just got rejected from graduate school

[Leros]

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.

Why would you go to grad school if its not fun. If you're not enjoying something, why get a masters or phd in it?

 

[thinkwhy]

Why would you go to grad school if its not fun. If you're not enjoying something, why get a masters or phd in it?

Even if you 'love your job' it's not fun 100% of the time. I got into grad school right after undergrad, and I thought it would be cool to do. It can be rewarding, but it's also a lot of work.

 

[Leros]

Even if you 'love your job' it's not fun 100% of the time. I got into grad school right after undergrad, and I thought it would be cool to do. It can be rewarding, but it's also a lot of work.

Fair enough. As long as you're not miserable.

 

[Fayd]

Wow what else can gO wrong. While I was trying to alttab to check something my computer crashes. Can't even open task manager to kill a process. I hard reboot it and it can't. Boot windows. Try to load up the install disc to try to repair the install, and it can't even boot that. Pull out a USB key with ubuntu on it and it can't even boot that. Gets frozen during load screen. Typing this from my iPod but I'm sure I'm gonna manage to break this as well. Fucking hell.

 

[OCGuy]

Wow what else can gO wrong. While I was trying to alttab to check something my computer crashes. Can't even open task manager to kill a process. I hard reboot it and it can't. Boot windows. Try to load up the install disc to try to repair the install, and it can't even boot that. Pull out a USB key with ubuntu on it and it can't even boot that. Gets frozen during load screen. Typing this from my iPod but I'm sure I'm gonna manage to break this as well. Fucking hell.

OK now the term here is "emo". No offense.

 

[postmortemIA]

you should seriously apply to another SDSU, South Dakota State University... SD and ND struggle to get students and both have decent public universities

 

[JJChicken]

Take a break, enjoy yourself. It is hardly the end of the world

 

[Leros]

Wow what else can gO wrong. While I was trying to alttab to check something my computer crashes. Can't even open task manager to kill a process. I hard reboot it and it can't. Boot windows. Try to load up the install disc to try to repair the install, and it can't even boot that. Pull out a USB key with ubuntu on it and it can't even boot that. Gets frozen during load screen. Typing this from my iPod but I'm sure I'm gonna manage to break this as well. Fucking hell.

Bad things tend to happen all at the same time. Just take a break for a day or two, let everything settle.

Forget about your computer, forget about school, forget about finding a job, just take some time to relax for a few days. Its liberating, relaxing, and helps clear your head.

 

[Mr. Lennon]

Judging from your posts you seem to have very low self esteem. Get your ass to the gym 3 times a week and seek counseling. Things will get better.

 

[dmcowen674]

just got rejected from graduate school

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?

Wow

OK. There are three places in the U.S. you can go and pick yourself up immediately.

Texas, North Dakota and Alaska

Forget about College scam.

They are pumping hydraulic fluids in Texas and North Dakota for massive amounts of Natural Gas and oil comes out as well.

Alaska is re-bounding in Gold mining since gold went over $1,300 an ounce.

 

[dmcowen674]

Wow what else can gO wrong. While I was trying to alttab to check something my computer crashes. Can't even open task manager to kill a process. I hard reboot it and it can't. Boot windows. Try to load up the install disc to try to repair the install, and it can't even boot that. Pull out a USB key with ubuntu on it and it can't even boot that. Gets frozen during load screen. Typing this from my iPod but I'm sure I'm gonna manage to break this as well. Fucking hell.

Sounds like you are running Vista

Just boot in safe mode with networking and call it a day.

 

[Meghan54]

The real statement should be "I just got rejected from ONE graduate school."

Start applying everywhere. You'd be surprised what may turn up.

Case in point....ex-brother-in-law applied to grad school locally and was rejected.

Upon urging him not to give up, he applied to many others. What turned up was a grad ass't position at a smaller school. All tuition paid for, room and board paid for, plus a monthly stipend. He did have to teach one class per semester and be a teaching assistant in another, though. But small price to pay for free grad school, room and board, books, etc.

 

[SunnyD]

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.

Is the NFL an option then?

 

[olds]

You could be a poster child to teach people not to fuck around in school.

 

[CPA]

So what kind of positions have you been applying for? With an Econ degree, have you thought about getting another year of undergrad concentrating in accounting courses. Everyone needs accountants.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

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?

What was the rejection based on, if anything?

Keep in mind that graduate schools do not like to take in students that got their undergraduate degree from said institution. Its about the growing experience of doing undergraduate work in one place and graduate work in another--at least in my experience.

 

[SandEagle]

Wow what else can gO wrong. While I was trying to alttab to check something my computer crashes. Can't even open task manager to kill a process. I hard reboot it and it can't. Boot windows. Try to load up the install disc to try to repair the install, and it can't even boot that. Pull out a USB key with ubuntu on it and it can't even boot that. Gets frozen during load screen. Typing this from my iPod but I'm sure I'm gonna manage to break this as well. Fucking hell.

i was coming here to say go get technical certifications like ccna or mcse. but based on the above post, have u tried applying to best buy as a geeksquad agent? u will fit right in.

btw, good luck. my grades were shit first 2 yrs of college. got notified that they would kick me out if i didnt straighten up. graduated and went on to finish 2 master degrees. retake the GRE. hell, even i scored 1200 without even studying

 

[datalink7]

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.

It's not weight that matters, but bodyfat percentage. If you are over the weight (189 pounds) that doesn't mean you are out automatically. That just means they check bodyfat. You are allowed 26 percent when you ship out.

Though, unless you are a bodybuilder of some sort, I'm guessing you'd fail that as well. However, if it is something you want you can dedicate yourself to it. We just had someone drop from 290 pounds to 230 so that he could join. Took him 8 months but he did it (I'm in Army Recruiting right now).

 

[waggy]

meh. IF i say what many want to say and think you need to hear i can get banned. so all i will say is man up. your situation is not nearly as bad as you think it is

well besides you weight 270? yeah that's something that will kill you.

 

[Rumpltzer]

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.

Horseshit. This may have been your experience, but you shouldn't generalize.

1) Acceptance to grad school is not a crap shoot unless you're a monkey. If you've got good grades and good scores and applied yourself during undergrad, you'll get into the school of your choosing. It's not random.

2) This might or might not be true, but only due to the lost income/savings/investment during those 4 to 6 years while in school. I walked out of grad school with a six-figure salary whereas most of the undergrads I knew were in the $45-$70K range.

The money was not my draw to grad school, though. I wanted some say in what I do when I left school. I didn't want to do something mundane. I needed grad school so I could do something interesting after I left school.

3) Grad school was a blast. It wasn't about classes like undergrad, it was about research and actual learning. Grad school was the most productive part of my research life; the time when I had the most freedom in my research, and I was extremely happy as a grad student.

It's true that I was only getting a ~$20K/year stipend, but tuition and fees were covered and my crappy truck was long paid for. I ate fine, lived in a decent place, I was on a campus full of 18 to 24 year-old poon, and I had everything that I needed at the time. I even had enough money (and time) to leave the country once or twice a year and wander around Thailand or Taiwan or Cambodia (places that are inexpensive once on the ground).


But...

The OP doesn't need a grad degree. The OP needs to get his shit together and figure out what he wants. If more time is really needed, go join the fricken Peace Corps or go teach English in Taiwan/Korea/China/Vietnam and kill off some more years.

The first step in this "journey" is to figure out where he wants to go.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Enter in the back door.

You can take the grad courses without applying to the grad school program.

Get a couple of semesters under your belt to show that you can handle the work.

I got my Masters before my BS because I knew my early grades would not get me in.

 

[fail]

Horseshit. This may have been your experience, but you shouldn't generalize.

1) Acceptance to grad school is not a crap shoot unless you're a monkey. If you've got good grades and good scores and applied yourself during undergrad, you'll get into the school of your choosing. It's not random.

2) This might or might not be true, but only due to the lost income/savings/investment during those 4 to 6 years while in school. I walked out of grad school with a six-figure salary whereas most of the undergrads I knew were in the $45-$70K range.

The money was not my draw to grad school, though. I wanted some say in what I do when I left school. I didn't want to do something mundane. I needed grad school so I could do something interesting after I left school.

3) Grad school was a blast. It wasn't about classes like undergrad, it was about research and actual learning. Grad school was the most productive part of my research life; the time when I had the most freedom in my research, and I was extremely happy as a grad student.

It's true that I was only getting a ~$20K/year stipend, but tuition and fees were covered and my crappy truck was long paid for. I ate fine, lived in a decent place, I was on a campus full of 18 to 24 year-old poon, and I had everything that I needed at the time. I even had enough money (and time) to leave the country once or twice a year and wander around Thailand or Taiwan or Cambodia (places that are inexpensive once on the ground).


But...

The OP doesn't need a grad degree. The OP needs to get his shit together and figure out what he wants. If more time is really needed, go join the fricken Peace Corps or go teach English in Taiwan/Korea/China/Vietnam and kill off some more years.

The first step in this "journey" is to figure out where he wants to go.

What degree did you obtain in graduate and undergraduate school? What kind of job did you get that paid six figures after graduation?

 

[fail]

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?

Did you apply for a master's program? Did you apply for financial aid?

 

[Rumpltzer]

What degree did you obtain in graduate and undergraduate school? What kind of job did you get that paid six figures after graduation?

BSEE MSEE PhDEE

I do semiconductor research for a large, evil company that provides the ability for the "government" to do evil things, or allows the "government" to do those evil things more efficiently. I enjoy the research. I don't mind the evil.

ChemEs generally make more money than EEs if that's what you're after.

 

[yhelothar]

Wow. I'm scared about my grad school results now. It sounds like your qualifications for that program was really strong.