I applied to grad school at NCSU and got back a letter today saying, "Your cumulative GPA falls below the standard that the graduate school for full admission. However, we are willing to defer a final decision on your application and invite you to demonstrate your capacity to be a successful graduate student by enrolling in recommended courses this summer semester through Post-Baccalaureate Studies."

I'm willing to do the PBS thing, no problem, but the correspondence was a bit vague and occasionally contradicts itself. For example, on another page enclosed in the letter, it says, "Our program is increasingly selective in its admissions and does not recommend PBS enrollments for students whose GPA would not otherwise warrant admission."

So how does this normally work? Would the final decision normally come at the end of summer? If you perform very well in the PBS courses, does that pretty much seal the deal, or is there still a decent chance that they might give me the boot?

I've asked the authorities pretty much the same question, but any advice or information from you guys would be appreciated.

4/1/2009 7:18:59 PM

take the classes. get awesome grades. get into grad school, maybe. Normally, I would say you have an excellent chance, but with application numbers skyrocketing, your chances may be hurt somewhat.

but in the end... if you don't take the classes, you won't get in; if you take the classes, at least you have a shot.

4/1/2009 7:32:14 PM

Normally that would be my thought, but there are certain financial and family pressures at work. There's still a certain chance of failure I'm willing to accept, but I have no idea whatsoever what the odds are here. There is a point at which I'm better off not spending large sums of money on room, board, classes, and books to take classes that won't produce a degree and aren't likely to lead to one.

That's why I'm asking for more information on the process, so I can better weigh my options.

4/1/2009 9:54:18 PM

wouldn't you be best off to speak to someone in admissions?

4/1/2009 10:15:10 PM

Quote :

"I've asked the authorities pretty much the same question, but any advice or information from you guys would be appreciated."

4/1/2009 10:48:16 PM

fwiw, what's the degree?

4/6/2009 7:55:15 PM

this is the same route i took for grad school, for the MPA degree

though my letter was a bit more optimistic than yours about PBS courses

i say, if you have the cash, then do it..........its worth it

4/9/2009 12:39:57 AM

Depends on what you are going to grad school for, but it wouldn't hurt to make contact with a professor that you would want to work with in grad school, talk to them, then see if they are offering any classes. Build a relationship with them and do well in their class, and express your desire to learn/help them in their area of expertise, that will give you a huge advantage when applying and will easily make up for a less than stellar GPA. I've known people to get into grad school with a 2.8, so it is definitely something you can overcome, but it isn't easy.

4/10/2009 7:20:19 PM