Sadly my senior year barely brought me over a 3 for my total gpa. I have some ideas on what might help me get in. I am thinking of either school counseling or school psych. My statement will get into the details of my problems both with undiagnosed ADHD and my experience with my roommate, and how it all made me stronger and better able to handle situations that kids may face. I can also be that empathetic person since I experienced most things that these kids face. I just wish I could have confidence in myself. Sometimes its hard when you know that your screw-ups are things that you should have done well in - like the classes I got incompletes in and never finished - I literally froze up whenever I tried to do anything about it. From what I am reading, I guess stuff like that is pretty normal for ADHD.
I find it very strange that a huge percentage of people I am drawn to have either ADHD or bi-polar disorder. They have a kind of energy that few people have. Lucky for me, I learned that in a relationship I need a stable and practical person that does not mind my flightiness. Having a person like that in your life makes a huge difference.
Oh, you have a decent GPA, not to worry about that then. Not all schools are the same, but most will look more closely at your senior year. If the GPA is good, senior year is good, and you get the minimum needed on the GRE, the next thing they would likely look at is leadership and community involvement, in my experience. I am in a different field from you though.
Most health insurance doesn't cover the testing anyway... and the full testing in my state currently costs about 0. Wish I knew more to tell you ...
I have the same dilemma as you Jamie. I would love to go to graduate school someday but I'm worried about not being accepted into a decent grad program because of my undergrad GPA. ADHD had a HUGE affect on my GPA. I was first diagnosed with ADHD after I recieved my BA in psychology and anthropology. After reading about what ADHD actually is, I realized most of my accademic problems were due to this. (I had a habbit of not finishing research projects, papers, etc) This had a huge effect on my GPA. After working in corporate america for a couple years I realized that its not for me and that I need to follow my passion, which based in the social sciences. My question is, what can I do to convince graduate admissions to take me, despite my GPA. I also need to know what can I do about taking the GREs since I have a very hard time with those kind of tests. The problem is I do not have health insurance right now and can not afford to do some of the testing required to get accomodations. If anyone has any advise, went through the same thing, etc, please let me know. Thanks.
Yellowdog--you talk about testing on ADHD, I just have gone thru major testing at age of 44 here since I decided to do some college at a small campus close to our farm and also alot of online courses Im taking and I struggle soo much with focusing, concentrating on what class Im working on, I can study for a month for a test and still end up with a D or F on it, reading comprehension isnt good... anyways.. I decided to do testing just starting out with my reg doc then she made me appointment with a phsy as they get into the more major ADHD testing so did certain part of that and then I went back to do further testing and now I go and get my results here on Thursday..
Anyways-- for medical insurance paying we have Blue Cross Blue Shield on our family farm and my doc told me to call them and ask them if they cover for ADHD testing all expenses and they said yes so I had at least ,000.00 in all the testing done and our insurance has covered 100% of it and we have had no bills for it.. This is why I did more major testing also..otherwise to of paid this out of our pocket it just wouldnt of worked out right now.
I would advise to call your insurance company and ask them if they cover for all ADHD testing... then go for it..
Just thought I would mention how I got all of my testing done and paid for in full.. This is in N.D.
DJT
DJT -
Glad to hear you got the testing paid for by your insurance!
I actually had the testing done several years ago, and I had to pay for it myself - and, it was a major financial burden. I understand that others have also had to pay on their own around here more recently - that's why I know the current price.
Jamie - you will really need to show that you are capable of getting good marks before you will be accepted, because most grad schools require a fairly high GPA be maintained during the grad program. I think yellowdog made an excellent suggestion: take some courses, maybe night classes. They don't have to give you credits toward anything, just show that you are interested in your subject and capable of getting A's (preferably in classes taught by professors you would be interested in working with if at all possible).
Other things you can do are have great references from jobs, and show leadership. That means volunteer in your community, take the initiative on developing new projects on your own time, etc. Maybe your county needs an advocacy group for seniors, an environmental awareness focus group, a foodbank, a better support system for pregnant teens...you get the idea. Another thing that would help bring you to the top of that grad application stack (and probably the most difficult) despite a lower GPA is to have some evidence of completing projects: publications, no matter how minor, certificates, awards. The GRE is just plain difficult. Best of luck!
I do have a suggestion regarding your ADHD effected GPA. Many schools will allow you to take a certain number of classes without being fully admitted. You may be able to take one or two of these while utilizing your new skills/medicine etc and prove yourself that way.
Thank you all for responding. I am taking a class right now and hope to get an A in it. Its a survey class, which tends to be the hardest for me. There is so much material, but nothing in depth. I almost need the depth to maintain interest.
During my last year of undergrad, I did manage to pull off an average of 3.5 both semesters. The only problem is that I had some incompletes that turned into withdrawls. Sadly I was doing very well in both of those classes. I just took on so many projects at once that I got a little overwhelmed. I was also trying to regroup after having a roommate break down (I thought it was my responsibility to fix her). Anyway, would grad schools look more at my senior year GPA or the fact that I did not complete classes?
I know that this time around I would be a much better student. I have learned how to keep my life somewhat organized. I just need a quiet home environment (my parents and sister have ADD too) and roommates that are not crazy. I also found that scheduling my activities and obligations make it easier to get thengs done. I also need morning obligations so I get out of bed. Anyway, I am an adult now (mostly) and I should be able to handle it. I just need to know myself and know what gets me stuck.