Planning and Sudden Disaster, Want to Die

[Cognition]

I took some advice and started planning and 'strategizing' my undergraduate studiues plan which includes previous work from another community college (in addition to the one I'm currently attending). My plans were to transfer to Southern Methodist University and major in Computer Science and/or Business Administration in Finance or Management (from the school's highly-ranked Cox School of Business).

After school today, I began mapping out the courses that are transferable to SMU to calculate where I stand in regard to GPA, merit scholarships, and the 'feasibility' of gaining admission into the school.

After punching in my grades from the past and hypotheticals for the classes I'll have to take for the next year (including summer school), I realized that the odds are against me. Given that I make all A's (for semesters of no less than 18 credit hours) until application time, I would only have a 3.4 GPA. Looking at my Excel spreadsheet felt me feeling as though I was just diagnosed with terminal cancer. There's no way I can get into SMU with a pathetic GPA like that. I can kiss my opportunity at at least a decent school goodbye.

I don't know what to do now. I'm willing to put in the hard work to make 4.0 semesters, but in the end, it still won't be enough. I still can't get a decent college education.

I seriously want to kill myself now. I don't want to be poor and uneducated all my life, like my father, who doesn't take responsibility for his actions and equates ignorance with a justifiable excuse of not going the extra mile to improve his life.

It's as though all of this 'activity' is in vain. Perhaps there's just no value in my life and I'm just wasting space in this world. There is nothing I can offer anyone.

What a failure I am.

 

[martin6]

3.4 GPA is pathetic? Ummmm okay I guess I'm pretty pathetic for graduating with only a 3.5.

Just worry about what happens when it happens. Nothing has happened yet, so just apply, work hard, and you'll do what you need to do. Your post was a little dramatic, would you agree?

 

[Txgoodoldboy]

You have got to be kidding me. SMU is not the only school in the world. But have you tried yet? Schools take many things into consideration. If you don't get in, you need a fall back plan. Shoot for SMU, but get info for other schools. Maybe someone on JUB knows something about other schools that would be good in your field. When I went to college, my computer class used punch cards.

You've got the whole world ahead of you. SMU is not the only game in town.

 

[gsdx]

It's as though all of this 'activity' is in vain.

Education is never a waste of time. Turning your back on it would be your greatest failure.

 

[PabloZed]

You can't plug grades into an equation and know whether you will get admitted to SMU. You can't even do that with Harvard. Admissions officers take a lot into consideration, including whether your grades are on a trajectory. If, as you say, you can improve your grades in the next year then that will improve your chances. Extra-curriculars also matter if they show something about you.

The answer is never to quit before you try.

 

[Cognition]

You have got to be kidding me. SMU is not the only school in the world.

I'm quite aware of that. Unfortunately, I'm 'glued' to Dallas, Texas for a while, so it's the only decent school to be had. Not only that, but if I were to attend a state school, like UTD which is about 20 miles from Dallas, I would possibly be in more debt, since UTD has very few scholarships and grants. SMU has a lot of grants available, and given my current financial status, I could qualify for a full need-based grant.

SMU and Rice (one of the new Ivy-leagues, if you will) are the only schools in Texas I'm interested in. The other schools just don't cut it.

 

[luminum]

If GPA is all you're going on, then it may be against you...maybe. I've known people with shittier GPAs who got into top notch schools. Why? Because as an individual they brought a lot to the school. They did extra curriculars in high school, had varied interests, were active in their communities, or had life experiences that they could offer as reasons for why they would be worthwhile for the university to invest in.

A school doesn't care about your GPA unless it's far below their average entrance criteria. You should be concerned about how you can sell yourself as someone who will work hard, contribute, and represent the ideals of your school.

And if you can't get into SMU, big deal. People live and continue on to be successful without Ivy Leagues. Almost any school can teach you something, and if you go and learn and it puts you in a better position to transfer, then transfer.

And which would you rather have--no education because you were holding out or a degree that can eventually get you somewhere you want to be, including the school you really want?

All this freaking out over the "right" school "right now" is overrated. What's important is what you do there.

 

[star-warrior]

Listen to everyone and what Luminem is telling you what it's like during the selection process. Your grades are one thing, that's the academic side. But you're not just you're exam results. There's more to you than that.

I come from the UK, and when when I applied for university, I didn't get the grades I needed. However, that summer, I went through the 'clearing' process where universities with vacancies offered places to those whose exam results were lower than expected or didn't make the grade. I got into a wonderful university that September and spent three years loving it there, graduating with honours and then went onto post grad.

If you've a similar clearing process, then you could end up just about anywhere other than the uni you want to go to. Don't view your grades as the be all and end all of the selection process. Be positive, above all, be flexible. When you're called for an interview if they do that in the states, then you can tell them of your life experiences outside school.

 

[rareboy]

Stop whining.

Spend the time. Take the courses you need. Take an extra year if you have to.

If your grades are as good as you say, you'll eventually get to the college of your dreams.

Now, get to work.

 

[Eagle653]

You're over-catastrophizing a situation. As luminum said (and it's true), GPA is almost never the only admission criterion. Do some homework and find out what the criteria really is (hint: It's not what you find in their published literature--you have to call and talk to an admissions advisor or faculty member).

So, don't write off your hopes. A 3.4 GPA, by the way, is very respectable. Sometimes schools use standardized test scores, an analysis of a transcript of courses taken, your experiences, and their overall "sense" of you as an individual and their sense of whether (or not) you'd be successful there. As an example of how fluid GPA's are, there's a big different between a 3.4 GPA with serious courses like advanced (or honors) math and science, and a 3.4 with courses like underwater basket weaving. In other words, judgments can be made on the severity of the curriculum on which you earned the 3.4.

If your dream of the Cox School at SMU (arguably one of the best business schools in the country) is not realized, there are plenty of other schools out there. A 3.4 GPA is a good GPA and will land you in many different kinds of programs.

Don't give up--get some facts and information and don't despair.

 

[G-Lexington]

First off, about me. I just did some research about that one college I desperately wanted to attend way back when. The numbers no doubt aren't identical from when I attended, but the idea is the same.

The average GPA for accepted applicants was 3.85. More than 80% got at least a 3.75.
The average SAT score for students was 2300.
Their admission rate (accepted over applied) is 16%.

I graduated below a 3.5. I had a couple of AP classes to my credit, but I didn't exactly shine there, either. And my "extra-curricular activities" list was woefully lacking, as it mainly involved record shopping, and hanging out with my friends.

I applied anyway.
And got in.

Secondly, the school you get into is never that big a deal. What you put into the school you get into, and what you get out of it, is far more important. Opporunities are available at every school, even the community college you're at. The trick is to look for them, and take advantage of them.

Lex

 

[TygreBryte]

I think you're way over-valuing SMU, unless what you want is the "contacts" that you get with SMU. I think you're also probably under-valuing other schools in TX and around.

Like others have said, i'm not so sure you should write off SMU anyway. What kind of letters of recommendation will you have? What kind of scores on admissions tests? etc.

but still... i think you'd be in a stronger place if you realize that you've got more to bring to your future than the particular grad degree in the frame on your wall.

 

[rareboy]

So hopefully, while you may have thought that everyone would sit down and boohoo along with you, you see that the rest of the world doesn't see your predicament as the end of the world.

Rereading your original post, it occurs to me that you are constructing a fortress of logic to justify failure without trying.

Hopefully in the clear light of a new day, you feel better and will get back in there and fight to achieve your dreams instead of giving up before expending any effort at all.

 

[Cognition]

Never EVER quit before you try.

Wait.

Aren't you the guy that wanted to go back to University because of some trick he knew had got into Notre Dame? And was doing the whole University thing just to feel that he had accomplished more than the other guy?

You sound very similar... though the other guy had another screen name.

But if you are, the whole reasoning for going to University was wrong... i.e. jealousy of the other guy. And if I remember correctly, the other guy (or you under another screen name) wanted to get into an Ivy League uni or SMU in Dallas because nothing else was good enough.

If you're not, my apologies.

Edit: Checked your profile and posting history. You're the same guy, different screen name.

Yes, I am that 'other' guy. But this situation is much more than jealousy of someone else. It's about examining my life and wanting to be valuable. I admit that initially, I was jealous (and quite intimidated) of Rob's academic success, but now it's a motivational factor for me.

Rob graduated from Notre Dame as Finance grad and went to work for a prestigious company out of Boston, MA as a management consultant. Very impressive indeed. But you know what? While that's impressive, it's not very interesting. I could show you hundreds of other management consultants who have similar backgrounds. Do you know what I realized last week? I want more than that. I don't simply want a job working to fulfill a corporate bottom line. I want to be someone who is of value to thousands, perhaps millions of people with needs to better themselves, their families, and their communities. I want to be the catalyst that provokes people to start executing action that will benefit everyone around them. I don't want to just live life for myself, only being interesting how much more 'stuff' I can buy (as in materialism). I don't think I'll be satisfied until I find myself doing that.

 

[Cognition]

Feeling Better Now

I apologize to CC forum members who have been annoyed with my negative feelings lately, but I felt the forum was my only (anonymous) way to vent my frustrations. I don't really have any friends and I'm not financially able to see a therapist, so writing out my feelings was the only 'release' to be had instead of containing all my frustrations. Believe me, if I did have friends I could talk to, I would speak to another person about some of my academic-emotional issues. My threads on the board would mostly all be of the positive, inquiring type.

After having some chocolate chip cookies last night and getting some good sleep, I arose this morning with a new 'strategy' and feeling good again about my future plans:

First of all, I made an error (in my favor) about my hypothetical transferable GPA. I forgot an entire semester of work, so it is possible to have a 3.5 transferable GPA before matriculation (and a factor on my application).

Second, I figured that I would get two associates degree, Arts and Science, since the number and type of classes I'm taking could be used to acquire both. With my first associates, I would work hard to get into the college's honors program, which can be used as another 'promotional' factor on my application to SMU. Secondly, I would strive to get on the Vice-President's Honor Roll and join Phi Theta Kappa (a national honor society for two-year colleges) for the Fall '09 semester.

Third, I would acquire my second associate’s degree and strive to get on the President's Honor Roll while remaining a member of PTK. With my accompanying GPA, I would graduate again with honors recognition for the Spring '10 semester.

Fourth, my application to SMU would need to have a highly compelling essay, possibly on my 'rise' from mediocrity/no focus to purposely identifying my goals and striving to achieve them. I would also include a minimum of three letters of recommendation (which are not currently required) from credible individuals.

Fifth, I would use the launch of my entrepreneurial venture and involvement in the Dallas business community for additional appeal. Properly managing a startup company and getting substantially involved with the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce has to have some merit with my application. (By the way, I'm not just involving myself in business activity to place another line on my university application.)

In summary, I'm using a number of academic accomplishments such as making the Vice-President's and President's Honor Roll, joining Phi Theta Kappa, graduating with Honors distinction, writing a highly compelling essay detailing my academic performance and grade trend, being actively involved in the Dallas business community, and getting recommended by credible individuals.

I've just about quantified everything there is to be, so I'm hoping some of these qualitative factors will supplement an applicant with only a GPA of 3.4-3.5.

My thanks and appreciation for everyone with helpful, edifying advice.

Wish me luck.

 

[rareboy]

I wish you the very best. I don't think that luck will actually be necessary.

 

[Apollo]

Well now that you mentioned Rice, I can see how a 3.4 might sound weak for a admission there, but Rice isn't just looking for a 4.0 GPA, they are looking for work ethic, and a lot of other stuff.

If you apply to SMU, they will be looking for soooo much more than a perfect GPA. You will likely be asked to write a essay, and that essay would be a great opportunity to show them who you are, and your work ethic etc.

 

[Cognition]

I'm really not interested in Rice, but if I had the opportunity, I would undergrad there. In fact, when I meet my academic goals, I might just apply there and see if the qualitative aspects of my matriculation strategy will be significant enough to counter a low (3.4-3.5) GPA. But again, I'm really not interested in moving to Houston, although it's a great city and all.

Mind you, that 3.4 transferable GPA is transferable to SMU and what is most likely to be taken in account by the admissions committee. When I matriculate, my GPA will be higher because I'm transferring more than 62 credit hours, and the classes that will be "trimmed" (because I'm allowed a maximum of 62 hours, will be the courses that I performed the lowest in and do not account for an SMU degree plan or the school's general education curriculum. Coming in, I would probably have a 3.6 or 3.7 as a new SMU student.

 

[luminum]

And remember not to forget about "you." Part of what makes a person a compelling candidate isn't the accolade they've acquired so much as what the accolade stands for. They don't care as much that you won a philanthropist's award than they do that you engage in philanthropy (as well as in what venue, why, and how that relates to you). Be sure that when you're striving to achieve your goals, you strive for ones that are of interest to you and that mean something to you.

Hell, in addition to an academic essay, I wrote one on the first day I joined the swim team and wrote an optional essay about fighting with my parents and making up to the song "Blue Angel" and I got in.

Think about it as the university being a prospective friend. Deep down we connect to people we're interested in, not the ones who have high honors.

 

[Garawr]

I must be retarded for getting my choice school with a 2.8.