just got rejected from graduate school

[Fayd]

I just recieved a rejection email from SDSU, Graduate Program in Statistics.

I applied to one school because it's the only one I can see myself going to. it's conveniently close that I can live at home and go to school there.(i don't have the money for living elsewhere)

My undergrad is in Economics. I got a 3.0 overall, higher in major. my GPA's for each semester (without cancelling out retaken classes) went from like 1.7, 1.6, 1.8, 3.4, 3.x, 3.x, 3.x, 3.x, 3.x, 3.74. I know my first year and a half fucked me over. the official GPA requirement was 2.85. the GRE requirement was 950 combined. (i got 590 verbal, 750 quant.)

i got an "email of rejection" at 8:30 tonight. after signing up and paying 400+ for nightclasses and books to fill pre-reqs for the grad program.

Fuck. my. life.

I want out of here.

I want out of this house. I want out of this area. I want out of this life situation.

I have no job. I can't seem to find a job. I have effectively no job history, as I've been essentially a leech since graduating. I seem to have a personality that employers hate. I've applied to hundreds of jobs, had precisely 5 interviews in that time, all went averagely to poorly, and obviously no dice. this is even for $10-15/hr jobs.

In the meantime, my sister has a job making 70-80k per year. graduated 3 years ahead of me, BS Mech Engineering. I don't bear her ill will or jealousy.. I mostly wonder why i'm such a screwup.

I have $5000 to my name. a long history of never spending inheritance or birthday money. where can I go and what can I do so that's enough to get started with a new life?

 

[Brainonska511]

Whatever happens, best of luck.

 

[silverpig]

What's your undergrad in?

 

[Fayd]

What's your undergrad in?

economics.

 

[TheVrolok]

Is the military an option?

 

[Leros]

economics.

Did you make good grades? What kind of jobs are applying for?

That sucks that you only applied to one school. Even if you apply to other grad schools, you probably won't be able to start til Fall 2012 since most grad schools only take new students in the fall.

 

[Lifted]

maybe you don't have the personality to work for/under others? ever think of starting or purchasing a business of your own?

 

[speg]

$5000 can easily get you started in Thailand where you can take a job teaching kids English. Do it!

 

[manimal]

Try to step back from the situation for a moment and give yourself some space. When your outlook is this clouded the interviewer will notice it. I didnt get into my first 3 choices in undergrad and post so no violins from me...



Get off your butt and work.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Buck up. Shit'll be OK, man. :thumbsup:

 

[Leros]

Just a thought, can you apply for an internship? You can get some relevant experience and then work on applying to other grad schools for next year.

Don't worry about the money of living if you go to a different school. You can get a TA or RA job while in grad school which will pay your tuition, provide health insurance, and give you enough money to live a decent level of life.

Assuming you can't get a TA or RA job, its ridiculously easy to get federal funding for going to grad school if you get accepted. I think the max is $22k/year though, so you might need an small job on the side.

 

[summit]

whats your degree in buddy?

 

[Fayd]

Is the military an option?

surprisingly, no. I just checked the military's weight requirements for recruits. for my age and height, i'd need to be under 189 lbs.

i'm 270 lbs.

 

[HAL9000]

Sucks. I know loads of people in the same situation, things will turn around eventually.

 

[Fayd]

whats your degree in buddy?

updated the op with any info you might find interesting.

 

[OCGuy]

You can't get a job and you think more school is the answer?

Apply more. You will get a job. You can get an entry level job no problem if you apply yourself and don't think you are better than the position.

Perpetual students are fail in this economy.

 

[Leros]

You can't get a job and you think more school is the answer?

Apply more. You will get a job. You can get an entry level job no problem if you apply yourself and don't think you are better than the position.

Perpetual students are fail in this economy.

I don't think its entirely a bad idea.

You can live as a student without incurring any debt if you have a TA or RA position. Then you can get internships during the summers to build up your resume.

 

[PowerEngineer]

I'm sorry to hear that you're having a difficult time right now.

I'm getting the impression that you haven't really settled on any goals or a career. Have you ever taken aptitude tests? Perhaps a comprehensive set of tests that help you see your strengths and weaknesses along with some converstaions with a professional career counselor might help you identify a direction to take.

Just a thought... Good luck!

 

[zerocool84]

Not to be mean but it is your fault for not applying to other schools. The National college school system is the most competitive it's ever been and only going to get worse. You should have known all this before you applied to only one school. You need to apply to more schools so at least you can start in 2012 and work until that happens so you can have money saved up so you can go to school somewhere else then get a job where ever you're at for school. Sorry but gone are the times when you don't need to work when you go to school.

 

[Fayd]

You can't get a job and you think more school is the answer?

Apply more. You will get a job. You can get an entry level job no problem if you apply yourself and don't think you are better than the position.

Perpetual students are fail in this economy.

I had a goal. An idea of what to do with my life.

While this isn't exactly completely discouraging me from that goal, it does set me back a year on that idea.

 

[OCGuy]

I had a goal. An idea of what to do with my life.

While this isn't exactly completely discouraging me from that goal, it does set me back a year on that idea.

And in the long run a year is nothing. Get some job experience. That is standing out more right now than how good of a student your resume says you are.

Although I make good money with no degree, I am not bashing getting one. It is a prerequisite for many jobs, I know. But once you get that initial degree, you need to get some job experience.

The people who are afraid of the real world will just re-enroll in schooling because it is the easy way out. Selling yourself to an employer is much harder than taking some courses, but at this point, the former is much more rewarding.

(I am obviously excluding Med and Law School here )

 

[Fayd]

Not to be mean but it is your fault for not applying to other schools. The National college school system is the most competitive it's ever been and only going to get worse. You should have known all this before you applied to only one school. You need to apply to more schools so at least you can start in 2012 and work until that happens so you can have money saved up so you can go to school somewhere else then get a job where ever you're at for school. Sorry but gone are the times when you don't need to work when you go to school.

I know it's my fault.

It's my fault I didn't study in high school, so despite a good SAT score, fear of collegiate debt made me go to a relatively crappy undergrad school. It's my fault I didn't study properly during my first 2 years there, and that resulted in a shitty GPA. It's my fault I didn't take any internships during my undergrad, because I didn't realize how crucially important they were. It's my fault I didn't talk to a career counselor at that time so that they could hint me about that. I didn't quite realize how to finance school, and it's my fault for not having conversations with a counselor about this. It's my fault for never even thinking to begin that dialogue.

i'm quite well aware that my life is my fault.

 

[Fenixgoon]

I had a goal. An idea of what to do with my life.

While this isn't exactly completely discouraging me from that goal, it does set me back a year on that idea.

how many grad schools did you apply to? plenty of people get rejected for whatever reason. the more you apply to, the better your chances.

 

[thinkwhy]

I'm in economics grad school right now in Berkeley. I can tell you that:
1) Grad school applications are a crap shoot. People get in/not get in for the most random reasons. If you really want to do grad school, just apply to as many schools as you can afford to.
2) If your goal is to make money/increase income, grad school is one of the least efficient ways to do so. Work experience counts a lot more than grades/degrees.
3) Grad school is not fun. A lot of work, and you're still poor as hell.

 

[bas1c]

I know it's my fault.

It's my fault I didn't study in high school, so despite a good SAT score, fear of collegiate debt made me go to a relatively crappy undergrad school. It's my fault I didn't study properly during my first 2 years there, and that resulted in a shitty GPA. It's my fault I didn't take any internships during my undergrad, because I didn't realize how crucially important they were. It's my fault I didn't talk to a career counselor at that time so that they could hint me about that. I didn't quite realize how to finance school, and it's my fault for not having conversations with a counselor about this. It's my fault for never even thinking to begin that dialogue.

i'm quite well aware that my life is my fault.

Beyond what you didn't do in the past...have you gone to see a career counselor? Schools should have a good student/alumni job search support system. Have you looked outside the state? (if that's something you don't mind) Also, how about you start applying to other schools? Just because you didn't get this one doesn't preclude you from applying now or in the future.