. Some of them consider only the terminal > two years of undergraduate work, rather than the entire undergraduate > record. > > Find a professor with whom you'd like to work, send him or her you > background information, and make an appointment. See what you get from > that, and apply if encouraged. > > David McNeely > > > > > -Sean > > -- > David McNeely > -- Diane Henshel Indiana University 1315 E 10th #340 Bloomington, IN 47405 812 855-4556 P 812 855-7802 F [email protected]
