What are my chances of getting into an MA program in English or Pub. Admin. at a great university (top 30-40)?

Question

I am a senior at Howard University (only tier-one Historically Black University in the nation) studying Communication and Culture with a concentration in Speech and Applied Communication and my minor is English. The bulk of my coursework is in communication theory, public speaking and organizational communication. I will likely graduate with a cumulative 3.25 GPA and about a 3.8 GPA in my major coursework. I do have one "D" on my transcript from a horrible experience with a journalism professor who hated my guts and a couple of "C"s from oversleeping 8:00 am classes during freshman and sophomore year. As for extracurriculars, I have volunteered more than 500 hours during my college career (including teaching Sunday school at a local church and feeding homeless D.C. citizens four days per month), I am currently the president of two major campus organizations and I am able to get glowing letters of recommendation from three professors, dean of the chapel and two University Chaplains.

Answer 1

Outside activities don't matter much.

The 3.8 in your major will outweigh the overall GPA -- so don't worry about that.

The main problem that you will have is that many of the top schools don't accept masters students for academic programs (e.g., English) & only accept PhD students. This is certainly true of the vast majority of the private universities -- and is true of many of the better public universities (e.g., Berkeley). You may have some luck with some large state universities with good programs. You might actually have better luck applying to PhD programs at these schools. You can always leave before finishing & get an MA.

That means your chances of getting into a Public Administration masters program is better -- since these schools do accept masters students for professional programs and certain terminal masters programs.

Answer 2

fairly, in English, the undeniable fact which you're male might help. No, you at the instant are not ineffective interior the water. If I have been you, notwithstanding, i could attempt to do greater effective than merely your primary coursework. Does your college have a literary mag which you're able to desire to edit? Is there a analyze venture which you're able to desire to do with considered one of your professors? My guess is that those colleges assume good grades as a bare minimum, yet look for something previous the common in each and every of the people they settle for. you're desirable that being from the Southwest might furnish help to, yet provided that that's an argument of a tie between 2 applicants who othewise look equivalent on paper.

Answer 3

I think it sounds like you have an impressive resume!
I had a few bad marks on my transcript too and I still made it into a top tier school for an MA. I was rejected at a lot of the top schools because of a few bad grades (two Ds, a C and three Bs along with dozens of As) and the fact that I wasn't coming from a top tier school but rather a state school. I took it upon myself to visit the schools I was interested in and made contact with the professors. This helped a lot. They could see my motivation and enthusiasm. I ended up with 2 offers out of something like 10 applications. I was accepted at 2 out of the 3 schools I visited though. The Ivey League place I went to was full of self-important stuck up people and I missed my state school a lot. It really is a different world at these kinds of schools. I almost think that they were right, many of the schools, for rejecting my application.
I am smart, but I was untrained, disorganized and lacking in the kind of dedication needed to really make it to the top.
Or at least this was me when I was 23 and went to grad school. Now, I would be very different probably, because I think I would take it more seriously and I am better equipped now. At one point I was planning on a PhD, but I didn't have the grades. I got some As in my MA program, but I had a few low Bs too and it is so competitive that this meant sudden death for me, academically speaking.

I left the Ivey League school and had no job lined up. I graduated and that was that. Even my mom yelled at me at my graduation and said "you lazy b****" you could have done better. You barely scraped by". I felt I had let myself and my whole family down. You have to remember that my parents are both lawyers (one is a judge) and my brother is a professor, so I was the family loser.
I ended up unemployed and living with my parents for three months and then landed a job in a much bigger city nearby selling appliances at a department store. What can you do with an MA? I did quit well selling, but I was desperate to quit, but my parents said I wouldn't be welcome at home and that I couldn't come and mooch off of them. So, I starved basically. I had my own apartment and rode the bus to work everyday. I had no friends either. All my work colleagues were middle-aged, balding men.
One day I applied for a job as a tutor at an after school learning centre and got work there in the evenings for something like $8 an hour. They didn't want to hire me because I wasn't a qualified teacher, but I was persistent and they gave me a chance.
I did the department store thing and the tutoring for almost two years. On the side, I did literacy volunteer work. There was one woman in particular who really thought I was great and I made a big impact for her. We met at the local library twice a week and I would teach her how to read and write. Her son was then shot in a gang bang incident and she came to me, asking for money, help, support. I did everything I could to help her and got involved with social services and so on. This lead to a job as an office person for social services and I eventually ended up working as a processing clerk for welfare recipients.
I was making very little money though and looked for something different. I lucked out and got a position in a small company involved with the Not for Profit sector. Anyway, if you read another one of my posts you will see that my current boss is a born again Christian and I fear for my job security now, because I am obviously very liberal and my life style isn't conventional.