Getting into/surviving grad school with bad grades & ptsd

[cecelia]

Hi all,
I was assaulted my freshman yr of college and it led to me getting ptsd and barely graduating college (and I ended up barely graduating 1.5 years late) I feel panic because getting a graduate degree seems to be the way to advance in any career especially mine (I work in nonprofit but hope to someday work at the UN or as a counselor at an organization that works with women who have gone through the same things if possible) My gpa is barely at a 2.0 and I think I could do well on the GRE or LSAT if I study and focus all of my energy in it but I wonder if its even worth it since my gpa is so low. I think my resume is filled with lots of activities and internships but none of that really matters because of my gpa in my mind. My mom tells me not to get so down on myself because I can write about this in my personal essay and it will get me somewhere but she is also my mom and has to say that. This has been filling me with a lot of anxiety because prior to this event I was a very bright student who always overachieved and could not have imagined where I am today. Another thing I worry about is that even if I somehow manage to get in I wouldn't get any financial aid and be able to keep up with the coursework because in my previous school I was able to get extensions on deadlines at times. If anyone has any academic or personal advice in this matter that would mean a lot because I have been so anxious about this for months and can't stop thinking about it.

 

[Freida]

Can you go to the school and discuss this with one of the grad school academic counselors? They should have one for whatever field you are looking at. You may need to do some additional classes to get your GPA up, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It might help you settle back into the college environment a lower stress level. Same thing with the financial aid --- do you have outstanding loans that are in collections, or just student loans? Grad schools have a bunch of options from loans for the entire amount to fellowships for teaching.

Grad school is going to be a lot tougher than what you've done before and the expectations are quite a bit higher. I think before you jump into it you might want to sit down with the people at a couple of colleges, explain that your gpa is low (they don't need to know why) but you have additional skills to bring, and see what they say.

 

[Snowflakes]

An option for graduate school, is online or distance learning. Most graduate programs recognize their students are working or otherwise cannot physically attend classes so most of the coursework is done online at home. Even group collaboration projects can be done via Skype or chat room. Some colleges require a visit to the campus for testing but that depends on the program. This may be a viable option if being on campus causes you grief.

Take care.