What do you recommend when a person has a low GPA?

[littlegirlvik]

A friend of mine has recently found a program (a terminal MA in sports management) that he would really like to get into. The problem is that he didn't do so hot as an undergrad; he approached it as many do: a means to an end. His GPA is about a 2.7-2.8. He's definitely bright, and has a lot of capability; he just did the bare minimum to get by

Comments

[tylik]

A lot of people take courses to prove they've grown up and gotten serious. It works.

Of course, a lot of people do Master's programs for the same reason - it depends on how competitive the Master's program is. He should call the program, and ask about their requirements and what he should do. They're good about that sort of thing.

[fullofpink]

Tell him to contact the school he is interested later this year (April or Early Summer (Juneish) to see what he needs to do in order to be accepted. Most likely he'll speak with the graduate supervisor who will look over his qualifications and discuss options with him.

Most school's aren't looking to kick anyone to the curb. If people show a willingness to get into a program they'll appreciate that more than just a cold-call application.

[cheez_ball]

Is the MA a thesis or non-thesis based program? And was his undergrad major related to the MA in sports management?

If he was in science I would suggest working as a tech in a few labs and getting a few publications under his belt. For other fields, I'm not sure what would set him apart from the other applicants, except maybe taking a few non-degree-seeking classes in the field and getting As in them and kicking the GRE's butt. In addition to awesome letters of recommendation from people in the sports management field. Also, he might want to contact someone at the MA program and find out if they have space and funding, and are willing to mentor him.

[littlegirlvik]

I'm honestly not sure if it's thesis based or not; I can ask him. His undergrad was in social sciences, but he has a lot of hard sciences because he spent a lot of time "looking" for his major. That's sort of how the GPA thing happened: he never found something he liked as an undergrad, and during his 5th year, his advisor said, "well, let's just put all of these things together and give you a BA in THIS," which he did, and which has worked for the real world and all.

I know very little about this field, so excuse how uninformed I am: what kind of labs? Like, sports types labs? (He obviously knows more about this than I do). And I think he'll do great on the GRE; when I was studying he routinely kicked my butt on all sections (a couple of perfect 800 quant scores, and a 680 or something on the verbal, all "just for fun." I honestly could've killed him).

Thanks!

[cheez_ball]

As I said above, if he was in science I'd recommend working in labs and getting publications in the the field he wants to pursue. This is how I got into grad school after having a rather low GPA (I won't bore you with the excuses).

In sports management, I have no idea how someone gets experience or gets to know people in the field. Maybe he could ask a faculty member or graduate adviser in the program he wants to apply to?

[i_like_snow]

k i think the person can take a grad class or 2 as a non Degree student and if they get A's then they will be ok cause it will show they can handle grad level classes and are serious about it and can do good. but fyi i know lots of ppl who went to do a MBA with that kind of gpa but i dont think that person you're talking about is doing an MBA but im not sure . bottom line is i think he can get into a MA program for sure just not something like Harvard

[statzman]

Good news, it looks like at least some programs have lower GPA requirements. For example, the school below only requires 2.75 GPA for its online program in sports management.

http://cpass.wvu.edu/academic_programs/masters/sm_online/online